1. A Book Report By Kareem Sumner
Who Moved My Cheese?
A Book Report By
Kareem Sumner
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.

2. Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.
Agenda
Brief Summary of Book
Why the book was chosen
Character comparisons to Dell and IBM
Conclusion/Recommendations
Questions?
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.

3. Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.
Book Summary
Four Beings
two simple-minded mice, Sniff and Scurry
two complex-minded, ‘little people’, Hem and Ham, who were similar to you and I
‘Cheese’
not only food for nourishment (esp. Hem & Haw)
represented every aspect of their lives (success, social status, achievement etc.)
‘Maze’
the place where you look for what you want (organization, community etc.)
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.

4. Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.
Book Summary
Deals with change and the fear many people have when faced with unexpected change
A tale of four beings living in a ‘maze’ who loved ‘cheese’
The cheese disappeared unexpectedly and the four beings react differently
Four Beings
two simple-minded mice, Sniff and Scurry
two complex-minded, ‘little people’, Hem and Ham, who were similar to you and I
‘Cheese’
not only food for nourishment (esp. Hem & Haw)
represented every aspect of their lives (success, social status, achievement etc.)
‘Maze’
the place where you look for what you want (organization, community etc.)
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.

5. Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.
Why I chose this book?
Short reading
Very short reading
Strategic plans – ‘living document’
My strategy
find the book with the least amount pages
if the reading was boring, the pain I would endure would be short lived
Strategic Plans
always being adjusted/modified
Industry/Technology changes
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.

6. Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.
Dell vs. Sniff & Scurry
Lived on the edge and took risks
Experimented a lot early on and made many mistakes
Never got too comfortable with success
Did not ‘waste time noodling over a decision’
Living on the edge
both took risks
it was a risk for sniff and scurry to run off in the maze (the unknown)
Made mistakes
wrong turns in the maze – getting lost
dell learned from the mistakes
Dell not comfortable with success
set goals, achieved them and set new goals
Haw realizes this a while later
Dell was not simple minded like Sniff and Scurry, but he kept things simple.
s&s did not overanalyze things – no more cheese, find new cheese
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.

7. Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.
IBM vs. Hem & Haw
Both were complex in nature and very successful early on
Hem said ‘there’s enough cheese here to last us forever’
John Akers, ‘successful beyond our wildest expectations’
They paid little attention to what was going on around them and never considered that their cheese supply would run out
Complex
held on to their beliefs
IBM – 20,000 BU’s, 5,000 hw prods., 20,000 sw prods
Paid little attention
Hem and Haw - ‘...Hem’s and Haw’s confidence grew into arrogance of success’
they did not realize their cheese stock was slowly decreasing
IBM - They did not want to participate in the client/server and Internet revolutions
IBM - saw their mainframes as their ‘cheese’ and was reluctant to move away from mainframes
‘managers could not bring themselves to cannibalize mainframe sales by pushing replacement technologies’
watched Dell, Microsoft and others dominate the new market
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.

8. Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.
IBM & Haw Turnaround
Haw began to envision himself finding and enjoying new cheese
‘If you’ve got an idea that is really powerful, you’ve just got to ignore the people who tell you it won’t work, and hire people who embrace your vision’ – M. Dell
IBM hired a new CEO outside of the company and he brought with him a new vision
Haw’s vision
The vision gave him confidence, courage and motivation to put aside his fears and take the risk of venturing out in the maze to search for new cheese
Haw was beginning to accept that things had changed and he needed to do something about it
Hem refused saying, ‘I like it here. It’s comfortable. It’s what I know. Besides its dangerous out there
‘Sometimes, Hem, things change and they are never the same again’
IBM
hired a new CEO outside of the company (Gerstner) and he brought with him a new vision ‘One IBM’
made numerous organizational changes and merged divisions into groups to focus on new strategies
Not everyone at IBM met the reorganizations with enthusiasm
persons who resisted the changes either left, or were forced to leave
Many people in the middle, ‘…didn’t want to have anything to do with it. They just wanted it to go away. They wanted it to be the way it used to always be - Harreld
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.

9. Conclusion and Recommendations
The more important your cheese is to you the more you want to hold on to it
If you do not change, you can become extinct
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old
The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese
Read the Book!
The more important your cheese is to you the more you want to hold on to it.
the more you are dependant on something; the more difficult it is to give that something up. Even if that certain something did well for you over the years, one must realize when to let go.
If you do not change, you can become extinct.
those who do not move with the change either leave or are left behind. This is true in every part of life and not just the corporate world.
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
Fear causes many people or organizations to remain immobilized. If one would ‘put away’ their fears and take the necessary (and mostly calculated) risks, they can overcome almost any situation.
Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old.
Always monitor the changes going on around you. Even if they are minor changes, adapt to the changes and one will be better prepared for any future, unexpected changes.
The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese.
Haw found this out during his long, arduous journey through the maze. If he had noticed the change sooner, he would have had more energy to search the maze and probably find the cheese sooner.
Read the Book
pertains to almost every aspect of one’s life
If its too simple, buy it and read it to your children etc.
replace the word ‘cheese’ with an expletive, book becomes much more amusing
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.

10. Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.
Cheesy or what?
April 25, 2017
Strategic Planning For Info. Sys.