But I had to come to the conclusion that to have less was more. It is in its practical simplicity that the power of this tale lies. This is nothing more than a basic ‘mindshift’ over matter. In a few pages of reading you can change the way you look at yourself, your manager and the organisation you work for. It has a distinct light-bulb effect. In the story there are four characters, one situation and interestingly enough, four different view points of the exact same scenario. And so, as each character decides to resolve an identical crisis in a different way there emerge a few basic, but potentially life-altering lessons.

It is in the way this book wakes us up to our own lack of insight that the key to transformation lies. When one is completely submerged in the trauma of your work or personal reality there is often little objectivity or the wish to break out of comfort zones. This could be the death knoll of many individuals and organisations. It seems much easier to remain entrenched in the same seductively familiar, but ultimately self-destructive patterns. But in actual fact, the moment we make the decision to change the way we think, we change our world!

It was thus not at all surprising to come across numerous testimonies of people who perceived their personal lives and jobs to be at a dead end. On the scene appears the story of ‘Move the Cheese” and the exact same no-go job turns into an excellent opportunity. This book gives us courage. It helps us realise that constant change in our lives is not a train smash, but rather victorious. It empowers us and encourages us to let go of a victim mentality. And in so doing, allows us to take our future into our own hands and ‘move our cheese'!

As Dr Kenneth Blanchard, co-author of ‘The One Minute Manager', states in the foreword: ‘Believe me , this parable takes little time to read, but its impact can be profound!'' So if you are at an uncomfortable cross roads in your organisation or personal life, do yourself a favour, and invest in this gem!