Who Moved My Cheese

Do we all remember the revolutionary and #1 Best Seller Who Moved My Cheese?

Who Moved My Cheese? is the story of four characters living in a “Maze” who face unexpected change when they discover their “Cheese” has disappeared. Sniff and Scurry, who are mice, and Hem and Haw, little people the size of mice, each adapt to change in their “Maze” differently. In fact, one doesn’t adapt at all…

Soon after the book was released, I was working as the Member Relations Director at the City Club on Bunker Hill in Los Angeles, a ClubCorp private club.  We all got a copy of this book. And we all read with enthusiasm how to adapt, monitor and even anticipate change. Or should I say, “Enjoy change!” Yes, it was a little, um, cheesy, but it worked for the corporate environment I lived in.

In 1998, we barely had regular e-mail communication with members, much less an interactive website or social platform to cultivate our membership community.  We were constantly looking for creative ways to retain members, maintain ongoing communication (remember committee meetings?) and increase involvement through events at the City Club.  We craved change.

Now we are all navigating unchartered digital waters, much of which is exciting, revolutionary and completely life changing.  When one company improves its product and implements new features which changes the look of the profile page we are used to seeing, we scream and whine and moan and complain that we don’t like it. Blog posts have been written left and sideways picking apart what is great, what may be scary and what we are just bound to dislike.

May I ask a favor? Can we grab on the spirit of 1998 and remember how to embrace change?  Can we appreciate the ever-evolving landscape happening online and celebrate a launch, an update, a design change, a new way of doing things?  For if there were none, we would be blogging our brains out about how nothing is new or exciting or fresh.  We would demand upgrades and increased user-friendliness and cooler graphics and quicker loading times.

Change is the only constant when it comes to the digital world. The cheese will always be on the move. And we must remain expectant.