Slog
News & ArtsThursday, November 10, 2011
Books Get Your Cheese Away From Me
Posted by Derek Erdman on Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 4:27 PM
In 1999, I worked for a record store in Chicago. The dot-com bubble enveloped the store in the form of an online music retailer named Djangos.com that started in Portland and bought up stores in Chicago, Los Angeles and the Cellophane Square stores here in Seattle. Shortly after my store was taken over, all of the employees were ordered to read the book Who Moved My Cheese? to prepare for our transition into the new economy of selling $2 Everclear CDs online. The whole thing fell apart two years later.
I just wanted to take this time to let you know, if a superior at your place of employment tells you to read this book, run for your life.
2
This book dismantles that horrible screed in many delicious ways:
http://www.barbaraehrenreich.com/brights…
http://www.barbaraehrenreich.com/brights…
3
same thing happened to me at KUBE/KJR in th early 2000s. loafer-wearing republican asshat took over as boss when clear channel enslaved us, gave us all this, um, "book" for xmess, totes out of a job 3 months later. fuck that cheese! FUCK IT!
5
Just wholesale ordering people to read any book is a bad sign. It means that they couldn't be bothered to learn how to manage employees.
At Wamu, at that time, at least, they held courses in change (typically a sign that your department was slated for the ax). They went to a little effort...
At Wamu, at that time, at least, they held courses in change (typically a sign that your department was slated for the ax). They went to a little effort...
8
Are these neatly packaged corporate inspiration guides ever not bullshit? My first job was with the Spokane County Library District, and one year they decided to get big on the FISH program, inspired, in a roundabout fashion, by the fish throwing dudes in the Pike Place Market. You'd think it'd be great, you know, trying to adopt a workplace culture themed around throwing fish at people, but it practice it was dull and irrelevant.
9
the mother of a guy i dated for a few years gave me a copy of the children's picture book edition of "who moved my cheese?" as a consolation prize when he dumped my ass at a family reunion.
10
@5 is correct. Whenever you get books like that, it usually means bigger bonus payments for the execs and RIF for the 99 percent.
16
So in other words, you should never invest in any plan you make and always be looking to move on to new schemes. You should be reactionary rather than analytical and plan for failure.
17
Looks like Haw ignored his friend Hem after he found the motherload of cheese. Haw is a selfish, corporate-ass kissing prick.
18
WOW. This is everything I find nauseating and villainous about corporate culture. Think I'm going to be ill.
And yet now I find myself in charge of a company. Well the only motivational technique I'm going to use is 'Free Beer'.
Well that, and absolutely no "Who Moved My Cheese?".
And yet now I find myself in charge of a company. Well the only motivational technique I'm going to use is 'Free Beer'.
Well that, and absolutely no "Who Moved My Cheese?".
21
this book is not the antichrist in text format. But yes, if encouraged to read it by your work sups, update the fuck out of your resume. Unless you work for a cheese factory in Wisconsin, in which case some may have misplaced said cheese.
The other classic you're fucked signal (at work) is when you're asked to provide a description of exactly what it is you do. This means one of 2 things: they've finally caught on to the fact that you don't actually do anything, or they plan to find someone else to do it. And after that, it's government cheese for you.
The other classic you're fucked signal (at work) is when you're asked to provide a description of exactly what it is you do. This means one of 2 things: they've finally caught on to the fact that you don't actually do anything, or they plan to find someone else to do it. And after that, it's government cheese for you.
23
Jesus. I could only take about 2 minutes of this tripe. First the allegory is stillborn, then they murder every single metaphor they create.
24
Yes, when your boss informs you that you should try to think about your job as if you were a lab rat running around a maze in search of food while scientists observe you and write the results down on a clipboard, you should take that as a bad sign.
In the pantheon of hellish corporate motivational texts, "Who moved My Cheese" did at last have the benefit of wearing its contempt for employees on its sleeve.
In the pantheon of hellish corporate motivational texts, "Who moved My Cheese" did at last have the benefit of wearing its contempt for employees on its sleeve.
26
Cheeses Keerist! I'd heard of that "cheese" metaphor for years without actually reading/seeing about it. Now I feel nauseous. Reason One to be a teacher: ya don't have to work in a cubicle, knocking yerself out to make someone else rich.
27
@6- Into the vast cheese lockers of the 1%. They dive into it and swim around like Scrooge McDuck.
@26- Wait until the libertarians get done with the educations system: online for profit education for all! Cubicles for teachers!
@26- Wait until the libertarians get done with the educations system: online for profit education for all! Cubicles for teachers!
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
It's Spring! Who's Ready for Street Harassment? by Cienna Madrid
-
New Gun Enthusiast... by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Gonna Boil My Laptop After Answering This One by Dan Savage
-
Bigot Florist Files Countersuit by Dominic Holden
-
America Doesn't Care About Black People by Charles Mudede
-
US Military Grants Itself the Power to Police American Streets and "Quell" "Civil Disturbances" by Brendan Kiley
-
SL Letter of the Day: Living Discomfortably by Dan Savage
-
Slog Super Poll: Who Should Be Mayor? by Dominic Holden
-
Black Market Elimination Fail: Draft Pot Rules Call for Ban on Hash and Hash Oil by Ben Livingston
-
Tim Burgess Quits the Mayor's Race by Dominic Holden
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (27) RSS