This post is a continuation of my Cliff’s Notes for Who Moved My Cheese, the book by Spencer Johnson, M.D. (also the Author of The One Minute Manager). Hope you enjoy my annotations of the rest of the principles!
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The Search For Significance: Is Your Life Built Around Your Career?
When you think of the word “significance,” what comes into your mind? Do you equate significance with self-worth? Pleasing your figures of authority? Money? Wealth? A thriving career?
Who Moved My Cheese: The Cliff’s Notes! (Part 1)
Finally, after quite some time, I give you the Cliff’s Notes for “Who Moved My Cheese”!
MY cheese was moved quite so often lately, so I apologize for delivering this only now..
Last post, I had talked about Who Moved My Cheese in a general way. Today, I will give you a Cliff’s Notes version of Who Moved My Cheese. No, I won’t give you spoilers on the parable itself. But I will give you the main principles of the book. If you want to enjoy the childlike beauty of the Who Moved My Cheese parable, you better grab the book for yourself.
So, ready for a few life-changing lessons now?
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The Search for Significance: Is Your Worth In Your “Stuff?”
There is one thing that saddens me about our generation, and this is the seemingly extreme materialism that we have. A generation back, our parents had toiled in order for us to experience the comforts that they themselves have missed out on. But today, the average yuppie works… To buy the next iPod, the next digicam, the latest and greatest laptop.
While there is totally nothing wrong with being able to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor, and for all I know, like in my country, these young adults deserve their creature comforts too, because these young ones are the type who actually support their families or siblings, and put them through college.
But there is something wrong when people focus all their energies on these “creature comforts.” Then there is something grossly wrong when people even turn to credit cards in order to fuel these wants.
Lonely Execs
 
“Some executives would love to be left alone.”
I read this line from an article about how top corporations are protecting their top level executives. Forbes online’s section on Tech->Security lists down how these companies spend to keep their hotshots secure. Check these figures out:
US$1.8 million – the amount Oracle spends to protect its Chief Executive Larry Ellison last year.
US$532,755 – the amount Google spent last year on protecting its Chief Executive Eric Schmidt.
US$33,196 – the amount Google spent last year for Company Founder Larry Page’s transportation, logistics and personal security.
US$1 million – the amount Ford spent last year for protecting its top executives and members of the Ford family.
Quite a hefty price to keep you breathing on the top right? It sure is. Most of the costs usually goes to “gates, guns and guards”. The biggest of which, labor of course!
Typically a top executive will contract with a company to provide guards at their home, both for screening visitors at a gatehouse and stationed around the perimeter of their property. Each guard costs about $60 an hour. Execs may also hire round-the-clock bodyguards for their family, similar to those used by celebrities. Personal bodyguards charge an annual fee that starts at $75,000.
And when they travel… ohh, the number add up.
Some execs though would love to be left alone. But their companies just wouldn’t let them… or couldn’t afford to let them! I figured, if these companies spend say US$1 million on security, it must be a justified cost if their protecting someone who rakes in US$100 million plus a year. 1% isn’t that bad to value for security, some would think it is NOT enough.
Ah, the cost of being on top. Painful? Painfree? If you’d ask me, I’d say I’m happy with where I am.