Who Moved My Velveeta?
1998’s Who moved my cheese?, by Spencer Johnson, stresses the importance of being prepared for the inevitable changes that are going to occur in the workplace.
The book is told as an allegory featuring two mice, “Sniff” and “Scurry,” and two tiny humans, “Hem” and “Haw.” The maze they live in is a microcosm for all places of employment and they spend their time searching for happiness and success as represented by cheese. Only Sniff and Scurry notice when the cheese supply in their small area of the maze begins to dwindle and they take proactive steps to find a new source. On the other hand, Hem and Haw, as their names suggest, are oblivious to the shrinking cheese supply and taken by surprise when it’s totally exhausted. Their initial response is only to complain about the ”unfairness” of the situation. By the time they try to find other sources of cheese, it’s too late.
There’s seems to be a bit of this going on in Shut the Door. Have a Seat. Ever since PPL took over Sterling Cooper and began downsizing it, the amount of “cheese” available for executives like Don, Peggy, Pete, Harry and Paul has been getting smaller. This indeed has been the topic of many a bitch session in Season 3. Don thought he had found a rich new supply in Conrad Hilton. I realize this is a stretch, but I love the irony of Hilton’s association with the moon and the old myth about it being made of green cheese. The McCann Erickson acquisition is the last straw. The cheese supply looks like it was about to be totally removed. Don’s reaction, like Hem and Haw, is to rail at the less then sympathetic Hilton.
After venting his spleen, Don is inspired to start the coup with Bert, Roger and Pryce which results in the creation of Sterling Cooper Draper and Pryce. As the newly assembled team leaves their old office, one of the boxes they carry out with them is clearly labeled “Velveeta.” The McCann deal moved their cheese. So, they decided to take it back.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
hmmm Don Draper = The cheese stands alone? Except that he’s not alone anymore.
I wondered about the Velveeta box being so prominent, I mean they could have used a box with any name from that era on it and they chose Velveeta. I found the choice strange because in that office I would have expected all the boxes to be either Lucky Strike or alcohol boxes. Unless the movers brought the box with them.
Re. Hilton and the green cheese. It makes perfect sense since green cheese isn’t ready to eat and Don wasn’t ready for Hilton. They’ll try it again someday maybe when the cheese is ripe.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I love applying office theories to Mad Men. For Don, the cheese was moved in S2, when SC was sold to PPL. He didn’t have a right to complain then, because he was AWOL by choice. This time, the cheese was moved right from under his nose. However, Don had the consolation prize of telling the others the cheese was moved, and devising a strategy to get the cheese back.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Matt, I’ve been reading your posts with delight for a while now. (Long time lurker, some time poster.) Anyway, you’re the king of finding the smallest detail and delivering its relevance. Bravo. I love the Velveeta angle and the “who moved my cheese” connection. Well done. Thanks for providing such insightful and fun connections.
November 28th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
The “rats” abandoning the sinking ship…took the cheese? (ok, sad, I admit – it’s just the turkey & stuffing talking…)
November 29th, 2009 at 11:48 am
I loathe that book; it’s corporate propaganda. If Roger Sterling read it, he’d shred it with a few one-liners.
November 29th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
@3 catherine… thanks for the nice feedback.
@5 Peggy Joan… Sterling probably would mock it, but he’s always eaten his cheese with a silver spoon
. Myself, I have mixed emotions about “Who Moved My Cheese.” On the one hand, like “The One Minute Manager,” WMMC is quite simplistic and only states what should be obvious to anyone in ANY employment setting (change happens, don’t take your job for granted, etc). On the other hand, when it came out, I knew a few Hem and Haw types (both blue and white collar) who assumed that they had a job for life. So, to the extent that it may have gotten those folks to think differently, I suppose it was worthwhile. FWIW, I was more a fan of Peter Drucker’s “The New Realities” from 10 year earlier.
January 2nd, 2010 at 3:54 pm
[...] agree with Matt about the brands displayed on the boxes. Maybe not all the meanings, but they’re not chosen by [...]