WHO MOVED OUR CHEESE?

That question was posed by Brian Papke, president of Mazak Corporation (Florence, KY), during a presentation given earlier this year, to reference his shock at how quickly the economic downturn struck machine tool sales in the wake of the global credit crunch. “Last December we saw the largest shipment of orders in our history,” he smiled. “The next month our orders fell off the edge.”

Who Moved My Cheese? is a motivational tale by Spencer Johnson that describes the continual change that happens in our work and our life, and some typical reactions we have to this change. The characters in this fable are grouped into two mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two little people (Hem and Haw) who live in a maze (our environment) searching for cheese (happiness and success).

Both groups discover a cheese-filled corridor inside a cheese station. The humans, content with their discovery, develop routines around their daily cheese consumption . . . and slowly become arrogant in the process. One day the mice find there is no cheese left in the cheese station. However, they had noticed earlier how the cheese supply was dwindling and had already begun to mentally prepare for the arduous, inevitable task of finding more. They leave the station behind and hunt for new cheese together.

The unprepared little people, counting on the cheese supply to be constant, later recognize and verify the same thing: no cheese. Angered and annoyed, Hem demands, ?Who moved my cheese?? The humans complain about the unfairness of the situation . . . and both head home hungry. They return later on to find the same empty cheese station. Realizing how hopeless their situation is, Haw proposes a search for new cheese. But Hem is dead set in his victimized mindset and nixes the proposal.

The mice soon discover a new supply of cheese in a different cheese station. But back at the empty station, Hem and Haw are affected by their lack of cheese ? and blame each other for their predicament. Hoping to change, Haw proposes another search for new cheese. But the comfort of his old routine has left Hem afraid of the unknown, so he shuts down the idea again.

In denial, the humans remain without cheese. Then Haw uncovers the source of his fear and stops taking himself so seriously. He simply laughs at the situation and prepares to move on. But before he enters the maze, he chisels ?If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct? on the wall of the empty cheese station for his friend to ponder. Still fearful of the journey ahead, he also carves ?What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?? into the wall and, after reflecting on that, he heads out.

Plagued with worry that he waited too long to start his search, Haw finds some scattered cheese that sustains him. Continuing his search, Haw slowly realizes that cheese does not suddenly disappear, but dwindles down from continual eating. He also finds that older cheese is not as tasty and is moldy.

After finding another empty cheese station, Haw starts to become depressed worrying about the unknown again. But this time, his new mindset wipes away his fears. He again enjoys life and smiles ?When you move beyond your fear, you feel free.? After finding still another cheese station that is empty, Haw returns back to Hem with the few bits of new cheese he managed to find, but Hem surprisingly turns away the new cheese. A disappointed Haw heads back into the maze, deeper this time, using the new knowledge he acquired from his previous journey. Motivated by finding bits of new cheese here and there, Haw leaves a trail of writings on the wall (the handwriting on the wall) to clarify his thoughts and give him hope that his friend will use them during his search for new cheese.

One day Haw finally reaches his goal: another station filled with so much cheese it even has some unknown varieties. After eating, Haw reflects on his experience and yearns for his old friend. This time he lets Hem find his own way, and on the largest wall of this new station he writes:

Change Happens.

They Keep Moving The Cheese.

Anticipate Change.

Get Ready For The Cheese To Move.

Monitor Change.

Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old.

Adapt To Change Quickly.

The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese.

Change.

Move With The Cheese.

Enjoy Change!

Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!

Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again & Again.

They Keep Moving The Cheese.

Cautious from past experience, Haw inspects the new cheese station daily. He also explores different parts of the maze regularly so he won?t get complacent. One day he hears someone approaching the station through the maze. He hopes his friend Hem has found the way.

One thing for certain is that Mazak, under Papke?s vision and leadership, has found the way. This company is literally charging forward into the maze. Rather than growing complacent after a record sales year in 2008, this machine tool builder not only prudently reduced costs in the face of weak sales, but invested $9 million in intelligent machining centers and lights-out operations as part of their latest expansion.

Anticipating considerable consolidation in the machine tool sector, Mazak ? which is privately funded and carries no debt ? remains keenly aware of any competitive opportunities to exploit potential mergers and acquisitions that make sense. When the economy does return, Papke envisions another purge that will sweep through the machine tool industry as a new wave of demand floods the market. He anticipates a distinct separation of winners who do business differently than before vs. unprepared losers who will struggle and fail to meet overwhelming market demand for new value.

?Winners will introduce many new products whose value moves the entire industry forward,? he says. ?Their end users will use these products to effectively respond to lower volumes with shorter lead times and efficiently handle more part complexity.?

Enter the realm of ultra-tasking, the next stage of multi-tasking that Papke says will move past the current combination of milling and turning. ?Ultra-tasking combines unusual operations that are typically done on separate machines, such as grinding, broaching, hobbing, even thread rolling,? he says.

As product designers learn how their restrictions on part complexity lessen with multi-tasking equipment, Papke expects them to radically expand their design capabilities with ultra-tasking. When they discover how to achieve new levels of precision by combining operations in one setup, ?ultra-tasking will grow into a competitive advantage? as mass production evolves into mass customization.

There?s more, because advanced technology will help the entire industry navigate through ?the social costs of labor? that Papke sees on the horizon. ?Multi-tasking gives us a competitive edge in building products because fewer machines and operators are needed throughout the chain to perform given amounts of work,? he says. But with the current administration moving ?towards a European model with higher taxation around labor,? ultra-tasking will play an important role in ?driving further automation.?

This future requires an entirely new way of thinking for many manufacturers. ?The drive for higher automation requires employee skill levels to be greater,? says Papke. ?Multi-tasking equipment can be set up for low-skilled button pushers, but the total capability of the equipment is proportional to the amount of training the operators receive. The higher the quality of the training, the higher the productivity potential of multi-tasking technology.?

That recent $9 million investment in advanced technology signifies that Papke walks this talk. The bottom line here is that Mazak appears to be well on their way to that next station that is full of cheese.

Has your cheese moved yet? If not, it will. If it already has, you may be experiencing some problems dealing with it being gone. In either situation, a new way of thinking might be the answer that many of us need to address the continual change that is happening in our work and in our lives. Just a thought.