How ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ Shaped My Approach to Data Leadership

Sniff or Scury your way out.

In the maze of corporate change and innovation, leadership can often feel like an endless pursuit of elusive cheese. This is a metaphor brought to life in Dr. Spencer Johnson’s famed book, Who Moved My Cheese?—a book that profoundly influenced my approach to leading data teams and fostering agile, innovative cultures within organizations.

The Discovery

A peer introduced me to Who Moved My Cheese? and suggested that I embodied the “Sniff” persona—a character who anticipates change and acts swiftly. Intrigued, I delved into the book, and its themes of adaptability, proactive behavior, and embracing uncertainty have since become a cornerstone of my professional philosophy, influencing how I navigate the ever-changing landscape of data leadership.

The Team Dynamics

Our team’s process-driven and data-centric culture aligned perfectly with the book’s themes of adaptability and proactive change. As an ENTP and High D personality type according to the Myers-Briggs and DISC frameworks, I brought a natural tilt toward strategic thinking and adaptability—qualities that helped shape how our team approached complex, fast-changing challenges. This self-awareness enabled us to optimize our collaboration, capitalize on our diverse strengths, and excel in situations requiring agility and forward thinking.

Operationalizing the Lessons

The lessons from Who Moved My Cheese? were particularly relevant as I navigated roles that required the adoption of new technologies, the pitching of projects to clients, and—most critically—the shift from a data-informed to a data-driven culture. This transition often involved overhauling legacy systems—a scenario where the proactive, anticipatory nature of a “Sniff” was crucial.

As “Sniff”, I’ve learned to never wait passively for directions but instead to build solutions proactively and collaborate extensively to refine these innovations. This approach is not without its challenges; change management involves navigating the reluctance of “Hems” and “Haws”—those who resist change due to fear or discomfort.

The Value of Feedback and Proactive Service

In data-driven environments, embracing feedback, openness, and proactive engagement is vital. My strategy with stakeholders involves not just meeting their expressed needs but anticipating potential areas of impact—offering them not what they asked for but what they truly need. This can mean distinguishing between reversible and irreversible decisions, a critical skill in efficient decision-making.

The Need for Diverse Roles

Every effective data organization needs a mix of “Sniffs”, “Scurries”, “Hems”, and “Haws”. The challenge lies in nurturing “Haws” into “Scurries” or even “Sniffs”—transforming cautious deliberation into proactive action. Quality of feedback plays a pivotal role here; simply dismissing changes without constructive engagement does not contribute to growth or innovation.

Conclusion

The journey of instilling a dynamic, responsive data culture is complex and fraught with challenges. However, the principles from Who Moved My Cheese? provide a valuable framework for navigating this landscape. By fostering a team that not only adapts to change but anticipates and drives it, we can harness the true power of data to inform confident and impactful decisions.

Who Moved My Cheese? isn’t just about anticipating change; it’s about thriving in the midst of it, and this is the ethos I bring to every team I lead. As we continue to evolve in our data-driven endeavors, the lessons from this simple yet profound book remain more relevant than ever.

P.S.

This piece builds on ideas explored across my prior work:

In The Operating Manual: Leading with Standards, Not Ego, I argued that real leadership isn’t about comfort or compliance—it’s about setting the bar and building teams capable of rising to it.
In The HBR Framework Falls Short in Data and Engineering Leadership, I showed why soft approaches often collapse under the weight of technical complexity and misaligned incentives.
In Ambition Is Not the Problem, I defended the kind of intellectual drive and ownership mindset that brittle systems and legacy cultures tend to suppress.
In The Maginot Mindset: Why Data Organizations Fail in the Age of AI, I explored how historical patterns of over-engineered defense and underdeveloped adaptability are repeating themselves in how we approach tooling, governance, and strategy.

This isn’t just about architecture or tooling. It’s about survival.
You can’t build adaptive systems without adaptive people—and you can’t lead adaptive people with outdated thinking.