Who moved our Cheese: Tourism Edition

The slim book ‘Who Moved my Cheese’ was first written in 1998. I had heard the phrase used before, but never read the book until about 10 years ago. One of my longtime readers, Margo DeRouchie from Pennslyvania’s Americana Region, took the time to write and suggest that Who Moved my Cheese was also a helpful read during this time.

I downloaded it and read it again to remind myself why it still resonates today. And that’s because our circumstances never stay the same. With Covid, gradual changes became abrupt full stops. Trends were stopped dead in their tracks – or took off at an unprecedented rate. So I thought we could look at this book through the eyes of those of us in Tourism.

Book Summary

The book is a fable about 4 characters: Hem and Haw who are Littlepeople, and Sniff and Scurry who are mice. They all live happily in a maze where they found a supply of cheese that they travel to daily. One day the cheese is all gone and the rest of the story is how they adapt to their changing situation.  As the book says ” To the mice, the problem and the answer were both simple. The situation at Cheese Station C had changed. So, Sniff and Scurry decided to change.”

Hem and Haw, the Littlepeople, had a different response. The Littlepeople could not believe it. How could this have happened? No one had warned them. It wasn’t right. It was not the way things were supposed to be. 

Eventually, Haw realizes that “things change and they are never the same again. This looks like one of those times. That’s life! Life moves on. And so should we.”

The book chronicles the struggles and successes of the characters operating through a big change.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

Sometimes we are scared to try something totally new and different because we are afraid. Afraid we will fail, afraid others will judge us or afraid it will be really hard. But pushing through that discomfort often leads to new horizons and new levels of success.

A few years ago I went on a women’s outdoor adventure trip which included time on a high ropes course. I am not a fan of heights, but I took a deep breath and climbed up a rickety ladder to stand on a tiny platform. The young man clipped my harness into the rigging and told me to step off the platform, which was approximately 100 miles up off the ground.

The fear of stepping off into thin air was overwhelming, but I did it. And it was exhilarating! By the end of the course, I was leaping off each platform. I learned a valuable lesson that day – pushing through fear leads to a big burst of confidence on the other side.

What actions are you worried to take? Instead of waiting and hoping that your job will come back soon, can you start preparing for a new opportunity? Rarely do our careers look like a straight path. This might be the year to find a different type of job. One where you will learn new skills and expand your network. Tourism professionals like you are hard-working, and have experience working with many different types of people. Do you have other special skills or talents that can transfer to another role?

Many of you will have to be very flexible when you are called back to your job as you will have to take on additional roles. Don’t despair. All that experience will help you be even more well rounded as a leader and manager in the future.

Change is constant

Haw wrote messages on the walls of the maze as he traveled. One message was ” Noticing Small Changes Early Helps You Adapt To The Bigger Changes That Are To Come.”  We all felt like this virus came out of nowhere, but we did have some signals. Even so, I don’t think we could have imagined the deep and long term damage to our industry. But here we are. So now what changes can you envision?

I spent some time in April looking at the writing on the wall. My plan for 2020 had been to make the majority of my income from speaking engagements at association conferences and state tourism conferences. It became obvious that I  was going to have to pivot and recreate my budget and plan for the year. I had been hosting Virtual Education programs since last fall and decided I was going to need to focus on that for the rest of the year.

Now I am taking online courses in Instructional Design (which I didn’t even know was a thing until last month!) It’s important to do everything I can to learn about the best way of providing information to Tourism Professionals in a format that suits our current situation.

Conclusion

This book wasn’t written just for the COVID Crisis, but for the inevitable changes we will all deal with in our careers. The longer we stay stuck wishing everything would go back to the way it was in 2019, the farther behind we will fall in creating our new future and finding new opportunities. We can all be stronger and more resilient on the other side if we heed the lesson ” The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese.”

How can I help you in July 2020?

Our industry is all over the place right now. Some of you are back to your office, some are still home, some furloughed and some exploring next steps. How can I help you this month?

DMOs/Tourism Organizations: Are you looking for a way to provide value to your partners during this challenging time? Check out the Online Tourism Training Program with this link. I can help you provide monthly virtual training for you to offer to your partners/members. My team and I do all the work and you reap the benefits.

Want to try it out for free? I am happy to offer virtual training to potential clients. The topic for July is – Tools for Time Management during Covid. Give your partners some concrete ways to be more efficient during this stressful time. There are 2 spots left in July so just reply to this email and we will get your group scheduled. This offer is available to organizations with over 100 people.

 

Looking to increase your knowledge and skills?

Then check out Tourism Pro Academy. This platform is a one-stop shop. You can check out free resources, courses and other ways to work with me. I am adding new offerings this month. Click here to see what’s available.

How’s your Profile Sheet?

If you are ready to build back your group tour business, a great profile sheet is key. How is yours? Need help? I am going to host some live profile sheet reviews on my Facebook Business page starting in August. Reply to this email if you are interested in trying something new – and upgrading your profile sheet in time for trade show season!

Giving Back

I donate 10% of my quarterly profits to a non-profit organization. My second quarter donation went to Barbershop Books, which is a program that creates child-friendly reading spaces in barbershops. Their mission is to help Black boys ages 4-8 to identify as readers by connecting fun books to a male-centered space and by involving Black men in boys’ early reading experiences.