Explaining Change Management with "Who Moved My Cheese?"

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1) Is there a difference when change is unexpected and when change is plan? What makes the difference?
The answer here is yes and no. The important thing to understand about change is that there is a cycle of reaction to the change that everyone goes through. The difference is that each individual goes through the cycle differently. There is no right or wrong way to respond and react to change. The success of change initiatives lies in management understanding this concept. People will react differently, some will get over it quickly, and others will stew for a long time. Some people spend a lot of time in the resistance phase, others move very quickly through that phase, but what is true is that everyone goes through that resistance phase at some level. So when we talk about the difference in reaction between unexpected and planned change, the similarity is that there will always be resistance, but the difference is that when there is a plan the resistance phase is greatly reduced.
Having established that, knowing that a change is imminent can shorten the resistance phase for many. It is usually the unexpectedness of the change that causes many to resist for so long. When you are comfortable in a particular situation and then it suddenly changes, the natural reaction is to resist it, fight it, and deny that it is happening, or even pretend that it is affecting you. The mice in the story represent those who are very comfortable in their situations. So much so that change is the last thing on their minds. These types of individuals will usually be the hardest hit when change is implemented because their whole dependency on "the way things are" has ...