Patrick Spencer Johnson (November 24, 1938 – July 3, 2017) was an American physician and author. He was known for the ValueTales series of children's books, and for his 1998

self-help book A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. The books take their name from ''Self-Help'', an 1859 best-seller by Samuel Smiles, but are also known and classified under "self-im ...

Who Moved My Cheese? ''Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life'', published on September 8, 1998, is a bestselling seminal work and motivational business fable by Spencer Johnson. The text describes the way one reacts to ...

'', which recurred on the ''New York Times'' Bestseller list, on the ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

Hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

nonfiction list. Johnson was the chairman of Spencer Johnson Partners.

Biography

Spencer Johnson was born in

Watertown, South Dakota Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. Watertown is home to the Redlin Art Center which houses many of the original art works produced by Terry Redlin, one of America's most popular wildlife ar ...

, graduated from Notre Dame High School of

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in 1957, received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in psychology from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in 1963, and his

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

from the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...

. Johnson lived in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. He was employed by the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

and the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. He died in San Diego on July 3, 2017 at the age of 78.

Notable works

Johnson wrote the book ''"Yes" or "No": The Guide to Better Decisions'' (1992). He co-authored the ''

One Minute Manager ''The One Minute Manager'' is a short book by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. The brief volume tells a story, recounting three techniques of an effective manager: one minute goals, one minute praisings, and one minute reprimands. Each of thes ...

'' series of books with management writer

Ken Blanchard Kenneth Hartley Blanchard (born May 6, 1939) is an American author, business consultant and motivational speaker. His writing career includes 60+ published books, most of which are co-authored books. His most successful book, ''The One Minute Man ...

, though each author has added their own books to the series. Johnson's last book, ''Out of the Maze'', is a sequel to ''Who Moved My Cheese'' that references Johnson's struggle with cancer (which ultimately ended with his death in 2017) and was published posthumously in 2018. Johnson's books have been translated into twenty-six languages.

Bibliography

* ''The ValueTale of

Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845), sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the tr ...

: the value of kindness'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1975) * ''The ValueTale of the Wright brothers: the value of patience'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1975) * ''The Valuetale of

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

: the value of believing in yourself'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1975) * ''The value of believing in yourself: the story of Louis Pasteur'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1976) * ''The value of patience: the story of the Wright brothers'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1976) * ''The value of humor: the story of

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1976) * ''The value of kindness: the story of Elizabeth Fry'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1976) * ''The value of imagination: the story of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1977) * ''The value of courage: the story of

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1977) * ''The value of curiosity: the story of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1977) * ''The value of saving: the story of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1978) * ''The value of sharing: the story of the

Mayo brothers The Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, e ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1978) * ''The value of understanding: the story of

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Co ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1979) * ''The value of dedication: the story of

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1979) * ''The value of fairness: the tale of

Nellie Bly Elizabeth Cochran Seaman (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran; May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist, industrialist, inventor, and charity worker who was widely known for her record-breaki ...

'' (with Ann Donegan Johnson, Emerson Johnson and Steve Pileggi) (Orem, Utah: ValueTales Publishing, 2007) * ''The value of fantasy: the story of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1979) * ''The value of honesty: the story of

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

'' (La Jolla, California: Value Communications, 1979) * ''

The One Minute Manager ''The One Minute Manager'' is a short book by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. The brief volume tells a story, recounting three techniques of an effective manager: one minute goals, one minute praisings, and one minute reprimands. Each of thes ...

''(with Ken Blanchard,

William Morrow & Co William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation (now News Corp) in 1999. The c ...

, 1982) * ''The One Minute Father: the quickest way for you to help your children learn to like themselves and want to behave themselves'' (New York: W. Morrow, 1983) * ''The One Minute Mother: the quickest way for you to help your children learn to like themselves and want to behave themselves'' (New York: Morrow, 1983) * ''The Precious Present'' (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1984) * ''The One Minute $ales Person: The Quickest Way to Sell People on Yourself, Your Services, Products, or Ideas--at Work and in Life'' (New York: W. Morrow, 1984) * ''One Minute for Myself'' (New York: W. Morrow, 1985) etitled ''One Minute for Yourself''* ''The One Minute Teacher: How to Teach Others to Teach Themselves'' (with Constance Johnson) (New York: W. Morrow, 1986) * ''"Yes" or "No": The Guide to Better Decisions'' (New York, NY:

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

Publishers, 1992) * ''Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life'' (New York, Putnam, 1998) * ''The Cheese Experience: an amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life ... presenters handbook to direct people through the maze'' (with Spencer Johnson Company. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Spencer Johnson Co., 1999) * ''An A-mazing Change Profile: discovering who you are and how you can enjoy more success with less stress in changing times'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Spencer Johnson Co., 2000) * ''Paradoxical Commandments: finding personal meaning in a crazy world'' (with Kent M. Keith) (London:

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

, 2002) * ''Who Moved My Cheese? For Teens: an a-mazing way to change and win!'' (New York:

G.P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and ...

, 2002) * '' The Present: The Secret to Enjoying Your Work And Life, Now!'' (New York, Doubleday, 2003) * ''The Value of Learning: the tale of

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

'' (with Ann Donegan Johnson) (Orem, Utah: Candle Publishing, 2007) * ''The Value of Friendship: the tale of

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...

'' (with Ann Donegan Johnson) (Orem, Utah: Candle Publishing, 2007) * ''The Value of Helping: the tale of

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, us ...

'' (with Ann Donegan Johnson) (Orem, Utah: Candle Publishing, 2007) * ''The Value of Respect: the tale of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

'' (with Ann Donegan Johnson) (Orem, Utah: Candle Publishing, 2007) * ''Peaks and Valleys: Making Good And Bad Times Work For You--At Work And In Life'' (New York: Atria Books, 2009)

References

External links

whomovedmycheese.com
- Johnson's main website {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Spencer (Writer) 1938 births 2017 deaths American self-help writers American motivational writers People from Mitchell, South Dakota University of Southern California alumni Writers from South Dakota Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Biography

Notable works

See also

Bibliography

References

External links