I spent seven years in the corporate/workforce training field, and never reached lower points than my run-ins with this unfortunately popular piece of tripe. My job was to train employees in the use of extremely complex software systems &#65533; training that required deep analytical thinking by the employees. I was never more distressed than to teach a high-impact software class to a group of people who had been exposed to &#65533;Who Moved My Cheese&#65533; in the recent past by another trainer. Any company that thinks this book is useful in the training or motivation of employees epitomizes everything that is wrong with corporate education today. This book does contain a useful premise in how employees have to deal with change and competition in the workplace. However, distilling these important matters into the inane parable of mice in a maze is a device meant for grade school students. Parables are used to teach complicated topics to kids. But using a parable to teach an important but non-complex topic to freethinking adults who are smart enough to get a job at a corporation is as nonsensical as it is insulting to their intelligence. Any company that subjects their employees to this dribble (plus the dreaded &#65533;group activities&#65533; that go with it) is too concerned with weak trends and not concerned enough about encouraging independent and intelligent thought among their employees. If you work for a company that makes you read this book, consider working elsewhere because they obviously don&#65533;t think you&#65533;re very smart. 

Question: How is the message to the reader?
Answer: This book does contain a useful premise in how employees have to deal with change and competition in the workplace