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FISH!

The Big Idea

WORK MADE FUN GETS DONE!

In a reality where you may be working at a job that is not exactly ideal, here are ways to learn to love what you do, and make your workplace an energetic, enthusiastic and wonderful place to be. Through the delightful story of fictional characters Mary Jane Ramirez, a manager from First Guarantee Financial, and Lonnie, a fishmonger from Seattle’s world famous Pike Place Fish Market, this engaging parable teaches us how to transform a “toxic energy dump” (every company has one) into a workplace that adds value, productivity and profit to the company, thereby creating happier workers, employers, and customers!

Choose your attitude.

There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is no choice about the work itself.

Mary Jane and Dan had moved their family to Seattle, and had only spent less than a year in their new hometown when tragedy struck. Dan died suddenly from a burst aneurysm, forcing Mary Jane to accept a position on the dreaded third floor of First Guarantee Financial because of the salary raise and benefits it would provide her, as she was now a single parent.

The challenge was to transform the company’s toxic energy dump, a.k.a. the third floor department, into a staff that the rest of the company could work with effectively. The third floor was the butt of all company jokes, where phone calls would go unanswered, and people could be counted on to rush to the elevators at 4.30 everyday.

Pondering over the problem of the third floor, Mary Jane stumbled upon the Pike Place Fish Market one day during lunch. She immediately noticed the energy, enthusiasm, and interaction the market fishmongers and customers had. She made friends with Lonnie, who promised to help teach her staff the secrets of the success of the Fish market. The first lesson: There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is no choice about the work itself. We can choose the attitude we bring to our work.

Wisdom in a nutshell from the Pike Place Fish Market:

• Have the courage to change.
• Never fear the risk of failure. The risk of doing nothing is greater than the risk of acting.
• Each of us is an artist. Everyday we have a choice to create each day like a work of art. The reason you were born was to leave your own indelible mark on the world. Respect your creative urges. Have faith in yourself. Your choices are as authentic as you are.
• Never stop learning and growing.
• You have within yourself more resources of energy, talent, and strength than you think.
• Concrete steps to take: Call a meeting and speak from the heart, find a message that communicates choosing your attitude in a way that everyone will understand and personalize. Provide motivation, and persist with faith.

LIFE IS TOO PRECIOUS TO BE PASSING THROUGH TO RETIREMENT.

At the Pike Place Fish Market, a character named Wolf was the best example of choosing your attitude. He was once on the road to a career as a professional racecar driver when he had a serious accident. He wallowed in self-pity for a while, but when his girlfriend left him and friends stopped calling, he realized he had an important choice to make. He could choose to live fully, or he could let life slip away in a series of missed opportunities. Wolf’s story shows us how we can choose our attitude everyday and choose it well.

Play!

Create an adult playground and have fun. You can be serious about your work without taking yourself too seriously.

Mary Jane learned this important ingredient when she brought her two kids to the Pike market. In Lonnie’s words, here is the essence of the idea: ”This is a real business which is run to make a profit. This business pays a lot of salaries, and we take the business seriously, but we discovered we could be serious about business and still have fun with the way we conducted business. We sell a lot of fish. We have low turnover. We enjoy work that can be very tedious. We have become great friends, like the players on a winning team. We have a lot of pride in what we do and the way we do it. And we have become world famous.”

Make someone’s day.

Create great memories. The playful way we do our work allows us to find creative ways to engage our customers. Find ways to respectfully include them in the fun.

Mary Jane observed this in the way customers had fun catching fish thrown by the fishmongers, in the way her son Brad was allowed to help out in the fish storage, doing ‘big guy’ stuff. Customers like being part of the show.

Be present.

Focus on the customer in front of you and be tuned in to opportunities to be there for people. This helps in your personal life too!

How many times have you been kept waiting at a store counter for someone to attend to you, while the clerk finished his phone call or conversation with another salesperson? Being present for your customers says it all. Be alert. Pay attention. Stop daydreaming on the job.

In your family life, how many times have you passed up an opportunity to take your daughter to the park because you were too busy?

Mary Jane realized it wouldn’t work to simply tell her staff about the Pike market, they had to see it for themselves.

FIND WAYS TO LET YOUR STAFF DISCOVER THE FISH PHILOSOPHY FOR THEMSELVES.

After a field trip to the market at lunch, the staff was assigned to think about the four key ingredients she outlined. How would they translate it to their third floor department? How could they create more fun and energy? How could they engage customers in ways that make their day? What can the fishmongers teach us about being present for each other and our customers?

THINGS WON’T GET BETTER UNTIL WE CHOOSE TO MAKE THINGS BETTER.

The third floor then flew into action. Four teams would make presentations on each of the key ingredients. Each presentation was to have action items for implementation, and teams would be responsible for setting and facilitating their own meetings. . . . . .