The Future is FISH! Four Steps to Success

Advice 2009-12-03 12:16

David Blackman advocates the FISH! philosophy that says making work more fun can lead to better results, such as

This year has been challenging for many companies, especially those in the channel. The news has been full of stories of resellers, VARs and vendors battling to beat the economic crunch, yet still trying to make money on increasingly tight margins.

Constantly chasing success in such a difficult, negative environment can be tiring and demoralising, especially as simply working harder doesn’t necessarily always bring better results.

Is FISH the answer?

As a general manager at a large storage software company, I have spent a lot of time learning how to build and motivate my team for both personal and commercial success. It was while researching this area that I came across a philosophy written in a management book called FISH! by Stephen Lundin (ISBN: 0340819804). It’s a theory that is relevant to every organisation, whether large or small, national or international....

The idea is that making work more fun and rewarding can lead to better results whether it’s increased revenue, improved customer relationships or better staff efficiencies. Although it’s a somewhat ‘out there’ approach, the story of a remarkable group of fishmongers from the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle is too compelling to ignore.

FISH! Consists of four principles: Play; Make their Day; Be There; and Choose Your Attitude. By applying these principles the workers at the Pike Place Fish Market were able to transform their mundane working environment into a highly successful and enjoyable place for both themselves and their customers. The book explains the whole process, but if you’re short on time there is a video on YouTube that perfectly captures the energy and spirit that is FISH!

To the sceptic, it seems unlikely that these four simple steps can lead so easily to a richer and rewarding life but the logic of choosing your attitude , whether it’s for work or play, is electrifying.

Taking this approach and applying it to your business life is more about changing your attitude than implementing huge programmes of change. But since most of us spend the majority of our life in a working environment, adding an element of play makes work more enjoyable for everyone and the resulting positive, happy atmosphere rubs off on customers, partners and suppliers. Sadly very few leaders seem willing to link happy, inspired workforce to a productive, successful organisation. Perhaps a case of too much stick, and not enough carrot?

On the next page we look a bit deeper at the four principles: