This article was prepared for the April 23, 2003 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved. Go Fish! Winter, war, and overwork woes loom large as spring continues to play coy. The new Conference Center at Mercer is holding out relief in the form of a Fish! conference. As even those who assiduously avoid books shelved under the heading of "business inspiration" know, Fish! is a wildly successful motivation philosophy built around the frolicsome approach to work of a group of fishmongers at Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market. By injecting some circus into the business to carving up and selling fish, the fishmongers made their company famous, and inspired a series of books and lectures centered on simple lessons drawn from their approach to work. Harry Paul is a co-author of the Fish! books, which now number three with the recent addition of Fish! Sticks. He speaks at Mercer's conference, "Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results," on Thursday, April 24, at 8 a.m. The full-day event also features workshops on, among other things, "Setting the Boundaries," "Choosing Your Attitude," and "Making Their Day." Workshop leaders include Robert Rose, president, Mercer County Community College; Nunzio Cernero, assistant dean, the Center for Training and Development at Mercer County Community College; Vanessa Wilson, director of human resources, Mercer County Community College; Judith Lindenberger, principal, the Lindenberger Group; Fay Elliott Moore, principal, Fully Awake Inc.; and Primrose Reeves, customer service consultant. Price: $195. Call 609-586-4800, ext. 3856. Paul, a professional speaker associated with Nelson Motivation in San Diego, writes about the origins of the Fish! movement in an article for Executive Update. Here is an excerpt from the article: Now, fish mongering is not a glamorous job. No one wanted to grow up and become a fishmonger. But these people who work at the market love their jobs and have made it world famous. Not only because of their trademark -- throwing fish across the market and shouting out and repeating everyone's order -- but because they bring an attitude, a passion, an energy to their work that is infectious. They show us that no matter what you do you can enjoy your work and be successful as well. People from all over the world want to learn how the Pike Place "Fish Team" does it. It's about doing things differently. Lou Platt, former CEO of Hewlett Packard, said, "Whatever made you successful in the past, won't in the future." The fishmongers know this well. Once a month they get together to talk about what is working and what needs to be done differently. It's about being fast and flexible, fresh and different. They look at their culture and ask, "How can we make it better?" Their culture is what made them world famous. Theirs is a culture that allows them all to be who they are, with passion, energy, and light heartedness. Creating that culture has rewards beyond being world famous. Ten years ago, the market was striving to be no better than its competition (there are several other fish markets at Pike Place alone). With "business as usual" these people almost went out of business. That's when one of the younger fishmongers challenged them to do things differently. He challenged them to become world famous, to act like they had something special -- and to do so every day -- which caused them to become both world famous and successful. What once was a good week in sales revenue now represents a bad morning. What changed? The market is the same; ownership is the same; a lot of the employees are the same; and, obviously, everyone still sells the same types of fish. What changed was the culture. As that culture evolved, it became a philosophy and then a passion, one that allowed the fish market to thrive, not just survive. The philosophy has four parts: Choose your attitude; play; be there; and, make their day. Choose your attitude. Think about what you're doing in a different way, no matter what your work is. Are you washing windows or providing clear vision? Are you washing dishes or providing people with a germ-free environment from which to consume food? When you look at work this way, your choice of attitude is clear and simple. Choose to be magnificent. Play. It's time to loosen up. We were all told the same things growing up: Work and play are separate activities. "When you finish your homework, you can go play. When you're done with your chores, you can go play." No wonder we think work and play can't go hand-in-hand. Yes, work can be fun, no matter what you do. Be there. Being constantly present is one of the foundations of the Fish! philosophy. It's not just about paying attention, looking people in the eyes, and listening. It's about understanding your culture, your values, and your mission and how you live them on a day-to-day basis. It's about being part of the team. Being there comes from the heart and from making a difference in people's lives. Make their day. Making someone's day is about making him say "Wow! That felt good." It's about the experience people have when they do business with you. What will the customer remember about doing business with you? The Fish! philosophy starts with an attitude -- that simple choice of whether you want to make a difference and feel good about what you are doing, regardless of the job. Take yourself seriously and your work less seriously.
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