Fish!

[cheshrcarol]

Where I work, we have been reading these books on the FISH philosophy to improve our work environment and our relations with customers (internal and external). The philosophy is based on observations of Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market, and has 4 principles:

1 - Choose your attitude
2 - Be there
3 - Make their day
4 - Play

It's obvious from reading the threads that most people out there are really unhappy with their jobs and I wanted to share these ideas in case they might help. The books talk about the same stuff we all go through - boring work that drags you down, people are horrible work with, etc. But they assert that by working to change yourself and your attitude, you can change the environment around you.

http://www.fishphilosophy.com

[paperjam1015]

Thanks...we needed a ltittle of that today.

:)

[monika]

hi carol !

has it worked for you and your colleagues to read the book and to life that way in your job ?!?

cheers m

[paperjam1015]

Our cheap ass admins read the book, bought some big ole stuffed fish and tossed them around at a meeting.... but didn't tell us what the book was about..... yeah having a 4 ft fish hurled at your head is really inspiring...:confused:

[monika]

now it sounds funny but that situation was a bit strange or ?!? ;-)
and if it works - it's great ...
maybe I must try it also ...

[cheshrcarol]

has it worked for you and your colleagues to read the book and to life that way in your job ?!?
Actually, things are starting to get pretty crazy around here, but in a good way. My department (Account Services) is starting "fish" in full swing today. We will be concentrating on practicing 1 principal a month for the next 4 months. Each team in my department is doing the principals in a different order. My team is starting with Play.

I came up with the idea that we should play a game, so we have turned our office into a giant board game. We also created this huge 2ft. spinner (kind of a cross between wheel of fortune and price is right) that we spin each day that tells us how far we can move. Along the game are things that we need to keep in mind for our daily work, so different squares say things like "You updated your due dates, move ahead 2" or "Your meeting ended on time, move ahead 1". We also get to spin the wheel an extra turn if we receive a compliment from one of our customers or from someone internally.

It's been great being able to take the time to really use our creativity to design the board, create the rules and make the spinner. The funniest part is that we've had members of upper-level management playing with the spinner and yelling Big Money! Big Money! No Whammie!

All of the other teams have decorated their offices too, you can't walk around without running into fish. There are fish hanging from the ceiling, a huge mural fish tank made with cellophane, and a fishing pond game on the floor.

But as for it really making a difference - I think it's starting too. We do usually have fun around here (at least my team) but everyone else is starting to also. And hopefully along with having fun, we'll start to improve how we work with our customers and how we interact with other departments.

[Sunflower]

I had to watch that fish video for my last three jobs. One of the jobs was for a crystal department of a major department store. I liked the concept, but I was pretty sure they didn't want me throwing around the crystal. But I guess I found other ways to "play".

:p

[Layback]

I like the idea of reading a book for personal gain, but having a corporation stuff that stuff down your throat is called brainwashing. If it's working for you Cheshcarol, then that is great, but it would piss me off if my emplyer told me to read a book and adopt it's philosphy. In any case, I hope that it makes your job more fun and enjoyable. We could all use some more of that.

Maybe I am just pissed because I have to pick a cartoon character that best represents me at work for teambuilding purposes. How about fucking Dilbert you pencil-headed dicks? I'm pretty sure that if I do enough research I can find one of his cartoons to support this. LOL

[cheshrcarol]

Well, I can understand being annoyed at having to pick out a cartoon character, that does seem kind of non-productive. But we're not being forced to do anything.

We had a big meeting to watch the movie after we read the books, and the first thing they said, and most important, is that no one can force you to follow this philosophy. We actually have one team that decided they don't like fish so they are using dogs. Which, to be honest seems kind of random and I don't really get it, but the point is that no one's forcing us to do anything.

I actually like that our managment brought this to us as a way to make our workplace a better place to be. Also, what I like about this philosophy is it's about making things better by starting with yourself. There's too much stuff that goes on at work that we can't control. But what we can control is how we react to it.

For each of the 4 principles no one can tell you how you should do each one of them, or like I said, that you have to do each one. You can choose your attitude to be helpful, energetic or cheerful, or you can choose to be annoyed, resentful, or grouchy. If you don't want to play at work, then don't, don't enjoy what you do. If you don't want to make someone's day by helping them out, cheering them up, or making their job easier, then don't. And if you don't want to be there and be present for what you do, then don't pay attention and don't be available to do your job.

It's not about brainwashing, it's about making choices about how we want to be at work. No one can force you to live by this philosophy if you really don't want to.

[paperjam1015]

How about fucking Dilbert you pencil-headed dicks?


Ummm no thanks... I'd prefer not to.