FISH!: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

The original edition of "FISH!" sold more than five million copies in 35 languages and spawned a host of other training resources. In this new version, the authors include a list of lessons learned from people who've successfully applied the FISH! approach, plus four real-life case studies. The story that forms the backbone of the book remains unchanged.

So, who's this book for? Well, "FISH!" is a must-read for any leader or manager. Whether you're in charge of a small team or an entire organization, its timeless advice will help you to keep your staff motivated and productive, or give you ideas on how to turn around a lackluster department. But its tips are just as relevant on the sports field and in the home.

Bear in mind that this is a business parable, in the style of "The One Minute Manager," by Ken Blanchard, who writes the foreword of this new edition. If you're not a fan of parables, you won't enjoy this book. We also think some readers will find its style and tone somewhat cheesy and naive. But "FISH!" is such a quick read, at just over 100 pages, that you've got little to lose and could learn something new.

Three U.S. authors collaborated on this book. Stephen Lundin is a filmmaker, graduate business school professor, and speaker, who's taken the FISH! approach to organizations around the world. Harry Paul is an international speaker, consultant and advisor to organizations on employee motivation, engagement, and how to create high-performing teams. John Christensen is the creator of The FISH! Philosophy, which underpins this book and the best-selling corporate training videos of the same name. He's an award-winning filmmaker and the CEO of ChartHouse Learning Corporation, a leading producer of corporate learning films.

So, keep listening to hear the four practices that could reenergize your team, why employees must take ownership of change, and how a playful attitude can bring new enthusiasm to even the most challenging of jobs.

As you heard earlier, "FISH!" is written as a business parable. It tells the story of new manager, Mary Jane Ramirez, as she tries to bring energy and passion to an unmotivated third-floor department at a financial services company, called First Guarantee Financial. It's a work of fiction, but it's not entirely made up. Mary Jane discovers how to change her office culture after spending time at the Pike Place Fish Market, an actual open-air market in Seattle, known for its engaging fishmongers and fun ambience.

Mary Jane is a believable character with a credible backstory – she's a single mum of two whose husband died suddenly after a burst aneurysm. She's struggling to make ends meet and needs job security. Her professional challenge is also something many managers can relate to. She's been put in charge of an underperforming department where morale is so low that the rest of the organization has dubbed it a "toxic energy dump." Her bully of a boss has tasked her with turning the situation around – and fast.

Five weeks in, Mary Jane is flailing. On a lunch break, she heads into Pike Place and is surprised to find a hubbub, as enthusiastic fishmongers put on a spectacle for their customers – think fish flying through the air, jokes, laughter, and noisy chat. Here's a group of people whose work is repetitive, exhausting and cold, but who've found a way to do it with passion. What's their secret?

The answer to that question forms the core of the book. Friendly fishmonger Lonnie takes Mary Jane under his wing, and shares four practices that make Seattle's fish market a fantastic – and world-renowned – place to work.

The four practices are: Choose Your Attitude, which is about deciding you're going to have a great day; Play, which is about finding ways to have fun at work; Make Their Day, which explores how to fully engage external and internal customers so they feel special; and Be There, which is about being present in all interactions and looking out for team members and customers.

As you've heard, this book's message is simple. But is it too simplistic, and can it make a difference? The key is in the implementation of the lessons.

The authors follow Mary Jane as she tries to introduce the practices to her third-floor colleagues. Her journey offers some key messages for managers who are trying to onboard new policies or change unhealthy cultures.

When it comes to choosing your attitude, Mary Jane realizes this has to start with her. She can't expect something of her team that she's not able to embrace herself. She accepts that she's allowed the morale of her department to drag her down, she's lost her confidence since her husband died, and she's scared of taking a risk and losing her job. But she decides she no longer wants to work in an energy-sapping place. She also believes tackling this challenge will help renew her self-confidence.

Mary Jane calls a meeting with her department and speaks from the heart. She shares some of her personal struggles since her husband died, tells her team about the "toxic energy dump" label, and explains it's vital they change in order to keep the job security they cherish.

She also finds a way to communicate the idea of choosing your attitude in a way that everyone can understand. She likens it to how we can choose our response when someone cuts us off in traffic. We either rage and retaliate, or we choose to let it go.

Only a few employees grumble when Mary Jane suggests they bring more energy and passion to their jobs – and she quickly wins them over. Some readers might find this hard to believe. Organizations are complex, and cultures rarely change overnight. But the message that choosing your attitude can make a difference is hard to argue with. And the notion that leaders must walk the walk, not just talk the talk, is an important one.

Another good lesson we take away from Mary Jane's management style is the importance of allowing employees to experience things for themselves, rather than talking at them in abstract terms from the front of a room.

Mary Jane takes the third floor down to the fish market, in groups, so they can feel the energy, hear the noise, and, in the case of one employee, try to catch a fish. It doesn't take them long to grasp the concept of Play.

Now, if you're a manager reading "FISH!," you might think you don't have the budget or time for away-days. But the story of the visit to the fish market helps us to think creatively about how to bring more fun into the workplace.

Let's now look at the Make Their Day maxim, and explore how Mary Jane convinces her department to prioritize customer satisfaction. Good managers know that employees are more likely to embrace new working practices if they've helped to develop ideas rather than had change imposed on them from above.

Mary Jane knows this too, and she gives her department free rein to come up with suggestions for implementing the Make Their Day idea, as well as the three other practices. She splits them into four groups – one for each maxim – and she gives them a six-week deadline to come up with a presentation and action steps.

She gives each team a $200 budget and allocates them two hours of work time each week for team business. She also gives them autonomy and the responsibility to solve any problems they face.

Again, some managers may not be able to spare the resources, but the principle of charging staff members with finding solutions to their department's problems is a sound one.

The team charged with exploring the Make Their Day maxim began by surveying people across the organization who interacted with the third floor. The results confirmed the department's terrible image. The survey showed that the "toxic energy dump" was just one negative label – staff were also called "sleepwalkers," because they seemed sedated. They arrived late, clocked off early, and didn't like to be interrupted. Management had even begun exploring the option of bringing in outside contractors to do their work.

The team was shocked, but ultimately determined to change how they were seen. They also understood they had to change if they wanted to keep their jobs.

Here are a few of the steps they identified: they'd stagger their hours so the department provided cover from 7:00am until 6:00pm; they'd introduce monthly and annual awards for service, based on recommendations from colleagues in other departments; and they'd appoint a special task force with the job of surprising and delighting their internal customers.

We like the sense of team ownership and engagement that really comes across in the story, as well as the ideas the team delivers, which can be applied to other organizations.

Let's now take a look at one of the four case studies, which are new to this edition of the book.

Blue Care is a hugely respected nursing care organization in Queensland, Australia, delivering care to senior citizens, people with disabilities, and others in need across the state. "FISH!" author Steve Lundin has trained many Blue Care staff members, and the organization has embraced the FISH! approach. The case study focuses on the practice of Play, and how playing with new ideas to improve care has made a big difference.

As part of a 12-week pilot program, several of Blue Care's residential care homes brought in performers from a group called Play Up, to help patients with dementia. The actors used balloons, musical instruments, and games to engage the patients. Their approach was gentle, but playful. Lundin saw how the performers brought the patients to life, to differing degrees, of course. Some began singing or dancing. Others were slower to respond, but there was an overall energy shift.

After the pilot program, mood surveys of 50 residents showed they felt happier after each session of Play Up. Thirty-six percent of residents with a history of falling had fewer falls, while the use of antipsychotic medication at one of Blue Care's largest facilities markedly decreased. There were also anecdotal accounts of positive shifts in residents' behavior.

Staff surveyed said Play Up had significantly increased their confidence to communicate, build relationships, and engage in fun, playful activities with patients. It was as if they'd been given license to play – something they'd forgotten. They reported their workplace had a more positive atmosphere after Play Up and they were more enthusiastic about their work.

This is a heartwarming case study and the experience of the staff is especially relevant to organizations whose employees do challenging emotional work.

But we'd have liked to read a detailed case study from the corporate sector, given the global success of this book and the authors' experience delivering the FISH! approach to organizations around the world. The other case studies are of a school district, a cancer survivor, and a bookstore attendant who was unhelpful and rude to a shopper. Why not include a case study from a company like the fictional First Guarantee Financial, that's incorporated the four practices with great results? This would add credibility to the book.

The list of lessons from real-world managers who've used this approach is also light on substance. It includes maxims like "Lead by example," and "Your words create your world," which are far from groundbreaking.

In summary, "FISH!" has some real strengths and some obvious weaknesses. The simplicity of its message is powerful, its advice is timeless, and its tools are applicable to many walks of life. It's an easy read and the protagonist is a believable character who embodies good management practices.

There's some great storytelling in this book, notably the scenes at Pike Place Fish Market. The authors' descriptions bring the market to life, with its odors, colors, noise, and frenetic activity.

In other places, the storytelling is wanting. The speed with which Mary Jane's department accepts and then implements the four practices isn't credible. We're not given enough detail of how the department has changed, or if the change is deep-rooted and going to last.

To stretch the credibility further, fishmonger Lonnie proposes to Mary Jane toward the close of the book and she immediately accepts. Some readers will love this Hollywood-style happy ending. Others will loathe it.

The unfortunate result is a sense that the authors are living in a sugar-coated reality and are out of touch with the challenges faced by complicated organizations and their people, which we're pretty sure they're not. Some meaty corporate case studies would have helped to counter this impression.

That said, "FISH!" offers some important takeaways on management style, authentic leadership, ownership of change initiatives, teamwork, straightforward communication, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction – and it's an engaging story. So we think it's definitely worth a read.

"FISH!" by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen is published by Hodder.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.