A Fish Story Worth Repeating

By Jeff Scherer, Associate Partner, Callbutton LLC — I was fortunate to have the opportunity this past week to visit the famous Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. You may be familiar with the “Fish Philosophy” that has been the focus of many books, videos, and articles. This place is where it started. The philosophy extols the benefits and importance of having FUN at work, but really goes far beyond that. It examines the impact of what instilling a positive culture can do to revolutionize the lives of the employees, not just their business.

I had read the first “Fish” book about 10 years ago and read it again after my visit. Ken Blanchard (co-author of The One Minute Manager, Raving Fans, Gung Ho!) writes in the forward that we spend about 75% of our adult wake time doing work-related activities. He says that we ought to enjoy and be energized by our work, and that “too many people trade time on the job to satisfy needs elsewhere,” and that TGIF “is still a way of life for many people.” Again, this book was first published in 2000 and certainly business has changed since then. Or has it really?

As a retailer in the boat business, weekends are often the most important days of the week for making sales because it’s when we get to talk to people in person, vs. on the phone or the keyboard. I wonder how many salespeople look at Saturdays this way. I bet that many dread Saturdays as the longest work day of the week, and perhaps bring some semblance of Friday night’s activities along with them when they come in the morning after.

The Fish Philosophy states that ideally we all want to do the work we love, but emphasizes the importance of loving the work we do. I would guess that there is no one reading this that in some way has not been impacted by downsizing, reorganization, supply-chain changes, alterations in floor planning, etc., etc. Sure, many things have changed in the marine business over the past four years or so, and as a result you probably have less people, more responsibility, and a heap of more challenges too long to list here. These things have probably affected the way you do business today. But they are all elements on the business side. To the consumer, boating is still FUN!! Ask yourself (and your staff) the question: Is being in the boat business is still FUN? If the answer is anything but “yes,” I suggest that you might benefit from exploring the Fish Philosophy materials.

Customers are still excited about boating. You need to make sure that you are too!