July 2007

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article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business'  on 4 July 2007</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Something's fishy here</B></div> <bR> <div> I know a business leader who has been inspired by a place, its story and the worldwide impact this story has had on countless business managers. His problem has been in trying to find the right style to use when communicating to his colleagues the simple, yet powerful lessons the story tells. He's come up against one of the challenges I'm sometimes frustrated with - translating American into English.</div> <bR> <div> The story I'm referring to is that of the Pike Place Fish market in Seattle, Washington. It was immortalised on film by John Christiansen, who now heads a highly successful corporate learning business. His film, simply entitled `Fish!', caught the imagination of a couple of other consultancy types, and a global business was born that now, via seminars, books and multi-media, takes the Fish! message to millions.</div> <bR> <div> Working in a fish market on a Seattle quayside probably isn't most people's idea of fun, but the owner, Johnny Yokoyama, and his zany fellow fishmongers decided it would make their lives, and those of their customers, a lot more rewarding if it could be made more fun. So they started changing the way in which they performed their work. They ended up changing it so much that the market became a tourist attraction, drawing crowds of visitors to the city as well as workers from nearby office buildings. Laughter fills the air as Pike Place Fish workers send a whole salmon flying to the guy manning the scales, juggle crabs, make a large fish move its mouth as if talking - to the delight of a small boy - and walk around inviting any questions about fish. Energy and noise predominate, observers have a great time and a lot of fish gets sold.</div> <bR> <div> Christiansen and his colleagues recognised in the Pike Place Fish market story four fundamental lessons for anyone in business. It was the acceptance of these that empowered the Seattle fishmongers with the means of giving fantastic customer service whilst having a great time doing it. What they learned is:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Choose your attitude: there is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is a not a choice about the work itself.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Play: it's possible to be serious about business and still have fun with the way you conduct that business.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Make their day: great customer service can be achieved by engaging people and welcoming them to join the fun.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Be present: be fully engaged in your work, in your conversations with both colleagues and customers.</div> <bR> <div> The businessman I mentioned at the start of this column has encountered the `it's too American, too gung ho, too naff' attitude of many British business people when it comes to management and organisational improvement ideas. Yes, the Fish! video and books are very American in style, but if you simply look for the message and ignore the vernacular, they contain valuable lessons for anyone interested in achieving more in their business lives. Why not go fishing? You might actually enjoy it!</div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>