Pros: Motivational tips presented in parable teach you to love whatever it is you do.
Cons: Pricey for the content; parable is sweeter than sugar-encrusted marzipan dipped in honey.
The Bottom Line: Borrow it from the library or wait for the paperback version; while Fish! contains worthwhile motivational tools, the price is not justified.
lynnzop's Full Review: Stephen C. Lundin Ph.D., Harry Paul, John Christen...
Once upon a time, there was a successful Ph.D. who co-wrote a successful little book that went outside the box in describing successful management principles. The successful little book didn’t use dull, boring textbook talk to get its point across; it told a simple parable and integrated easy, common sense tips in the story. The successful little book spawned a whole slew of other successful little books, a multi-million dollar corporation, and leadership seminars galore.
The One Minute Manager(hereto referred to as “OMM” - that successful little book co-authored by Ken Blanchard, Ph.D. and Spencer Johnson), was the forerunner of a great number of “successful little books” such as The Precious Present and Who Moved My Cheese; books that told a simple story while attempting to teach an important lesson.
Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results, swims in the same sea as OMM, and is co-authored by Blanchard cohort Harry Paul. The twist of Fish! is that there is a real business that the book’s theories are based on: Seattle’s “World Famous” Pike Place Fish Market (www.pikeplacefish.com.) The message contained within Fish! deals with motivation – how to motivate employees to perform at their peak, even when performing mundane, boring, or distasteful tasks.
Hook
Like OMM and it’s other rip-offs (oops, I mean SPIN-OFFS), there’s a little Fish! story that tells the tale in parable form. Enter Mary Jane, the new supervisor of third floor operations at First Guarantee Financial. No one at FGF wants to deal with third floor; senior management (in it’s infinite ability to speak ever so tactfully) calls it the “toxic waste dump” because of stinky attitude and low productivity.
One day, five weeks into her job, Mary Jane is told to fix the problem on third floor. It’s one of those lovely Kodak moments where your boss says: “If you can’t fix it, I’ll find someone who can…is it done yet?”
Magically, she wanders into the Pike Place Fish Market one lunch hour and discovers a world of energy and fun combined with a thriving business. Befriending one of the fish guys, she takes the market’s philosophy back to her employees, and transforms the third floor to…well now, that would be giving away the ending, wouldn’t it?
Line
It’s a business self help book. Don’t click on the back arrow on your browser quite yet, though. Like many other “business” self help books, the basic tale that Fish! conveys can be incorporated into most facets of life. Here’s a secret – it’s all about motivation and how to make even the most boring, humdrum, un-fun task (or job) seem like the best time of your life. After all, if the guys working up to their ankles in fish guts, fish blood, fish scales, and fish stink can have a good time, why can’t you?
Four Principles
Choose your attitude. Here’s your choice: (Picture smiley, bored and frowning faces because the epinions editor won't let me do paste them in here.) No one but you can tell you how to feel today. Don’t allow someone else to influence your choice. When someone flips you off, give them a smile back and don’t let them ruin your day.
Play. Have fun, energize your workforce. The tale describes workers at the fish market tossing fish through the air, singing, and having a great time while they work. In most professions, there is ample opportunity to play while you are accomplishing your tasks. (Okay, so the fish guys make puppets out of the dead fish and make them talk; this probably would not be appropriate if you were, say, a mortici…ahhh, on second thought, let’s not go there.)
Make their day. “Their” being your customers. Include them in your play and attitude! Ever been to a shop where the clerks are having a good old time yakking and laughing and you felt like you were interrupting their fun? Fish! encourages the inclusion of customers – the fish guys not only throw the fish to each other in the shop, but also lets customers play catch too.
Be present. Not rocket science – give your customer, co-worker, boss, spouse, child, whomever your undivided attention. For example, reading emails while talking on the phone to your co-worker is not being present.
Sinker
A plus of Fish! is that it’s short – only 112 pages including the Foreword, Acknowledgements, and Other Resources. It’s also quite easy to read, taking only about an hour or so to get through. The story is somewhat engaging (although totally predictable) and moves quickly to keep the reader’s attention. Key points that Mary Jane takes note of are bolded larger type or otherwise emphasized, anticipating that readers will “read” the book once, and then flip through looking for the more significant tips in subsequent readings.
While the story supports the premise, it’s a little too cutesy for my tastes. Mary Jane’s boss is described as an SOB, but she gets away with handing him a bag with a stinky fish head in it on the elevator at work. Unlike a piece of fish, life doesn’t always get wrapped up as tidily as this book does. I am definitely one of those who will read the story once, and will only skim the book for pertinent information in the future.
At $19.95 suggested retail (US), Fish! seems to be contributing a little more than it’s fair share to the authors’ retirement fund. My recommendation is to borrow it from your local library, take notes and make flashcards or posters that reflect the key concepts. You could wait until the paperback edition is issued (no date as of yet), but by then there will probably be newer motivational tools that are in vogue.
Last call, the concepts behind Fish! are not fishy; in fact, they don’t stink at all. I do recommend the book, but with the caveat that I think it’s too pricey for the content. (Then again, I could just be stringing you along.)
In this engrossing parable, a fictional manager is charged with the responsibility of turning a chronically unenthusiastic and unhelpful department in...More at HotBookSale
An inspirational business parable in the tradition of the 9,000,000 copy One Minute Manager and Raving Fans, which has sold more than 400,000 hardcove...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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