The full title of the book is "Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results" by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul & John Christensen and I have come close to buying the book a few times when I have been browsing in book stores.
Thanks to Business Summaries I now have the chance to comment on the content of Fish! and decide whether I want to invest my time in reading the full version of the book.
"Fish!" is another "management light" book (similar to the One Minute Manager series) that sets a powerful message in the middle of a story.
I believe this is a very effective way of communicating the key lessons to people who would be put off by a stuffy business book.
In the Fish! story Mary Jane Ramirez is a manager at First Guarantee Financial, and as a promotion takes on the task of managing the notorious third floor. It's so bad that it's known as the "Toxic Dump" thanks to the dreadful attitude and couldn't care less approach of the staff.
Essence of Fish! Lessons from unlikely sources
I encourage everyone to look and learn because I believe you can learn lessons from unlikely sources.
What do you see that's good and bad? What lessons can you take away and put into practise?
That's exactly what Mary Jane did. She was impressed with the energy and enthusiasm of the Pike Place Fish Market and made friends with one of the traders to learn why Pike Place was so different from the Toxic Dump.
While the environments are very different, this isn't a comparison between an awful job with unhappy staff and a great job with happy staff. I mean, would you want to work in a fish market?
Fish! Key lesson 1 - you can choose the attitude you take to work
Fish! makes it clear that while there may not be any control over what you do and where, you always have the choice of how you do it. With a smile or a grimace. Life is too short and we spend to much time at work to take a bad attitude in as generally, you get back what you put in.
When I was buying a make-to-order sandwich yesterday, the shop assistant didn't make eye contact or smile once. In fact she didn't even look at my face so she didn't get a warm feeling from my smile and I was disappointed with her cold attitude.
Fish! Key lesson 2 - play and have fun.
You can be serious about doing great work without taking yourself seriously
Look for ways to have fun. Happy people treat others better, time passes quickly and work becomes something to enjoy rather than to dread.
Fish! Key lesson 3 - make their day
Create great memories for your customers by finding ways to include them in the fun.
Develop a service personality committed to customer satisfaction.
By serving others well and caring about their problems, it will take our attention from our own difficulties.
Fish! Key lesson 4 - be there
Focus on the person in front of you, listen and look for opportunities to help. Put your customer first.
Conclusion on Fish! by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen
I enjoyed reading the summary of Fish! very much and I rate it a 4 Stars Business Brief.
I believe that there is plenty of benefit from reading the full version of the Fish! and plan to read it.
The next time I am looking for a light management book to read in a railway station or airport, there is a very good chance that it will be Fish! by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen.
You can buy Fish! from Amazon UK or USA
I recommend that you take a look at Business Summaries because this review shows the benefit of being able to get the essence of a book from reading a few pages of summary in 20 minutes.
Have You Read Fish!
What do you think?
I will be very interested to read your comments about Fish! and whether the ideas have helped you to improve customer service by inspiring your team.
Has the video "Top Performer" been released yet? I saw Mr. Lundin at the SHRM conference in Chicago and am waiting anxiously to purchase a copy to share with my colleagues!
Posted by: Debbie Ventura | 03 September 2008 at 08:48 PM
Yes, the Top Performer, video has been released and is available for purchase. Debbie, you can e-mail me at melissa.sebastien@gmail.com and I can see that you receive a copy. I represent Dr. Lundin and work for his company Ontend Creative Partners who produced the film.
Posted by: Melissa Sebastien | 08 September 2008 at 06:55 PM