When Fish Fly : Lessons for Creating a Vital and Energized Workplace from the World Famous PikePlace Fish Market

Rating:
Summary: Fishing for Success? Give this Book a Read!
Review: "When Fish Fly" is a fast read with substance.

The title comes from the practice of the "fishmongers" (workers) of Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, who are 'world famous' for tossing the customer's fish purchase great distances and putting on a show to the delight of thousands of visitors.

Several years ago I read the book "Fish!" by Stephen C. Lundin, et. al., a business parable grounded in the story of lessons learned at the Pike Place Fish Market. "When Fish Fly" is written by the owner of the business and the organizational coach who has worked with the business for many years. The book provides some fascinating background on how the market became the shining example it is today. Further, the authors lay out eight key principles at the foundation of their success:

1. Creating a vision of power and possibility as a team.
2. Enrolling and formalizing individual commitment and team alignment to the vision.
3. Helping team members distinguish between the state of being and the state of doing. (A call to BE the vision in the moment, whatever it takes.)
4. Having leadership redefine themselves as effective agents of change.
5. Assisting team members in letting go of internal and external conversations that rob them of their personalpower.
6. Guiding team members to listen to make a difference instead of listening to defend or blame.
7. Helping the crew live their commitment to one another through effective coaching. (Everybody coaches everbody else and is open to receiving coaching from everybody else.)
8. Assisting crew members as they turn snags into breakthroughs.

Most of all, the book reveals the power of alignment to a vision, and provides some strategies any organization can take if it is interested in a vision that includes making money and also making a difference in the lives of its workers and customers.

The book lacks a hard edge for readers who insist 'it's a jungle out there.' As author Og Mandino put it one time, if it's a jungle out there, it's because we have made it so. "When Fish Fly" provides an alternative approach.

Persons who have read the book "FISH!" or who have seen the instructional video will still gain a great deal from this book, but it stands just fine by itself as well. Both business and non-profit organizations will benefit from its brevity, inspiration, and strategies.




Rating:
Summary: Customer service & employee morale
Review: Customer service and employee morale are the two main messages from this interesting audio book. Yokoyama explains in his own words how he turned around a struggling Seattle fish market and developed loyalty from his employees, helping them develop vision and commitment. Having never had a full-time employee leave within the past five years, Yokoyama offers advice for encouraging passion in employees, teaching them to overcome the daily frustrations and setbacks that are part of the job. The audio describes how crowds gather daily to see the crew throwing fish and interacting with customers, and also to purchase some of the freshest fish in the country. Yokoyama's attitudes were shaped partly from his childhood experience of being impris-oned in World War II Japanese-American internment camp.

Rating:
Summary: The original is the best
Review: This book cannot be appreciated by those who have not read the original Fish!. Though this book is directly from John Yokoyama, the owner of the world famous Pike Place Fish, it lacks the kind of inspirational and personal touch that made the Fish! philosophy so famous. At best it appears to be a nice opportunity to hear the story of the great place from the owner himself but there is much room for improving the sequencing of topics, the narrative style and in bringing out the true excitement of the place. It appears at many places that too much importance is given to employees' conformity to the vision of becoming world famous and the business is run as a proprietary concern, enforcing the views of the owner on most occasions.

One incident in the book that really moved me - Two fish mongers who fly to Minneapolis to entertain a child who is in hospital diagnosed with leukemia. One of the fish mongers himself had undergone treatment for a tumor and his empathy for this little girl and his own emotions are the at the core of the Fish! philosophy.

The contribution of Jim Bergquist, the consultant who was instrumental in bringing about the transformation at Pike Place Fish is acknowledged, but not fully elaborated.

This book may not fly off the book stands like Fish!.