Rating: 
Summary: For major FISH! Fans only....
Review: A friend loaned me this book because she thought I might be interested in it. It didn't live up to my expectations, although it did have a few good points. There are three things I liked about this book. First, the principles, if a bit simplistic and basic, are still sound ones. Second, the authors wrote the book in a way that I wasn't lost even though I hadn't read the first book in the series. And last, some of the activities in the second half of the book might be useful for some people. I personally didn't find that there was anything new in the book that I hadn't read in other places. I got bored fairly quickly, even though it was an easy read. There are only two groups of people I'd reccommend this book to -- those who absolutely loved the first book and want to have the sequel for personal, sentimental reasons, and those who in skimming through it are intrigued by the exercises and want to do them.
Rating: 
Summary: The FISH! tank... Scaaaary!
Review: Actually, this is just a short review after my longer FISH! review, mostly because I found myself rather horrified after reading this "real world" application of FISH! Imagine working in a call center in which people would come in dressed as pigs or chickens, or godz forbid, Elvis! You have disco balls rotating overhead, and music. You try to do your job, but you're pounded relentlessly by all this corporate-engineered "fun..." Urgh! Someone hands you a plastic fish or a paper fish, and then makes you go "fishing" for prizes. Welcome to Job Hell! Run FAR FAR FAR away... This could be coming to a workplace near you. And most of us would rather just have a decent paycheck, with a challenging intellectual environment in which to work. Amazing what happens when the Blanchards and Lundins of this world get into the mix. Disaster!
Rating: 
Summary: A middle-aged , middle manager
Review: As I was looking for the next offering to read from the authors of Fish!, I was astonished--shocked, in fact-- to read the negative, cynical reviews from other readers. It made me wonder what some of these folks were doing while they were "reading," since my experience and opinion of both of the fish books is extremely positive. So, I felt compelled to share my opinion. I used to be cynical about this "touchy feely" stuff. But, I've been around long enough to have experienced a lot of the opposite--complex, "50,000-step, multi-phased initiatives" implemented by expensive consultants that ended up as dismal failures. The Fish Tales book was even better than the first because of the "real" examples. These companies actually took the simple concepts and made them work. You can't argue with their success. I know. I have had the experience of employing similar strategies and activities in the places I've worked, and the whole tone and outlook of my work teams changed for the better. You can't underestimate the power people have when they've committed to working on a few, simple things that make positive differences. Confidence builds. They get better at their jobs. And they know that they are doing something special--something worthwhile. Fish Tales shows what is possible. The beauty of it is that it tells how to reach the hearts of employees and customers. How to connect with people and accomplish great things. It doesn't always take an expensive, complex initiative. We didn't need complex initiatives for galvanizing people to do great things after Dec.7,1941, or 9/11. It took an instantaneous connection and reminder about what life is about. Fish Tales will help people feel what is truly real in life. Simply, inexpensively, enjoyably, energetically. Profitably.
Rating:
Summary: Fish Market in Jail
Review: Fish and now Fish Tales have created in me a new capcity to wonder. The sheer thought of the workplace magic described by Lundin and his co-authors about Pike Place Fish Market (where workings devote to customers their passionate, joyful energy every single day) is irresistingly intoxicating. Yet is it all true? After reading these books, I realized that even serving for 7 years in as disparate a profession as law enforcement, my partners and I saw this magic frequently in our own strange world... A sort of Fish Market in Jail. "Being there", one of the core principles in the books, left even prisoners such as a shoplifter I recall amazed and tearful that someone would actually pay full, respectful attention to him. He never quite encountered it in a restaurant or a store, so how surprised he was to find it in jail. He knew that he had done wrong and was not interested in wasting his efforts in arguing the fact... but, while in the processing center of the jail, I was simply fulfilling my professional duties of fingerprinting and photographing... and within that simple moment of time in a cramped processing cell, I was free to glimpse the magic described in these books.. our own version of tossing fish and playing with crawdads. The sense of wonder alone makes these books a must... especially when you believe it can be true in your own world.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT CATCH
Review: FISH TALES is a great follow up to FISH! I found the exercises at the end of the book most helpful in implementing the FISH! philosophy in my office. Quick, easy read with practical application that is a worthwhile addition to the company library. Easy to see why this is a best seller.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than the original - real world examples are great!
Review: FISH! TALES is a follow up book to the bestseller FISH! For many who read the first book, you will find the fundamental philosophy repeated again but it is needed because the authors have designed this book to stand alone on its own merits. If you haven't read the original you can read this book and understand the principles. I personally think that reading the original book first is best. Just my opinion. If you choose to read the original book (only 130 pages or so) you understand the basic principles of the FISH! Philosophy and what the goals are. The goals of this book are the same as the first........As the authors put it in the first book "Enclosed are the keys to creating an innovative and accountable work environment where a playful, attentive, and engaging attitude leads to more energy, enthusiasm, productivity, and creativity." Doesn't that line above ring of salesmanship? The authors are selling to senior managers the supposed benefits of their book...just something to think about... While FISH! was written in a parable (short story using fictional characters) format FISH TALES is not. This book is much different than the first and I personally enjoyed this book much more than FISH! In this book the four points to the philosophy are repeated. The four key points of the philosophy are: • Play - have fun and create energy at home or at the office.
• Make their day - how can you engage fellow employees, customers and make each other's day?
• Be Present - How can you make sure you are fully available and aware during conversations with people? It is about create a greater sense of intimacy between individuals.
• Choose Your Attitude - Each day you choose how you are going to act or which "side of the bed" you wake up on. The choice is yours and, the way you act, affects others. Where this book differs is the following:
• They provide REAL WORLD examples of how companies have implemented the FISH! Philosophy. I personally felt as though the first book was HIGHLY deficient in that sector.
• They interview senior managers who convey that they must "practice what they preach" and be committed to the program.
• They show real world examples of how employees began trusting managers and how critical it is in the whole process.
• They give you a 12-week roadmap to success. I believe this is critical to the success of implementing such a philosophy This book, like its predecessor, is a great read for the following reasons.
• It is a quick read. I read it in about 2 - 3 hours and I am a fairly slow reader.
• The book is able to illustrate one point extremely effectively. For example, in this book they show how workers attitudes can impact a setting and how many of us don't understand how our attitude impacts our work setting and quality of life.
• These are the kinds of books that employees will read (great for training programs) as they are 100-200 pages in length and easy to read so a massive investment of time and energy isn't required by employees. My concluding thoughts: I think this book does a better job than its predecessor in conveying key elements but it still never spells out the reason why most management programs fail. I really enjoyed reading the book. I think the book made some inroads from its predecessor through more illustrations and another 40 pages of writing. I still think they just need to convey a basic point to readers. That point is "If top managers don't cooperate or "practice what they preach" or understand why and how this philosophy works it goes nowhere, just like most management programs designed to attain all of the above mentioned goals of productivity, energy, etc. If you want a great book on business principles I highly encourage everyone to read "The Essential Drucker" by Peter Drucker. Jack Welch is a big Drucker fan and this book is a compilation of his best work of over 60 years and 30 books on management principles.
Rating:
Summary: Fish Tales: Leadership Examples, Leadership Philosophy
Review: For leadership in action, I recommend "Fish Tales" by Stephen C. Lundin, et al. It's the sequel to the authors' previous blockbuster, "Fish". It gives you examples of leadership in actual companies. Real life LEADERSHIP EXAMPLES are great. If you're really into this subject, I recommend that you also learn the basics of LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY by reading "West Point: Character Leadership..." by Norman Thomas Remick. It's simple-to-understand real life stories of leadership philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable read and practical advice
Review: How a little market in Seattle became the inspiration for a book on how to re-engineer your workplace environment makes a great story just by itself. This book on how you can turn your workplace from a psychological "toxic waste dump" into one that is positive, energizing, and fun, takes its inspiration from an unlikely source. The ideas here originated, not from some modern, high-tech company's Harvard-MBA-educated yuppie HR director, but from Seattle's Pike St. Fish Market. I live in the Bay Area, but I have visited Seattle many times and I'll never forget the first time I visited the market. It was my first visit to Seattle so I asked someone what I should see. I was surprised, in a city with many beautiful attractions (such as the famous Space Needle), when I was told to check out the Fish Market. I thought this was odd but off I went down to the wharf. I parked and walked over to the concourse where the market was supposed to be and walked along the walkway past all the shops. There are a lot of shops so I just kept walking along for a while. I was about to ask someone if they knew where the Fish Market was when I heard a shout and a large, silvery missile flew threw the air in front of me as the crowd laughed. I had found the fish market. The Fishmongers do this thing where they play catch in front of the store with a large, slippery fish. The fish goes sailing thru the air at high speed and thru the crowd and one of the other fishmonger's catches it and then throws it back. They call out to each other and make jokes all the while they're doing this. In other words, they're obviously having a lot of fun, and they put on a good show for the crowd. When I saw this book, I was delighted that someone had discovered that there really was something special about this Fish Market, and had written a book on their ideas on how to make a better workplace. Many high-tech companies, ironically, are anything but high-tech in terms of their workplace environment, resembling more an anti-high-tech, Luddite-inspired, medieval necropolis than any place you'd want to work at, and this book is full of practical advice on how to change that. Since we spend about 1/3 of our adult lives at work, I can't think of a better reason to listen to the sage and practical advice in this great little book.
Rating:
Summary: "Real" It In
Review: I enjoyed reading Fish, but Fish Tales is even better because it has real world success stories. While the original Fish! seemed like a business theory, Fish! Tales shows how several companies actually benefited from implementing these ideas instead of just reading about them. Fish! Tales enhances the credibility of the original book. Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life by JoAnna Carey is another great book for companies to share with employees because it offers entertaining stories and goal oriented advice about improving your workplace and your life.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed the tales
Review: I enjoyed reading Fish, but liked Fish Tales better because it had real world success stories. Being able to read about companies that actually used these ideas gives more credibility to the original book, they were more than theories then. Another book that I found helpful was Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life, it too offers real life stories and successes.
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