Stephen C. Lundin - Fish! Tales: Real-Life Stories to Help You Transform Your Workplace and Your Life

Over the last few years the story of a remarkable group of fishmongers from the Pike Place Fish market in Seattle has stimulated many of us to consider new possibilities for our work and our lives. As the poet David Whyte put it, we are finding ways to make work a reward and not just a way to rewards. We are also finding ways to live our time on this planet full to the brim as a testament to the preciousness of life.

The story of these unusual fish guys was told in the book FISH! In it we described four principles that help foster a great life at workPlay, Make Their Day, Be There, and Choose Your Attitude. These principles are a part of what we call the FISH! Philosophy. Living this philosophy results in a workplace where the quality of life is satisfying and meaningful, and the experience for customers, internal and external, is compelling.

The core message of the book you are now holding, FISH! TALES , is that a richer and more rewarding life may simply be a few choices away from where you are right now. Each of the first four sections in this book features a real-life story that highlights one of the four FISH! principles. Still, the other principles also are depicted in each feature story. It must be this way. Play, for example, operates in a context of being there, making someones day, and choosing your attitude. It is the context that keeps play appropriate.

After each main story are several short storieswe call them small bitesto further illustrate the main principle. Feel free to sample these at random.

If your spirit is inspired by the real-life stories in this book, we hope your actions will be guided by the 12 weeks of transformational activities at the end of FISH! TALES .

Throughout this book, Steve Lundin will be your guide and narrator. You will hear his voice and perspective, in first person, as he tells the story of FISH!, introduces the four feature stories, and takes you through the 12 weeks of activities.

The rest of us join in at various other times. Phil Strand wrote the feature stories. John Christensen and Harry Paul contributed their considerable experience working with the FISH! Philosophy and shared their insights.

Now, lets go fishing!

John Christensen and I, each in our own way, have been curious about what is possible at work. I worked at a camp for children with serious physical challenges for six summers. After banging around the real world for many years I came to realize that Camp Courage was one of the most joyous workplaces I had ever experienced. I began to wonder why organizations full of able-bodied people were often so joyless.

John brought a social-service background and an artists eye to the world of work. He was intensely curious about the occasional workplace he encountered that exuded an abundance of energy and passion. He would come back to the office with a story of a shoemaker who was passionate about his work or a furniture company with a spirit that soared. We found we were both searching for an image that would help inspire all of us to see what was possible at work, knowing we all are destined to spend a majority of our lives there.

In 1997, John and I flew to Seattle and hauled our film gear to the quaint little town of Langley on Whidbey Island. There we filmed the poet David Whyte, who is known for the message he shares with organizations about bringing ones whole self to work. We became immersed in conversations about wholeheartedness in the workplace. David quoted a friend of his who said, The antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest. The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness. It is those things you do halfheartedly that really wear you out.

Later, talking to the camera, David recalled an answer he gave on a radio interview when asked what it was like to take his message into organizations. He responded, Sometimes it is quite marvelous and sometimes it is like visiting the prison population. When he said this I was surprised and shocked. Then he continued, I dont mean organizations or businesses are necessarily prisons, but sometimes we make prisons of them by the way we live there.

Our time with David was a feast for the soul. We left Whidbey Island with a greater understanding about this as-yet theoretical workplace image we sought.

We drove back to Seattle and spent Friday night there. I was flying out the next morning, but John was staying until the following night. We asked the concierge to suggest places a guy from Minnesota might visit on Saturday. She recommended the Pike Place Market. We knew little about Seattle and this seemed like a fine idea, since John loves to shop.

John was on one end of the market when he heard laughing and screaming. Like a child following the Pied Piper, he was drawn to the sound, and found himself in the back of an enthusiastic crowd. Suddenly the crowd parted and he came face-to-face with the source of the commotion. It was the World Famous Pike Place Fish market.

If youve ever been to Pike Place Fish, you know that when a customer places an order, the fishmongers standing in front of the counter throw the fish over the counter to coworkers for wrapping. They make some spectacular catches and the crowd loves it. The fishmongers regularly invite delighted customers behind the counter to try their luck at catching.

But on this day, as John stood in the middle of a cheering crowd, he was more interested in the way the fishmongers threw themselves into their work. The market was crowded and noisy, but when one of the fishmongers focused on a customer, it was like they were the only two people in the place. Everywhere John looked, both employees and customers were smiling, laughing, and most important, connecting with each other. Not coincidentally, the cash registers were ringing like crazy.

John watched in fascination for almost an hour. Suddenly a fishmonger broke his trance. Hi! he said. My names Shawn. His hair was red, his smile was huge, and his eyes twinkled mischievously.

Whats going on here? John asked.

Shawn answered with a question of his own. Did you eat lunch today?

Yeah, John said, wondering what he was getting at.

How was the service? Shawn asked.

John shrugged his shoulders. Okay, I guess.

But did the waiter really connect with you?

Connect with me? What in the heck is he talking about? John thought to himself.

Shawns eyes locked on Johns. See, this is our moment together, yours and mine, and I want it to be like you and I are best friends.

John started to understand what was happening here. A bunch of fishmongersnot MBA professors or organizational guruswere showing him how to bring more fun, passion, focus, and commitment to work.

As John continued to watch the fishmongers engage and connect with customers, a drama off to the side caught his attention. One of the fish guys had attached a crayfish to a young boys pants. The boy was startled and began crying. The fishmonger got down on his knees and crawled over to the boy, who was clinging tightly to his mother, and asked first for forgiveness and then for a hug. The fish guy had misjudged this child, but his recovery spoke volumes.

Johns mind drifted back to the previous week, when he had taken his daughter, who has severe asthma, to the doctor because she was having trouble breathing. As they stood in front of the registration desk, Kelsey gasping for each breath, a cold voice asked them a number of questions. Its owner typed the responses, never looking up, and then barked, Take a seat.

Finally a disembodied voice from the hall shouted, Kelsey Christensen. The nurse, barely looking at Kelsey, carelessly whacked the top of her head with the measuring device attached to the scale. The nurse marched down the hall as John and Kelsey struggled to catch up, then stopped by a door and pointed inside, never looking back.