by Steve Adubato, PhD

"There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is not a choice about the work itself." This quote is taken from a great little book (107 pages) called "Fish: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results," written by Stephen Lundin. Fish is the story of the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, a workplace filled with energy, excitement and enthusiasm. It's also the story of a fictitious company called First Guarantee and their Operations group, which is characterized as "unresponsive, unpleasant, negative and zombie-like."

Mary Jane Ramirez, a smart, talented manager at the company is assigned to take over the Operations group and she's not happy about it. Like so many others in the company, Mary Jane is convinced that little, if anything, can be done to turn this team around. She thinks that much of the problem is in the mundane nature of the work itself. People are bored with the work and most of them have sent out their resumes seeking other employment. The rest of the company refers to the group as a "toxic energy dump."

One day Mary Jane takes a walk to the Pike Place Fish Market. Immediately she sees a fish flying through the air and she hears one of the workers yell out, "One salmon, flying away to Minnesota." The guy on the other end makes an unbelievable one-handed catch, and takes a bow as the crowd watching the action applauds. As he continues to catch fish he engages in a playful dialogue with several people in the crowd. Mary Jane can't believe her eyes. People are laughing, working hard and selling an awful lot of fish.

She then meets Lonnie, a manager at the fish market. Mary Jane tells Lonnie how impressed she is with the way the market runs. She proceeds to tell him about her "toxic energy dump." She asks Lonnie what the secret is in getting people to feel so good about what they do. Lonnie assures her, "it's not just about throwing fish."

Lonnie goes on to talk about the four keys to creating an energy-filled and exciting workplace. First…Choose the attitude you bring to work each day, even if the work itself isn't particularly exciting. The one thing you can control in life is your attitude. I know of a lot of people with great jobs, who make a ton of money, but have a terrible attitude.

Lonnie's second rule is to make sure you "play." He insists that any workplace, no matter how serious the work, must be a place where people can kid each other as well as the customers in an easy, comfortable fashion. But he tells Mary Jane not to misunderstand and reminds her that you need to be serious about your business and the bottom line, but its ok to have a little fun while you're at it.

Next secret...make the customer's day. Lonnie, the fish guy, says customers like to be part of the show. They want to be engaged and welcomed in on the fun. Clearly, for the fish market, this creates a lot of repeat business. The key is to break down barriers between the employee and the customer and to create a sense that you're all in this together. Finally, Lonnie explains how important it is to be "present." He talks about the significance of really listening, not just to customers, but to coworkers without doing ten other things that distract you. Don't you hate it when you are at a store counter and the clerk is either on the phone or on the computer? They just aren't present.

Mary Jane is moved by what she sees and hears at the fish market. But she isn't convinced that these principles can be implemented with the Operations group. Next week, we'll see how the story ends. In the meantime, write to me about how much energy and enthusiasm there is in your workplace.