Seattle's Fish Market seems like an unlikely place to look for inspiration, but it houses the World-Famous Pike Place Fish Market (the home of the flying fish and crazily-enthusiastic fishmongers). The Pike Place Fish Market didn't start out being "World-Famous" though. In fact, their story starts pretty miserably - employees didn't want to be there, and few customers did either. One day, Johnny, the owner (who was hard to work for and lost his temper easily), looked in the mirror (metaphorically speaking) and realized that he needed to change. He decided to ask his employees "What do you want our workplace to be? What do we want it to be?" The fishmongers were amazed - no one had ever invited them to create the workplace they wanted. All of them, Johnny included, decided to commit to being "world-famous." Each fishmonger was free to live this vision in their own way. They agreed to coach each other and help each other stay focused on their commitment. The fishmongers soon learned that they acted differently when they were being "world-famous." There was no textbook or manual. They just knew the right thing to do at the right time. Things started to change...
The Fish! philosophy consists of 4 simple principles:
1) Play (Determine to energize your work and your life).
2) Make Their Day (Engage others and make them a part of the fun. Give each customer the experience of having been served and appreciated whether they buy fish or not).
3) Be There (Conciously focus on being present in the moment for yourself and customers).
4) Choose Your Attitude (Make a decision to choose to be positive and upbeat. Know that it's possible for each human-being to impact the way other people experience life).
Fish! is now a best selling book series and corporate training video. One of the most profound (yet simple) statements in the video comes when one of the fishmongers says, "It's about who you're being when you're doing what you're doing."
As our group changes (and has experienced some frustration of our own), we are faced with the exciting opportunity to decide who we're going to be. Are we going to promote a list of spiritual "do's" and "don'ts" - pushing our own agenda - and come across as fake (and kind of scary)? Or, as servants of an all-powerful God who offers us unconditional love and freedom from all the fears and past regrets that life throws at us, are we going to:
- Keep things fresh and interject Play (and humor/fun) into our group that reflects a creative and exciting God?
- Focus on service and Making Their Day as opposed to being uninvolved or judgmental?
- Be There for people and put relationships over "religion"? Be There in our relationship with God and not let unimportant distractions turn our focus from what's most important?
- Choose Our Attitude. Will our attitude and actions contribute to building up the overall purpose or tearing it down? When faced with frustrations will we let them eat away at us until they have robbed us of all peace and joy, or will we rise above them and find a way to make the best of a bad situation (maybe even turn things around)?
How will our story read?...
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