FISH! does what so many corporate motivation books fail to do; it fosters success. It's an easy read, it's concise, and its strategies are user-friendly and can easily be implemented personally, professionally and most importantly, corporately. I have read a fair share of group dynamic books for my involvement in local government, education and church leadership. FISH! exceeds all the others far and away. The basics of the book include four steps, which are manageable and make a difference when implemented. Read FISH! for yourself, with your family or for your organization. It works.

A five star book - recommend to every employee and employer to read. Have already told many people about this book. Worth every penny. Very motivational.

Fish! is a great book that teaches you how to have fun at work and make your job into something you enjoy coming to each day. It tells the story of a woman who goes through a transformation to learn this very thing from an unlikely source: the fish mongers at a Seattle fish market. A cute story and helpful book that has been used effectively in my company.

Another business fable I just came across that I'm really excited about is Squawk!: How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results

This book should be a mandatory read for all new leaders! It is an easy read that keeps you interested from beginning to end. The philosophy is basic and simple; however extremely practicle and most of all...effective!!!

Other posters have commented on outside services associated with this product, but all I can speak of is the book itself. Fish! is the best book out there on finding the fun in work and turning dreary days into high energy activity.

As for a book that builds teamwork between peers, gets management and subordinates working well together, and creates top-notch performance that everyone can be proud of (not just the boss) there is no better book than Squawk!: How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results

I really liked this simple, small book. I really did. However, as a director of human resources, I was hoping for more depth. While the book is a fun tale, the lessons contained therein are too whimsical to really help corporations with their real problems. Sure, everyone wants to strive for fun, teamwork, etc., however, the daily arena does not allow such graceful answers.

Once again, I liked the book just don't expect to be pointed in a corrective position.

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR Author of Wingtips with Spurs

We used Fish! as a team-building exercise at work. We read about 20 pages a week and then discussed. Even people who don't like to read, enjoyed it because it's such a quick, easy, story. I did get CD's for a few people. This was a group that needed to become cohesive, and after the second week, everyone was animated about Fish! People shared their own experiences as it related to the story. Very easy discussion starter. Now they want to take a field trip from Kansas City to Seattle to visit Pike Place Fish Market!

I have met Jim Bergquist and been to his seminars and almost quit my job because if it. He preys on anyone who seems vulnerable so he can say they had a "breakthrough". This is no different than bringing in a church leader and breaking people down and calling it revival. I don't understand how this and others like it (landmark Education) has become acceptable in the workplace. I think it is a money making machine and they prey on the gullible. In his seminars they never pick on the bosses who are paying instead they stroke their ego. I would recommend anyone forced to go to these seminars to question why and not be afraid to walk out.

I also agree 100% with the post copied below another person left.


"As to the first, I do not believe that a company can motive or change a person. That is the business of missionaries, evangelist and philosophers. Business has no business in shaping the beliefs and ideas of the employees. These motivational programs all have silent value-statements, and to propagate these is a a form of intellectual evangelism. In short, you manager is a missionary for the gospel of corporate success. Unless you specially work for a church, or a philosophy-specific organization, such as the Freemasons or a political party, this smacks of violating conscience. "

I loved this book. Simple and direct, it makes you reflect about all that can be done in our day to day to make it superb. It does not rely on magic formulas or rocket science, the author just leaves it in our hands... He does not deny the fact that businesses are overwhelmed with emotions and percetions, which in the end are much more powerfull than we realize.

It is written in the format of a story which makes this book a pleasure to read. Once I started I wouldn't stop !

When our employees began reading Fish! the morale immediately went up. The readers were astounded that you could actually choose your own attitude. After the book was completed, their energy and excited has spread around our entire office of 100+ people. Everyone is reading Fish! and talking about it. They all definitely think FISH! should be read by everyone working in any organization.

There are certainly bad jobs, but even the best job can be mildewed by a bad attitude. If a large percentage of the people in a group feel that their job is lousy, then it will be contagious and all will catch the disease.
This story is about Mary Jane, a woman that moved to Seattle, Washington with her husband, only to have him unexpectedly die of an aneurysm. She is the manager of a group that does very well; the negative talk is not within, but about the third floor. Apparently, the floor is populated with the slackers of the company, people who care little for the quality of their work or how it appears to others.
Since her husband died, Mary Jane has been struggling to pay off the residual medical bills, so when she is offered the management position of the third floor with a substantial pay raise, she accepts. She arrives to find that things are about as bad as she expected. Morale is horrendous; people delay in answering the phone and sometimes unplug it instead. There is no energy in the workers, everyone arrives as late as possible and seems to just endure until it is time to quit.
At first, Mary Jane has no idea what to do and when her superior gives her an ultimatum to increase productivity or else, she knows that she has to do something. Her first idea comes from her trip to a fish market. The workers there clearly are enjoying themselves; they toss fish around and even use them as makeshift hand puppets. When she asks about their positive attitude, one of the workers, a kind man named Lonnie, points out that a positive attitude is a necessary prerequisite to enjoying any job.
When Mary Jane calls a meeting and discusses it with her staff, she finds them much more positive than she expected. They are not by nature negative, in fact they are happy that someone is trying to improve their situation. After a few more visits to the fish market, Mary Jane discovers the other "secrets" to making her work environment a positive one and at the end, her staff is a team, happy and enjoying their work.
The word "secrets" is extremely overused in the context of success. No effective tactic is really a secret, everyone knows about it, the difference is in the effective application. Mary Jane learns, and you will too, that treating people as valuable and appreciated members of a group is a sure way to raise morale, which always improves performance. It also helps if you can disguise the work as play, which is another one of the tactics employed by Mary Jane. The story is inspiring, but not in an extremely dynamic manner.

In a simple easy to read story "Fish" is about igniting passion into your work environment that can spill over into all aspects of your life. The "Fish Philosophy" is based on a few simple ideas that can transform your daily grind of a nine to five workday into an enriching, easy and yes, even a fun time at the office.

I work at a large financial firm and currently am heading a team that is focused on creating a new work procedure that has never been applied in our office previously. The creative start up process can be challenging but the team we have assembled for the work is up to the challenge and eager to be a part of something that will have an impact on the firm overall. I am so glad I read "Fish" in that I can share with my team the insights I've learned so that our work together can be productive, successful and yes here it is again...fun.

If you found "Fish" to be inspiring and enlightening, I highly recommend reading any of Ariel and Shya Kane's books called "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment", "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: A Book About Instantaneous Transformation" or "How To Create a Magical Relationship." All of the Kane's books impart insights and ways into living a life that is meaningful, satisfying and joyful.

Working in a place where you smile often...how cool is that? Can you imagine living a life where you smile often? It's definitely possible.

I was given this so-called motivational book by a coach at my place of employment. I work at a financial institution which is very tedious and boring everyday.I read some of the book and couldn't stop wondering about how much worse my day could be! Its is very slow witted and repetitive. I was thinking to myself about how slow this coach could be since he said that the book changed his life! It offers very little practical advice and is a waste of time and energy. I see the reality in work. You work at a job for 20 to 25 years, like it or not, so that you can retire and enjoy everyday from that point onward. Enjoying counting money, fighting with customers, and listening to everyones complaints is anything but enjoyable and fish can't change that! It is just another book to waste your money on. If you are doing your job well, are mentally stable and not depressed, then this book is not needed. So instead of buying this waste of trees, why not take a walk in the park, learn a new language, get a hobby, or just enjoy your life and do your job. You don't need a book to do that! LOL Oh and this book titled fish really stinks! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY $$$$$$

What irritates me about this book is the idea that an employee's attitude is the problem. The premise seems to be: Hate your job? It's your attitude!

There is no allowance made for the fact that perhaps there is a REASON that people might hate their job.

Perhaps they are made to follow rules that don't make sense. Perhaps they see what they need to accomplish, but lack the training or resources to get it done. Perhaps the office environment is old, crumbling, the bathrooms don't work, and the printer keeps jamming.

In other words, if employees are unhappy, then you need to find out WHY they are unhappy and FIX it.

Don't just tell them to change their attitude. Sure that might be the case with a few hardcore cynical people. But most of us WANT to do a good job. We only get cynical when we are prevented from doing so.

So look for tangible obstacles to your employees work, and remove them.

The attitude will take care of itself.

And, for the love of god and all that's holy, don't give them this stupid book.

My boss gave me this book to read and tell her what I thought. My review here will be essentially what I told her.

The FISH concept is exactly that, a concept that has been heard before from countless speakers at every business conference you have attended. Chose your attitude, have some fun at work, pay attention to people, and be focused on the present. None of these are breakthrough concepts. The book itself is a quick read; I finished it on my lunch break after she gave it to me. Large font, large margins, and lots of wasted space make and already thin book even shorter.

The biggest problem with this book is that it is written to be motivational, but not exactly helpful. Most people will read this book, and be very excited about what they have read, wanting to run right back to work and start implementing the FISH philosophy. By the end of the week this enthusiasm will be gone because, unfortunately this book does not give you the knowledge or the skills to implement their theories. The character in the book is fictional, and the results she achieved by implementing this philosophy are just as fictional. I would have been much happier to have read about a company that actually DID implement this philosophy, how they did it, and the true results they achieved. Certainly reading that a fictional person implemented it and it worked phenomenally can be motivational, but reality works differently.

The flaws in the concept can be overcome, but the book itself does not help you to achieve this. The employees have to trust their management, the management has to both trust their employees and also have employees in place that can be trusted to want to do their job to the best of their ability. Also, you have to assume that the work that the employees are doing is actually value added work. In the day and age of lawsuits over everything, trying to add "fun" to the workplace can be a terrifying thing to management who has been trained over the years that anything out of the norm can result in a lawsuit of one type or another. The suggestion of beach balls and throwing footballs around the room (from the second book "Fish Tales") is any safety manager's nightmare.

In the end, this is a weakly written book about a philosophy that is motivational, but of more use in your personal life than the business world.

As a new CEO (Mayor of my Town) FISH copies sit on the front of my desk. Why? For Dept Heads and key employees when they question! FISH, Message to Garcia,Who Moved My Cheese, and When To Speak Up and When To Shut Up all sit prominently on my desk with copies for any Town Hall leader willing to take a copy and read. As a "Service Business" the messages are all clear!

Very inspirational read. This book will be helpful to anyone working outside the home and to students in college.

Extremely predictable by the end of first 'encounter". Can't imagine this being anything but the most basic intro in workplace relations unless last job was in Soviet bloc munitions plant...

This book has totally changed the culture of our business. No, we don't throw fish in our office but by adopting the tenets of FISH! (Choose Your Attitude, Be There, Make Someone's Day and Play) it has made work fun again! Even beyond the effect on the workplace, the impact of FISH! on my employees and I has been life changing! I highly recommend this book!!!

This book is an excellent work tool because the message is easily understood and works. The book is short and amusing but the theories work for any work situation where attitudes are the problem.

Fish! is a wonderful little book with a super philosophy: Play; Be there; Make their day; and Choose you own attitude. I've been to the Pike Place Fish Market and I use the "Fish Philosphy." Simple and powerful!

I got in trouble when I tried to implement the principles of tossing things at work and hugging/fondling all the women...I guess it just doesn't work that well in an OBGYN clinic.

Enjoyable but useless. Pat the Bunny is much more applicable to business.

I read this book soon after it was released, and just re-read it today because a group of folks at work are all reading it now (and will discuss it tomorrow). I would like to be optimistic enough to believe that a toxic group of workers would make such a serious turnaround in attitude. We certainly have our share of them at work. But what I came away from this book feeling (both times I read it) is that I am capable of being optimistic, cheerful, and pleasant to be around, but I don't have enough influence to change the people around me who seem to hate life. Those people are bitter because that is what they find more rewarding and that is an easier way to behave. So, I guess I feel that the intent of the book is very good, but the results may not reach much farther than the reader. To be fair, it did motivate me to suggest to some people at work that the sarcastic framed mottos on their desk (e.g., "Lack of Planning on Your Part Doesn't Constitute an Emergency on my Part") might be counterproductive, but they are still the same old curmudgeons, and the sarcastic mottos are still on their desks.

The book does not provide adequate information on morale boosting. The examples cited do not occur too often in real life, and the situations are far too idealistic than the ones we encounter everyday.

No theory or research or whatsoever has been cited, making me wonder whether the content come from the author's dreams or pure imagination.

The book is also too short for a full fledged book to be published, I think that it's more appropriate to publish in a newspaper or blog.

Overall, it's a good lunchtime read, have a good laugh, and forget about it. It's not worth your money to buy it.

A powerful message in a tiny package. Why not accept/promote attitudes that promote efficiency and growth?

This book is a quick read for anyone...the story was interesting enough to keep my attention all the way through. Even though this book was depicting more severe circumstances than I have faced, I could still find ways to relate to the information. It's a nice reminder to practice good work habits every day!

The book is good for the use as a morale booster in the workplace. It is easily adaptable to a variety of environments.

Received complete order in a reasonable amount of time and without any problems. Would order from them again.

Good, and a light read. The ideas are powerful and worth taking time to think about.

This book is a super quick read and you'll find yourself able to not only grasp but also implement the key concepts the very same day in any organisation - if you chose to. This book has been so successful it's spawned a whole series of other similar books - but start with this one. Not only does this book help you to make your work fun, it's a fun read itself.

Treat your customers like they're special. Make your employees feel part of a vision. I went to a seminar that highlighted this concept, and it was fun and inspiring, but didn't really have any hooks that I could actually implement in my small business. Running a business is very complex. This book takes a 10,000 ft view of the business, while ignoring certain realities of the world. For example, most employees don't buy into the vision thing. Most employees who work for what I can afford to pay just want to show up Monday morning, and leave Friday afternoon. And, you have to treat them accordingly. I ran into a lot of trouble letting my defense down and trying to implement a "fun" working environment. It just didn't work out for me. I'm certain the author think I did it wrong. Nonetheless, my observation is that the business people who are most successful run a tight shop. Throwing fish around and tickling the kids just doesn't make money. Sorry. Truth hurts.

This is an easy and inspirational story. It will be required reading for my upper and middle management teams.

Hold on to your seats. Here comes yet another quirky, poorly written fantasy story about how a fishmonger who helps a businesswoman to solve the poor productivity and low morale problems in her customer service department. Good ole Lonnie is so successful, in fact, that he becomes engaged to our heroine in the final act. (No, I'm not making this up)

While FISH offers an introspective look at why employees respond the way they do, it offers little if anything on how to bring the poor performing unit through a real rebirth. As Dr. Phil would say, this book lacks "verbs in its sentences" when it comes to designing a plan of action.

This book, like HIGH FIVE and many others, is simply another way for the authors to cash in on a new twist of a very old philosophy.

Hold on to your seats. Here comes yet another quirky, poorly written fantasy story about how a fishmonger who helps a businesswoman to solve the poor productivity and low morale problems in her customer service department. Good ole Lonnie is so successful, in fact, that he becomes engaged to our heroine in the final act. (No, I'm not making this up)

While FISH offers an introspective look at why employees respond the way they do, it offers little if anything on how to bring the poor performing unit through a real rebirth. As Dr. Phil would say, this book lacks "verbs in its sentences" when it comes to designing a plan of action.

This book, like HIGH FIVE and many others, is simply another way for the authors to cash in on a new twist of a very old philosophy.

This is the best motivational book I have ever read. The authors tell a delightful story about a workplace no one would want to work in and how the workplace is transformed into a great place to work. Mary Jane the character in the book, responsibile for the transformation, discovers the ideas for the tranformation through a friend she meets at the Pike Place Fish Market. In her trips to the Fish Market she comes to understood why the Fish Market and its employees are so different.

The book made the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, sound so interesting that I actually visited it on a vacation. It is a fascinating place. The employees at the Fish Market are just as interesting as they sound in the book. If you do visit, beware the flying fish.

I worked for a company a few years ago that issued this book to us, and had us watch the Fish video. It was in new hire class, so most of us were pretty stoked that we were with a company that had this philosophy. Of course, once training was over, and we were truly in the work environment, the only thing the company seemed to really take from this was the "be present" component. Sure, there was some phony, heavy handed, "fun" they tried to fool us with, mostly unhappy looking supervisors walking around handing out candy bars, and a toy chicken that would start singing when somebody would press a button, which was cute the first couple of times, but became grating after a couple hundred.

The fact was, this was the most dishonest, and yes, cruel, company I have ever worked for. You could say that is not the fault of the Fish book/video, and that is true, and that is my point. I give this two stars because I really do believe the people behind it had good intentions, but the sad fact is that these kind of things are used by companies as smoke and mirrors, to make it appear they are trying to create a pleasant work environment, without really doing it. Just forcing employees to watch a video about a fish market, and handing out a book about it is meaningless, creating a positive work experience takes effort, honesty, and most importantly, sincerity.

The fish market portrayed in this book is the embodiment of almost perfect workplace teamwork. "Fish" transports its readers into the realm of Leadership greatness. This book and "Always Remember: If it ain't fun, it ain't worth doing!" by Wayne Kehl should be manadatory for all managers in all businesses. Read and Learn to Manage.

I have just finished reading this book as a requirement for a Master's degree course, and I found it very enjoyable. I especially liked the format, in which the author uses a fictional main character and company to illustrate his point.

Mary Jane has recently accepted a new position as a manager in her company. The problem is, she's taking over the third floor, called "the toxic dump" by other employees. Morale is low and poor service is high. One day, Mary Jane decides to go for a walk over her lunch hour. She comes across the Pike Place Fish Market and is immediately taken aback. She cannot get over the enthusiasm of the employees and the satisfaction of the customers. Lonnie, the manager of the market, notices Mary Jane and begins talking to her. He learns about Mary Jane's department and the struggles she's facing. Lonnie decides to tell Mary Jane about his strategy at the fish market so that she may apply his principles to her situation. Lonnie's strategy contains four main points: choose your attitude, play, make their day, and be present. All of these areas focus on the customer and putting his needs first.

Mary Jane decides to try Lonnie's program out in her own department. At first, the going is rough and she meets with some resistance, but slowly, the employees begin to come around. A field trip to the market does wonders for Mary Jane's employees. Soon, everyone in Mary Jane's department has embraced Lonnie's philosophy and they are applying it to their own customer service.

This book offers a fresh look at management. It is not so theoretical as other management books tend to be. Rather, the fictional, story-type text is easy to follow, and makes the reading much more enjoyable. The book is short enough to be read in one or two sittings, and the story is very well-conceived and will hold the reader's attention.

I definitely recommend this book for both business and social organizations. I read it as a requirement for a Library Science class, and it's conclusions can be applied to a library, as well as business, setting. Read this book and learn some new tips in the field of management.

Fish is an incredible story that first caught on film. It produced an amazing video on the world famous Pike Place Fish market in Seattle.In whatever media it appears, it's a fabulous love story.As the book suggests, "When we choose to love the work we do, we can catch our limit of happiness, meaning, and fulfillment every day."If you read Fish, share it with everyone with whom you work, and implement the four secrets and suggested strategies that Lundin, Paul, and Christensen has given to us.This book is not just about selling fish,it's a love story that can happen in your organization too.

This is a thoroughly engrossing tale about improving morale in the work place. Where I work has decided that this would be a good tactic for us. We are currently working on implementing the changes that are so easily demonstrated in this parable. It is a delightful read that does not take a long time to read and understand. I recommend this as a good start for turning around the morale and enthusiasm that seems to be running rampant today.

From the subtitle you know you are in for a boosting trip. If you've ever been to the markets in Seatle you would enjoy it even better.

How a Fish market can help you find more joy in your work is fascinating. Easy to read, with clear suggestions, the book will help when facing a dark somber environment at work. After all, we are not our circumstances but our attitude.

As a former single mum, there were some things that did not click with me and that is why I did not give it a 5.

It is definitely worth the read from a business perspective, and will leave you smiling every single page.

This is a great book and a good philosophy on work and life in general! It is a quick read and very much so worth the time to check it out!

I think that Fish was a good book.A story that tells a lady husband dieing and her having to move location in her job. She meet this man that worked at a fish restuarant. He taught her how to change what they call the toxic dump into a fun place to work . As she chanage the toxic dump she learned something real important. Well that all I'm going to say about this book and I well tell you read the book. It first I didn't thing I would like this book cause it look boring. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoy a book that tell a good story.

Marina Kushner
Author
The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote It Deceive Us and What We Can Do about It

It's an easy to read book, simple and yet insightful. The Fish Philosophy does not only apply to one's workplace but also to how a person chooses to approach life in general.

Stories make for wonderful teaching tools. FISH, based on the famed Pikes Fish Market, presents a compelling argument why every company needs to incorporate passion and fun into what it puts out. I would also recommend Get Weird by John Puetz. Good work, as long as you incorporate the ideas and don't abandon them 30 days from now. Otherwise, it becomes another addition to the Flavor of the Month slush pile.

Choose your attitude, Play, Make their day and be present.

There I saved you the 2 hours it takes to read this book.

Fish is an incredible story that first caught on film. It produced an amazing video on the world famous Pike Place Fish market in Seattle.In whatever media it appears, it's a fabulous love story.As the book suggests, "When we choose to love the work we do, we can catch our limit of happiness, meaning, and fulfillment every day."If you read Fish, share it with everyone with whom you work, and implement the four secrets and suggested strategies that Lundin, Paul, and Christensen has given to us.This book is not just about selling fish,it's a love story that can happen in your organization too.

Provides a great overview of the desirable characteristics of any work enviornment, but presented in a very easy to read and understand way. Read it easily in a day but can put the principles to work immediately. Heard about Pike's Fish Market for a long time and am glad to hear the "real" story.

I'm not usually a fan of books like this, but it was so quick and easy to read, and the concept was so well thought out and laid out... I didn't feel like the authors were "dumming it down" for me.

Oh dear. This is another book like the horrible "Who Moved My Cheese?" that attempts to manipulate grown adults by treating them like children.

Like the aforementioned "Who thinks my cheese stinks?" (or whatever it is called), I saw some people in the organisation where I work trying to sneakily weave it into the corporate culture and it lasted about five days.

It's all about making work "FUN". Yep, work can be "FUN". Tell that to the folks who work in hospital waste disposal. Or maybe those who deal with animal cruelty cases.

Of course, it's just great "FUN" to deal with children who have just had their parents killed, or folks who just lost their kids.

Because that's what work is - "FUN" - or so this book would have you believe you can convince your workers.

Of course in the examples I have listed above, it doesn't really work too well, because this is really about getting people in perceived lower-end occupations like factories or call-centres to believe their mind-numbing daily tasks can be "FUN".

Myself, I do have some "FUN" at work, but probably like many people with more than one brain cell, it is based on having a laugh with my co-workers about the sheer absurdity of where our work life often takes us.

You can call this cynicism, which is probably how it would be viewed by people who buy into this dumb "Fish"-style "WORK MUST BE FUN" philosophy. I'd call it black humour, but it keeps people sane and makes difficult work more bearable.

As to the title of my review - this method of making the workplace "FUN" in a forced way is very useful if you have employees that you wish to isolate and marginalise.

First immerse people in the cult-like atmosphere and tell them that they are now to regard work as "FUN".

Second, let them know that they now "CHOOSE" their attitude - if they are unhappy in any way (regardless of them doing their work well or not), they are "LETTING THE TEAM DOWN" and not complying with the obligation to "MAKE WORK FUN".

Third, while the majority of victims or workers, however you choose to view your prey, swallow the "WORK IS FUN" message and display the behaviour of sea lions clapping to get a mouthful of FISH, you can point to those who have shown a small streak of individual identity and are not HAVING FUN AT WORK and use the Enron-style message that they "just don't get it".

In this way, the resistant individual can be said to be "incompatible with our mission and values", "bad for morale" or just "out of step".

In this way, the "FUN-LOVING" workers, who have now taken on the costume of "FORCED FALSE FUN" can be set against them.

Of course this will compound their unhappiness and isolate them further until they are totally marginalised and can be tossed on the scrapheap or forced to resign.

This book is useful then, if you wish to convince idiots that their "WORK IS FUN".

Just don't try it on a group of people with a brain between them who might take their work seriously.

They might tell you to stick your "FISH" where the sun doesn't shine.