Make it Fun!

Have you ever heard people lamenting that it’s Monday or saying “Thank god it’s Friday”.

No matter how much we love our jobs there will always be moments when we can’t wait for the weekend.  Moments of frustration over plans gone wrong with too many interruptions can sometimes wear us down.

I read a book a while back called “The Fish Omnibus” by Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D., Harry Paul and John Christensen.  This is a compilation of several books based on “The Fish Philosophy”.  It is not a book about fishing; however it is a book about a Fish Market in Seattle in the U.S.A. – “The Pike Place Fish Market”.  The Pike Place Fish Market has been written about, been featured in videos and is known in training circles throughout the world.  Why did a fish market become internationally significant?  They revolutionised how they treat customers and in doing so made their own workplace fun.

Below is an excerpt from their website http://www.charthouse.com/content.aspx?name=home2 which explains their philosophy.

What is The FISH! Philosophy?

The FISH! Philosophy includes four simple, interconnected practices:

Be There is being emotionally present for people. It’s a powerful message of respect that improves communication and strengthens relationships.

Play taps into your natural way of being creative, enthusiastic and having fun. Play is the spirit that drives the curious mind, as in “Let’s play with that idea!” It’s a mindset you can bring to everything you do.

Make Their Day is finding simple ways to serve or delight people in a meaningful, memorable way. It’s about contributing to someone else’s life, not because you want something out of it, but because that’s the person you want to be.

Choose Your Attitude means taking responsibility for how you respond to what life throws at you. Once you are aware that your choice impacts everyone around you, you can ask yourself, “Is my attitude helping my team or my customers? Is it helping me to be the person I want to be?”

Through The FISH! Philosophy, we build stronger relationships with the team members we work with, the customers we serve, the students we teach and the people we love.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post.

I hope that it inspired you to have fun.

Be bold, be brave and share your creative, fun ideas by leaving a comment.

This post also appears on the UK website I-Volunteer http://www.i-volunteer.org.uk/wendymoore/make-it-fun/