Fish! Philosophy 1

[Rhys666]

Has anyone had experience working within the IT branch, (or for an IT firm), of a company employing the fish! philosphy in the work environment?

What kind of 'activities'/'entertainments' were utilised?

How did the company employ the philosophy?

What effect did it have?

My employer, (FTSE 100 non IT, with in-house IT dept), are now showing the Fish! videos and leaving the changes to us, but are allowing us to embrace as much of/as little of this philosophy as we feel we should, (no more management dictates instructing us on how to enjoy the job! Hoorah!), but as I've only seen the vid.'s today was curious as to how this may have been utilised elsewhere...

For anyone curious as to what the hell I'm waffling on about check out

http://www.FishPhilosophy.com

It's interesting if nothing else...

Rhys
Thought out... Maybe,
Opinionated... Probably
But it is only an opinion!

 

[kurvyk]

My agency started using the FISH philosophy and the department has really made a HUGE turnaround in terms of attitude.

Some of the things we've done:

Every member of management within the department has made 1 FISH related goal that he/she has to meet on a weekly/monthly basis. One manager made the goal that he would get out of his office and chat with staff about nothing work related just to get to know folks better.

We get together on Fridays for lunch as a department. Sometimes we order in, sometimes we go out, but we always try and have lunch together.

We put up a bulletin board with funny pictures, a quote of the week, recipes and a daily trivia question. We found that asking trivia questions about folks in the department worked REALLY well, better than asking Trivial Pursuit questions.

We bought foam balls that we throw over cube walls at eachother.

We have candy baskets everywhere.

We always celebrate someone's birthday with a cake and at least a card and everyone in the department makes a point of coming.

Occasionally, we throw on some music and have a 10-minute dance party to loosen up.

People constantly bring good stuff into the department to munch on during the day.

We had a staff-organized pot-luck lunch where everyone brought in a dish and we took a break to eat and visit with one another.

Those are just some of the things we've done and they've really worked well.

 

[SteveGlo]

kurvyk

Some people might feel uncomfortable with the situation you describe but that aside - has there been any demonstrable productivity or efficiency gain yet?

My organisation tries a lot of this touchy-feely stuff but I don't know what good it does.

Steve

 

[kurvyk]

Steve,

Yes, there are some people who don't feel comfortable letting loose and dancing around the office (mostly us younger staff), however, there has been nobody who hasn't participated in the rest. In terms of productivity, the answer is yes. Prior to us starting the FISH model, morale was very low, thereby damaging productivity. Now, morale is much higher, people have been taking initiative to take on large projects themselves. It's been great.

 

[Thadeus]

...get together on Fridays for lunch...
...have candy baskets everywhere...
...celebrate someone's birthday with a cake...
...bring good stuff into the department to munch on...
...staff-organized pot-luck lunch...

So apparently the FISH philosophy is to "give a man a fish"?

What's with all the eating? People are facing higher and higher health insurance and medical costs as a result of increased weight and sugary/fatty diets. This cost is supposedly hitting corporations in the benefit-wallet. If so, it would seem that a FISH philosophy such as this, only contributes to fatter cattle... I mean employees.

~Thadeus

 

[kurvyk]

Culturally speaking, food does bring people together. Just because we have food doesn't mean that we're all overweight and spending all our days eating french fries. It is quite an assumption you make that we're "fatter cattle."

Most of the people in our department, actually, are vegetarians/vegans/healthnuts. Nearly everyday, many of us take 45 minutes or so to go for a walk and there is a gym across the street from our office.

Candy baskets are sitting in many of the offices, yes, but that's about the only "sugary sweet" that is available. We don't even have vending machines.

Potlucks are an EXCELLENT and inexpensive way for teambuilding. People get to know eachother, become invested in another person's presence in the office and are more likely or willing to embody the FISH priniciples.

 

[KellyK]

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone read Now, Discover Your Strengths and taken the StrengthFinder? Our team of accounting and IT support folks are going to give it a go.

BTW, sadly food usually is the way to get people to participate.

Kelly

 

[kaatjev]

They tried to implement the FISH! philosophy in our department also. But while mgmt was all for these activities, they never let up on their constant demands. Many of us were stressed out due to impossible deadlines, and then we get told "STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!! Work on these puzzles!".

Do what??? You want me to get this "no-fail" project completed in the expected deadline and then you want me to stop and do puzzles???

I think the FISH philosophy is a good one. The example of the co-worker making a point to speak to a fellow employee about non-work-related things just to get to know them better, is a good thing. Forcing people to do puzzles, come up with ideas to have band-aid fun, is not.

The originators of the Fish philosophy started with just yelling in unison, the order of a customer. They did not start with feel-good BS. The people themselves had a healthy respect for each other. They just wanted to liven up their workspace. Respect and trust comes first.

If implemented correctly, with a healthy respect level among employees and also from management, this philosophy would help make employment more fun than what it is. However, being told "be happy, or else" is just not going to work.

 

[jloz]

Happy Campers,


I don't know if everyone on here was being serious or not, but it really made me smile.
The lesson learned here is that no matter what a company does, there are ALWAYS people who are going to complain about it no matter what. The ideas listed above were great. My company occasionally gives bonus and almost everyone complains. Why do they have to take out taxes? Blah blah blah….
The company's only job to you is to make sure you get a paycheck - PERIOD. Your only job is to make sure the company is around to provide you with that paycheck.
I feel old saying this, being 39 years old, but I don't go to work to have fun or to get praise. I go to work to provide for my family, PERIOD. I do notice the younger workers, born past 1980, expect immediate results and praise. When they don’t get it, they fall to pieces. I think it’s part of the crude I see my kids going through. In little league and the various competitions they have, there are NO losers!! It’s shocking. Nor they do not keep score. So I started keeping score to teach my children the value of winning but more importantly, what happens when they lose… I don’t care if their feelings get hurt, they need to be tough to compete in the global market place.
AND, so we do we - good luck!!

 

[phuzzy42]

Morale is often low because workers trust management. They trust that
- Management doesn't give a damn about people, just the pretty charts and reports they make at the end of the year.
- Management will screw the workers every chance they get, sometimes even when it's counterproductive.
- No matter how good they do the job, management might still toss them out on their ear.
- People who give 110% just make management expect it as the minimum.
- Management has no clue how things are done in the real world because they've never gotten their hands dirty doing actual work.

I'd be insulted to have this fish crap shoved at me - it'd be management's attempt to get contented cattle. I've worked for the same company for 27 years and there's been both good management and bad. It's a lot harder to do a good job with bad management. Most people want to do a good job and will work to their potential (except some of those kids jloz mentioned ) if management would just get out of the way.

MasterRacker had it dead on:

The saddest thing about it all is how unnecessary it is. Common sense, treating the workforce with respect enough to explain management decisions, showing respect for something other than the short term stock price and treating everyone fairly is about all you need to create good morale and a world class organization. To a large degree these programs are demeaning to management by making them think there are simple, easy solutions and demeaning to staff by assuming they can't get fired up without resorting to rah-rah programs.

The keyword here is respect. Some upper management, with their MBA's and market theories and elitism often treat the people who do the actual work as stupid - they don't respect the staff, their ideas, experience, or intelligence. Often, the way to fix morale problems is not to throw fish at the workers, it's to change poor management.

And before you get the impression I'm a lowly peon who's just ragging off, I am management - but I have managers too.

 

[aarenot]

Bottom line. It is about relationship which makes it work. If you have good, solid, respectful, relationships, everyone is happy, if they are capable of being happy anyway. That takes being real, being honest, giving a crap about people. It is a two way street, when management cares, workers usualy follow suit. Programs can be ways to help develope relationships, but if the relationships are not the priority, and the program is, nothing changes. You could play cards and chat, if that creates an atmosphere where people start having positive respectful relationships because of it, then call it the Hoyle program, it all works.

You do not always get what you pay for, but you never get what you do not pay for.

 

[johnherman]

Another meaning of FISH which I just became aware of. Franklin Is Still Here. The 300th Anniversary of Ben Franklin's birthday just recently occurred, and there are a small number of FISH'ers who believe Franklin is still alive, either because he discovered time travel or for some other reasons. This is not a joke (at least to them).

You remember Ben Franklin, right? The guy with his picture on the $100 bill. And he was never president.

-------------------------
The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was - Steven Wright

 

[sstoppel]

The touchy-feely stuff can be counterproductive. Frankly, if management feels the need to continually snow me about how important and special everyone is the reason is often because they aren't.

Most IT people are fairly driven and hold their own work to a high standard. Likewise, I don't have to like the people I work with, I just have to produce. In truth I DO like almost all of my coworkers, but to me that is a nicety, not a requirement. Here is what I want in a workplace:

1. Pay according to the market and value the employee provides

2. Management that feels it is their job to eliminate barriers and bureaucracy that hinder success

3. Management that RUTHLESSLY gets any dead weight out of the organization. Nothing kills productive people faster than expecting them to carry others.

4. Recognition of positive and negative results. People should know when they contribute to a "win". If you don't know where you failed how are you going to improve?

5. (but maybe the most important)Executives that hold management to even higher standards than line workers. Executives that protect bad managers destroy companies.

 

[LSellers]

FYI for those interested... FISH is about a life philosophy that if / when applied in the workplace can improve a lot of things, primarily the way you feel at the end of another grueling day, but it's mainly common sense stuff.

There are four main concepts highlighted in FISH! They are the ingredients that make the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market an engaging environment for workers and customers alike.

These concepts are:


Play
Play is not a specific game or activity. It is a state of mind that brings new energy to the tasks at hand and sparks creative solutions.

Make their Day
If you find your energy lapsing, find someone who needs a helping hand, a word of support, or a good ear-and make their day.

Choose your Attitude
Your attitude is your reaction to what life hands you, and only you can choose that reaction.

Be There
To "be there" is to be fully engaged in the moment, inviting opportunities, and sharing the experience together.

 

[Gooser]

PMCB does not spell FISH!

v/r

Gooser

"Bad spelers of the werld--UNTIE!

 

[VVVA]

1. Pay according to the market and value the employee provides

2. Management that feels it is their job to eliminate barriers and bureaucracy that hinder success

3. Management that RUTHLESSLY gets any dead weight out of the organization. Nothing kills productive people faster than expecting them to carry others.

4. Recognition of positive and negative results. People should know when they contribute to a "win". If you don't know where you failed how are you going to improve?

5. (but maybe the most important)Executives that hold management to even higher standards than line workers. Executives that protect bad managers destroy companies.

Man, you should write a book...

 

[Kozusnik]

We did the fish and cheese thing a coupe of years ago. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only IT person who was insulted by this poor attempt at psychological team building. Managers think it's a good idea. Workers...not so much. The guy that was running it was a temporary IT director (consultant). He was a pleasant, likable guy. Kind of reminded me of a high-strung personal trainer. Most of our staff (30+ size and ages) just wanted it over with.

My suggestion, remove the fish. It gets in the way of real teamwork. I get more satisfaction from a job well done than that of making a rope into a circle.

Mark

 

[chiph]

Wow, a blast from the past.

Like I've said before, hiring good people is *the* most important thing a boss can do.

I still feel this way. After conducting interviews myself, I believe in it even more. There's a lot of software devs out there who don't understand the concept of professional development....

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[mojomade]

FISH is great, it allows all of your slackers, angry people and dissassociated individuals (read unix techs) to randomly throw stuff at one another. I have been with 2 companies who implemented this, in the second i was assigned as a leader, it is difficult to see past the BS of it and take anything truly productive out of it. Kudos to anyone who sees total companywide productivity grow as a result, but woe unto those who bring this into IT. It is great for a customer care call center but for the IT department, pick a nice multiplayer shooter like Unreal Tournament and wail on each other during the lunch hour. (be sure to set up a gaming VLAN) animosity between a programmer and a sys admin - take it into deathmatch. Don't like the help desk guy always assigning you the hard tickets... deathmatch. It is amazing what this philosophy has done for my guys. Otherwise we might have FightCLub.

 

[aarenot]

mojo,
I do not know about fish, but my experience tells me that these type programs are for people who do not know how to create a rich work environment without a cookie cutter philosophy program to adhere to.
My style is find out who the people are, form relationships, treat the people on my team as if they are better than myself, invest myself in them personally as a mentor, which means it is not always about the companies advancement. Also, work should be fun, if your people doi not know how to do it that way, teach them.

I do like the video games approach as it really can help with tension to have a little fun, and games!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JCreamerII]

If management does there job properly then the smoke and mirrors approach isn't needed. What they are trying to do is rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. When a company is run properly you don't need the FISH'y approach, and if it isn't, then it isn't going to make any difference. As soon as they offer food and not money your screwed anyway. If you got food and money, what was that company name?

Jim C.