Stephen Lundin

When Stephen and fellow film makers entered the fish market, they tried to capture on film what the fishmongers did naturally. Two films later they had an exciting formula that would allow any team to create the incredible atmosphere we discovered in Seattle. They call it the Fish! Philosophy and the following are the four guiding principles.

Play!
The fishmongers of Pike Place Fish Market are known around the world for throwing and catching large slippery fish, to the delight of their customers. It is one of the many ways they play. You and I might do serious work and we take that work seriously, but we can choose not to take ourselves too seriously. An advanced team understands how to harness the power of fun to lighten the atmosphere and create an environment that nurtures innovation.

Make Their Day!
On entering the market you could think you were just being entertained. Wrong. The fishmongers are dedicated to making your visit memorable, and they do that by finding ways of making the customer’s day. You may find yourself catching a fish or being involved in a harmless practical joke. Our work days are full of opportunities for making the day of our customers and our fellow team members; a small kindness or remembering a name; a word of support during difficult times. When you “make someone’s day” you are focused on serving another. A advanced team has a bond that can be created only by serving customers and one another.

Be There!
The fishmongers have discovered the power of focusing on one person and one thing at a time. The antidote to burnout is not necessarily rest – it is wholeheartedness. It is the halfhearted things you do while juggling other things that wear you out. When advanced team members interact they are not just physically present, they are wholeheartedly present.
Choose Your Attitude!
At the market there is a great deal of discussion about choice – a reminder of what the fishmongers have discovered: you choose your attitude. If you find yourself with an attitude you don’t want, you can choose another. Members of an advanced teams understand and discuss the notion that each member has the power to choose his or her attitude, and that each is responsible for that choice.
Suggested Applications

•  The Fish Philosophy
•  How to Boost Morale and Improve the Bottom Line
•  How to Adapt to Changing Times
•  Transforming Your Workplace and Your Life
•  Feedback is a Gift
•  Personal Accountability

We have all heard that curiosity killed a cat. Have you ever seen a cat killed by curiosity? How often do you think it actually happens? By dogs and trucks, yes… but curiosity? Stephen believes sayings like this one are born out of fear, not experience. He believes the origin of the statement, “curiosity killed a cat” is to create fear in others, to prevent change and all sorts of other weird and discomforting new ideas. What if curiosity was in fact the key to creativity? The Nine Lives of Innovation provides a basic structure and ingredients to encourage curiosity and promote innovation.  Only released in 2007, CATS is already a best seller in Australia!

We all sell something for a living — whether it’s a brand, a vision, an education, a direction, or a service. We might even be selling a set of numbers to a board meeting, learning to a student, or cereal to an infant. This eye-opening parable is about harnessing natural energy — yours and that of those around you — in order to take your sales, and your satisfaction to the next level of success.