The Fish Philosophy: What If We Called It "Play"
VANCOUVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
September, 2001

Management Concepts
JONNIE MARTIN


In a recent discussion, a client said to me “there’s a reason we call it work.”  I don’t exactly remember the context of our discussion now.  It probably referred to an employee who lacked focus or commitment.  But I remember my internal reaction was this:  “Why must we call it work?  What would happen if we called it play?”

That’s the principle that the folks at the Pike’s Street Market in Seattle adopted a few years ago.  At one time, joining that company meant work - a lot of hard work.  The hours were long, the working conditions were less than desirable.  It was a cold, smelly, unattractive job. The people who worked in the middle of all that fish and brine and ice were a pretty grumpy crew.

Somewhere along the way, the owners of Pike’s Street Market began to take some seminars, hired a management consultant, read some books on management and the psychology of people, and came up with the idea that they needed to change their culture.  Pike’s Street Market needed to change — from a miserable place to work —  to a satisfying place to play.

If you have ever visited Pike’s Street in Seattle, then you know that this new philosophy changed the face and the fame of that Market.  No longer a little-known, cold, clammy, smelly hole in the wall, Pike’s Street Market is now an international icon and part of the entertainment scene for Seattle.

The fish salesmen in their big hip-waders and rubber aprons are laughing with the customers, joking with each other, yelling out the orders, and throwing fish through the air to the “ooh’s and ahh’s” of the assembled audience.  Buying fish at the Pike’s Street Market is more than just commerce - it’s a playful, entertaining experience.  The employees at the market are playing, not working, and the constant ka-ching of the cash register tells us this philosophy is working.

In fact this cultural wonder has been so successful that a training tape was written around the “Fish” philosophy and it is now the darling of the Fortune 100 companies.  It begins from the premise:  “If these people at the market can find a way to have fun at their job, surely there’s some way you can have fun at your company.”  You don’t have to throw fish, of course — you just have to start with the idea that we can create your own playful and successful culture.

Progressive companies have come to realize that adults spend about 50% of their waking hours each week in their workplace environment.  Bringing some form of fun and playfulness into the environment increases job satisfaction, creativity, longevity, quality of performance and so on.  The trick is to find the kind of playful ideas that work best in your particular business.

In many of my client companies, we have used the Fish video in retreats, as the introduction to the playful philosophy, followed by brainstorming sessions on the best way to increase the company’s fun quotient.  In an open forum of this type, everyone is able to participate and contribute, and to discuss the appropriateness of various types of activities and behaviors.  The questions are asked:  “How can we have fun?  How can we make it fun for the customer?  How can we have fun and still be good business people?”

Here are a few of the creative ways I’ve seen playfulness incorporated into a company’s culture, along with some ideas in Matt Weinstein’s book, “Managing to Have Fun.”
  • Take photos at various company events and use them to make a company calendar distributed at the Christmas party each year.
  • Have a “kudo’s” board in the break room, where employees can brag on themselves and each other.  Another great place to post event photos - or baby pictures!
  • Create a stress-free zone in a corner cubby-hole, with puzzles, stress balls, sand-weighted punching bag, voo-doo doll, joke books, and lollipops!
  • During the summer noon-day concerts at Esther Park, shut down the company at lunch and head to the park with brown-bag lunches and quilts.
  • Encourage silly, happy, personal ways of saying “Happy Birthday” — like smiley faces on sticky notes, or playing happy birthday on the phone keypad (4-4-5-4-9-8)

One company I knew always had a costume contest at Halloween and we were delighted to see everyone, including the owners, take part in full regalia.  It brought smiles to everyone’s face to see our entire accounting department in identical costumes as “nerds” (complete with tape on their glasses and pocket protectors) and to see our Vice President skating through the halls in her roller-derby outfit.

Another company used a “secret pal” theme at Christmas.  Everyone put their name into the hat, along with a description of the things they like best (roses, chocolates, the Blazers, the ballet, movies, etc.)  It was the secret pal’s responsibility to anonymously bring inexpensive but appropriate gifts throughout the month.

The idea of introducing “play” into the workplace may seem foreign at first, but you will be surprised how quickly everyone warms to the idea.  And the “Fish” video lends itself to a playful retreat.  One client held their retreat in-town, but used a fish theme in their materials and hand-outs — and the owners of the company led the retreats wearing huge fish and crab foam-rubber hats!!

Another company took their team to the beach, using the “fish” and “fun” theme throughout the weekend.  On the final night, the fun committee brought along T-shirts, paint and frozen fish.  Participants slathered paint onto the fish, pressed the T-shirts onto the fish form — and voila!  Each person had their own fish shirt!  With extra paint they embellished the designs and then hung them up to dry for the group and individual photos the next day.