When Fish Fly: Lessons for Creating a Vital and Energized Workplace from the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market

by John Yokoyama, Joseph A. Michelli, Joseph Michelli

Book Overview

"You can energize your people and delight your customers by modeling the fabulous ideas that come from the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market." -- Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager In this revealing business advice book, the magic of the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market proves a dynamic example of what a group of people can create when they are aligned and living a powerful vision. Here for the first time, owner...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401300618
• ISBN13: 9781401300616
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

What an amazing Company

Our company has adopted the Fish policy and we love it. Although we cannot throw fish, we do throw alot of fun activities, etc. to help the attitude's of our employee's. Wish I could move to Seattle and work at the Pike Market! Thanks for sharing ALL your Fish products with us here in Louisville KY!

Outstanding

Purchased after a recent seminar showcasing the Pike Place Fish Market, I found this book an outstanding tool to take back to my co-workers. When Fish Fly focuses on the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market and how the owner, John Yokoyama, turned his once failing business into a fun, thriving one. Motivational, inspirational and easy to read. It has proven itself time and again with work and the difficult task of motivating others.

Simply fantastic

The book tells a really inspiring story about how it is possible to turn a team, a company around to delivering excellence and beyond. I've read quite a few management and team building related books, and still mention this one before any other books on the same topic. - It is a realy honest book - It is about real people with their real story - The author shows how he had to change first - It is a very simple, quick read that will stick. Thanks Bart

Customer service & employee morale

Customer service and employee morale are the two main messages from this interesting audio book. Yokoyama explains in his own words how he turned around a struggling Seattle fish market and developed loyalty from his employees, helping them develop vision and commitment. Having never had a full-time employee leave within the past five years, Yokoyama offers advice for encouraging passion in employees, teaching them to overcome the daily frustrations and setbacks that are part of the job. The audio describes how crowds gather daily to see the crew throwing fish and interacting with customers, and also to purchase some of the freshest fish in the country. Yokoyama's attitudes were shaped partly from his childhood experience of being impris-oned in World War II Japanese-American internment camp.

Fishing for Success? Give this Book a Read!

"When Fish Fly" is a fast read with substance. The title comes from the practice of the "fishmongers" (workers) of Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, who are 'world famous' for tossing the customer's fish purchase great distances and putting on a show to the delight of thousands of visitors. Several years ago I read the book "Fish!" by Stephen C. Lundin, et. al., a business parable grounded in the story of lessons learned at the Pike Place Fish Market. "When Fish Fly" is written by the owner of the business and the organizational coach who has worked with the business for many years. The book provides some fascinating background on how the market became the shining example it is today. Further, the authors lay out eight key principles at the foundation of their success: 1. Creating a vision of power and possibility as a team. 2. Enrolling and formalizing individual commitment and team alignment to the vision. 3. Helping team members distinguish between the state of being and the state of doing. (A call to BE the vision in the moment, whatever it takes.) 4. Having leadership redefine themselves as effective agents of change. 5. Assisting team members in letting go of internal and external conversations that rob them of their personalpower. 6. Guiding team members to listen to make a difference instead of listening to defend or blame. 7. Helping the crew live their commitment to one another through effective coaching. (Everybody coaches everbody else and is open to receiving coaching from everybody else.) 8. Assisting crew members as they turn snags into breakthroughs. Most of all, the book reveals the power of alignment to a vision, and provides some strategies any organization can take if it is interested in a vision that includes making money and also making a difference in the lives of its workers and customers. The book lacks a hard edge for readers who insist 'it's a jungle out there.' As author Og Mandino put it one time, if it's a jungle out there, it's because we have made it so. "When Fish Fly" provides an alternative approach. Persons who have read the book "FISH!" or who have seen the instructional video will still gain a great deal from this book, but it stands just fine by itself as well. Both business and non-profit organizations will benefit from its brevity, inspiration, and strategies.