Stephen Lundin
Stephen Lundin draws on years of experience as a psychologist, MBA professor, business consultant, best-selling author and filmmaker as well as the FISH! Philosophy (which he helped to create) when he works with businesses. Stephen shares his wealth of knowledge, helping his clients change their organizational culture and create a workplace where people can truly experience the one life that is theirs to live.
The enormous influence of the FISH! series of books to date has been staggering. With more than two and a half million copies in print worldwide of FISH!, FISH! TALES, and FISH! STICKS, The FISH! Philosophy of work and life has touched and changed innumerable employees and businesses around the world. Millions have used FISH! to improve the way they work and live. Stephen's most recent book, Top Performer, is also a modern business parable based on the natural energy and salesmanship of street performers.
By sharing his powerful, personal and authentic message, Stephen awakens his audiences to the possibilities that exist in every workplace, every home and every life.
The Fish! Philosophy
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 they had discovered. 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.