Category: Book Club (Big Books & Short Books)

A story that teaches four powerful principles to improve the conditions of any workplace.

Mary Jane is the supervisor of the operations area of the First Guarantee Financial Company and built a very good reputation for herself. She was liked and respected by the management. Soon Mary was promoted to a third-floor department which is called the Toxic Energy Dump. Mary was reluctant but accepted the promotion. She observed the deadly atmosphere of the department where employees were working for the sake of work with no energy or enthusiasm. Mary meets Lonnie at Pike Place Fish Market and learns and applies the four principles – Choose Your Attitude, Play, Make their Day, and Be present at her office and transforms the workplace into a better place for everyone to work.

It was easy to connect with the story as I started reflecting and making connections while reading. These Principles are common needs for any workplace or any worker. I personally realized working the same kind of work as a routine makes it boring but it is definitely one’s own attitude that can make the same work interesting and new for him. I am fortunate to be at FS where each employee is first considered as a human and cared for. At FS all these strategies are used to energize and motivate the employees to work. Here we (all the stakeholders) respect and care for each other, listen to others, support, and help each other.

Reading the book was interesting, it boosts the energy level. I read ‘Feel the Fear and do it anyway’ earlier which was equally interesting. I would suggest everyone read the book. My take away from the book is ‘Taking no action, itself is a failure.’

Title of the book: Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

Author: Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen

The genre of the book: Self-help

Why was this title selected: John Christensen observed fish sellers at Pike Place Fish Market throwing fish in the air and it brought in high energy to the whole market including customers. He noticed the actual work of selling fish was repetitive and exhausting and how these fishmongers approached the way this boring repetitive task of selling fish was brought to life. He asked the fishmongers if he could film them and they agreed. From this film, the book Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results was then written. The concepts learned at this Fishmarket is now known as FISH philosophy.

Key Characters of the book: Mary Jane Ramirez, a manager from First Guarantee Financial, and Lonnie, a fishmonger from Seattle’s world-famous Pike Place Fish Market

The setting of the book: First Guarantee Office where Jane works especially the Third floor of the office which they call ” The Toxic Energy dump” and Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market

A short plot summary of the book: Following the death of her husband, Mary Jane accepts the promotion offer in the same office at the third floor where no one wants to work. The third floor is a place where there is no excitement in work, employees there feel bored if a new employee joins that employee loses spark due to the depressing culture, employees don’t use computers but use the old way to work and the employees at third floor are not aware of the market reality. That is why it is called “The Toxic Energy Dump” of the office. The challenge for Jane was to change this Third floor into an effective workplace. Jane was lost in thought of how to make this place into an energetic workplace when she stumbles upon the Pike Place Fish Market during her lunchtime. She immediately notices the energy, enthusiasm, and interaction the market fishmongers and customers had. There she meets Looney who listens to her problems and promises to help her and her staff learn the secrets of success of the Fishmarket. The first secret which Looney reveals to Jane is “Choose your attitude”. “There is always a choice about the way you do your work even if there is no choice about the work itself.” We can choose the attitude we bring to work”. The same philosophy is well narrated by Wolf one of the employees at the Fishmarket through his story. Jane understands the first secret and takes it back to her office which takes time but is then internalized by the Third-floor employees. Looking at how the employees have accepted the first secret she takes her children with her to the Fish marked to learn more. Looney involves her son in the fish work and through his son, he introduces Jane to the second and third secret which is “Play” and “Make their Day”. Fun turns things creative so it is important to play while you work. It is important to make a difference for everyone around you. A smile or a helping hand or lending an ear can make someone’s day. The fourth secret was” Focus on the customer in front of you and be tuned in to opportunities to be there for people.” So “Be Present”. Become engaged with all your heart in whatever you do. Jane after learning all these secrets brings her team for a field trip to this place and self-observation brings a change in the employees of the Third floor. Later, all the Third-floor employees divide them into four teams representing four-ingredient learned from the FISH market. The team brings in their team reports in presents it in a creative way in front of the employees, Jane, Looney, and Jane’s boss Bill. The Play team uses a game to come up with some great ideas to implement more fun with a happier atmosphere. The Make Their Day Team uses a survey to understand what others thought of them and came up with a list of strategies to implement. The Present Moment Team members relate personal stories on the importance of being present for people and identify how to be fully present for one another and their customers. The Choose Your Attitude Team report directs to the point, listing the benefits of choosing your attitude.

The book finishes with a look at life a year later where the “Third-floor” employees receive awards. The company entry has a board that outlines the four secrets and the new challenge for Jane who is now engaged to Looney is that the “Third floor” is a place now where everyone wants to work.

Your personal opinion about the book: It teaches the steps to take to learn to love what you do, and make your workplace an energetic, enthusiastic, and wonderful place to be. In fact, not only the workplace, the same philosophy can be applied in personal life.

Have you read something like this before? Can you talk about that experience ?: I have read many motivational books which touch these topics but this is very different. The storytelling with the message in this book is awesome. There are 107 pages to read but each page has something to say. If you pick it up you won’t feel like leaving it.

Should people read this book ?: A must-read for everyone.

Takeaways: All the four FISH philosophies.

1. Choose your attitude
2. Play
3. Make someone’s day
4. Be There

I liked the lines of the book and while reading philosophy one, I felt that this was also one of my feelings for a year and as a book the says as a student I was ready so this book came as a teacher to me through this book club.

 

The articles were also interesting to read. I would personally focus on “Choose your attitude” and work upon it. I would also apply my learning from the article which are the lines from the article itself.

1. One thing at a time
2. Put your distractions “away”: Decluttering your space and mind
3. Take a break
4. Choose your attitude and these can be constructive, optimistic, affirmative, and effective.

 

Article links:

https://www.fishphilosophy.com/fish-philosophy-tips-how-to-show-up-for-yourself-and-others/

https://www.fishphilosophy.com/5-fish-philosophy-tips-for-staying-focused/

https://www.fishphilosophy.com/whats-so-great-about-a-positive-attitude/

https://www.fishphilosophy.com/4-fish-philosophy-tips-to-choose-your-attitude/

https://www.fishphilosophy.com/4-key-fish-philosophy-lessons-from-teachers/

 

-Bhargavi Bergi

“The past is history

The future is a mystery

Today is a gift That is why we call it the present”

ઉપરોક્ત પંક્તિ FISh – Stepen C.Laundin પુસ્તક માંથી લેવામાં આવેલ છે, અને આ પંક્તિ આપણા જીવનને પણ જાણે સાર્થક કરે છે. કોઈપણ સંસ્થામાં આજીવિકા રળનાર કર્મચારી માટે એ સંસ્થા સાથે કામ કરવું અગત્યનું અને અનિવાર્ય બની જાય છે, જે જગ્યાએ તેઓ દિવસનો મોટા ભાગનો સમય સાથે વિતાવે છે. એ સંસ્થામાં સાથે કામ કરનાર દરેક કર્મચારી પોતાના અંગત જીવનની મુશ્કેલીઓને અવગણી ને કામ કરતી હોય છે.

આ પુસ્તક માં નાયિકા મેરી તેના જીવનમાં આવેલ બદલાવ સાથે તેને મળેલ નવી જવાબદારી સાંભળવા તૈયાર થાય છે. શરૂઆતનો સમય તેના માટે ખૂબ જ વિકટ છે જેને toxic energy dump કહીને બોલવવામાં આવે છે તે છતાં ત્યાં જ રહી તે તેના લક્ષ ને પાર પડે છે.

આ પુસ્તકમાં કર્મચારી જીવનમાં ચાર અગત્યના મુદ્દા જેના પાયા પર આપણી સંસ્થાની ઇમારત અડગ ઉભી રહેલી છે – Choose your Attitude – There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is not a choice about the work itself. Play Make their day Be Present આ પુસ્તક વાંચન એક આહલાદ્ક અનુભવ હતો કેમકે કર્મચારી અને સહકર્મચારી સાથેના સંબંધો કેવા હોવા જોઈએ એ જાણવા મળ્યું. જેમકે ટીમના સભ્યો ને પ્રોત્સાહન આપવું એમને કામ કરવાં માટે યોગ્ય અવકાશ આપવો જ્યાં એના વ્યક્તિત્વનો વિકાસ થાય. બાળક હોય કે કર્મચારી તેમના માટે નાની પ્રવૃત્તિ પણ ક્યારેક કારગર નીવડે છે.

આ પુસ્તકમાં જે પરિસ્થિતિ દર્શાવી છે તેવી જ અમારી શાળામાં પણ અમને અમારા સંસ્થાના મોભી એટલે કે પ્રધાનાચાર્ય દ્વારા અમારી કાળજી લેવામાં આવે છે. આ પુસ્તક વાંચન દરમ્યાન એ દરેક બાબત યાદ આવી. કેમકે Fountainhead school માં કર્મચારીઓને વિચારવા અને કામ કરવા માટે વાતાવરણ આપવામાં આવે છે.

– Kunjan Gandhi

Hello All,

Today, I would like to share with you all my jorney of this “Happiness Project” that I have taken up this year. This project is based on the book “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin. She started her journey to become happier and chose one aspect of her life each month for entire year. She listed down her commandments and adulthood secrets to help her in this journey. Two of the lines which she learnt and used is what I have taken up for now.

1. “There is only Love” – In order to develop tolerance and compassion for everyone around me with diverse thinking and behaviours, I have chosen this as one of my commandments to help me feel good or at least neutral for all that exists around me and frustates me.
2. “Fake it to feel it” – It has been long learnt lesson now to many of us that positive affirmations using I or I Am statements in present tense to send messages to our subconscious mind or brain and achieve whatever we want. I procrastinate a lot to check assessments and that frustates me later and also my managers! I have written down few statements that would help me to become better at this task. One of the statement is “I love checking assessments”

Apart from this I commit for the following aspects of my life to become happier:

1. Physical Fitness – Do Yoga or exercise 20 minutes a day. Eat a little less and with all 5 senses.
2. Mental Fitness – Do Pranayama, Recite my prayers and Meditate ( Total 60 Mins a day).
3. School Work – Be a little more proactive and get work done a little faster with good quality.
4. Professional Development – Learn about “Teaching and Learning” OR “Technical Skills” 20 minutes a day.
5. Being there for family – Spend time meaningfully with or for family 45 minutes a day.

I am hopeful that I shall be able to keep my committment and be Happier.

Stay Blessed!

I am a happy person. To keep ourselves happy is our first responsibility and I am happy then only I can create happiness outside. Great learning
Happiness is not in destiny but in the journey. So to make our journey we took a happiness project which we will present at the end of life classes. Really grateful to find such an opportunity where we can discuss without any judgment and fear. After knowing the chemical and hormones responsible for happiness,  I was logically convinced that happiness affects our body composition. Nagging in relations could hamper any relations so negatively that could ruin the whole setup. Marriage is a work under progress sort of relation. So wisdom comes when you understand any concept with real-life examples. Actions are necessary to achieve anything in life. May be baby steps. So starting my happiness project with lots of love and care from my life class friends. Love u all.

My happiness project is to do the walking and exercise for 40 min at least 5 times a week. I will do my meditation session in the evening and write the experiences as diary writing. I will master my thoughts to create a peaceful world, which means a blueprint of my life so that I will be a happy person.

Quoting from the book – “There is only love”.

This line and the idea seem so simple. However, if you delve deeper into its meaning, it helps you to realize the significance of positive thinking or affirmations. In the book, the author shares an example of a workplace where the employees dreaded to work with a “notoriously difficult person” – the boss – except the author’s friend. She would just use one simple mantra – There is only love.  She worked with him without any hitches or any complaints.

If we can apply this mantra in any relationship, happiness is something we get in return.

The discussion on the book is not yet over. Until now, I did come across many such insightful statements which forces me to reflect on my life too. I am sure there is more to come.

As part of my happiness project, I have committed to spend at least 15 minutes a day on writing something worth reading 🙂 I have been wanting to write something good from a long period of time but I would not work diligently towards it. If I want to see my name in print, I need to work for the same. I need to do what makes me ‘happy’.

First of all I would like to say that reading a book is not at all my cup of tea. I do read but its all abt art and design based articles or posts. I was supposed to facilitate Art and skils for support staff. And then due to this pandemic I was made to choose book club this year. I was very tensed how I will finish these many books.
But the book “Fish” really motivated me to read. I am surprised but happy at same time that I finished 1 book in a day with great support of the team.

Many times in life whether its work or at personal level we have to phase challenges. For that we need to choose appropriate attitude. Every time we dont have much choice in choosing the work or changing the situations but there’s always a choice to change your attitude. it takes lot of courage to bring change.
After harsh time of Mary Jane’s husband’s death and at the same time for survival with two children, her posting on third floor “toxic energy dump” at First Guarantee was very challenging.
She come across the Pike Place Fish Market. There she decided to change the reputation of her department. She took that risk and applied those philosophies for her and for the third floor.
Have faith and patience in whatever you do. As Lonnie mentioned, Pike Place Fish market didn’t start this way. They changed their attitude and they had faith in them selves and they achieved the result.
Playing at work will make our work easy. This energize the workplace. This also helps to reduce stress and get better outcome.
Being at present is very important. it will keep you connected with the customer And make relation with customer healthy. its also makes communication easy.
Making their day is keep them motivated. It also make them feel that they are important. Doing even small gestures like thank you, sorry, giving appreciations.

She helped her department to realize the actual problems and why they should be come out of their current mind set and think for their better future. After great efforts she successfully changed the Third floor from a “toxic Energy dump” to a healthy environment.

I also liked in the end the way Lonnie propose Mary Jane with the ring in the fish mouth. 🙂

I will recommend this book to others to read. It’s short but very helpful. This book changed my attitude towards reading as well. 🙂

– Aneri Desai

Reading is not something I willingly want to do so but I gave this challenge to myself by joining Book Club for this is years Life class. I was not sure but still wanted to give a chance to myself. It’s not that don’t read but its al related to the work I do. “Fish” is the first book that we were given which belongs to Self Help Genre.

There were many characters in the book except the main ones i.e. Mary Jane, recently widowed and mother of two, and Loonie, a fishmonger. The entire story revolves around them.

Most of the story is set around two places, First Guarantee where Mary Jane works and Pike Place, the fish market.

The story, in brief, is about the main character, Mary Jane Ramirez who is asked to engineer a turnaround of her company’s troubled operations department described by others as a “toxic energy dump” and “a bunch of losers”. She finds herself in a situation of “Fight or Flight” as she was given the responsibility of turning a chronically unenthusiastic and unhelpful department into an effective team which could be a nightmare to any person knowing the reputation of the department. At least that’s what she thinks until she stumbles upon the Pike Place Fish Market. There she learns the inspiring management philosophy that might change her life! She decides to fight to change the reputation of her department. By applying these very simple philosophies she made a great change for herself, for the people she worked with and worked for.

Choose Your Attitude: Choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. When you get up, decide who you want to “be” today. Moment-to-moment awareness is key. Ask yourself throughout the day, “What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be the most effective?”
Play: You can be serious about your work without taking yourself so seriously. It allows you to throw yourself with enthusiasm and creativity into whatever you are doing, in a way that is natural, not forced.
Be There: When your students/team members need you, they need all of you. Setting aside distractions and judgments to be mentally and emotionally present is a sign of respect. It improves communication and strengthens relationships.
Make Their Day: Simple gestures of thoughtfulness, thanks, and recognition make people feel appreciated and valued. When you make someone else feel good, you feel good too.

I feel all philosophies are important but the most important is changing your attitude because any change that you want to bring that starts with you first. The other is very simple one is that “treat others the way you want to be treated” and being there when one needs you or observing every minute details around you. All these ideas will not be very effective if working in isolation.

I was able to connect most of these things to the life classes that I attended earlier starting with 7 habits which say “Be proactive” is similar to “Choose your Attitude”. There is a connection between ” Seek first to understand then to be understood” with “Being there” or learning’s from the “Emotional Intelligence” workshop that is understanding and believing in others what they can do, be patient with your relationships, creating a sense of purpose, etc. I feel that Choose your attitude is also related to “Critical Thinking” in some ways when you question yourself to take charge of your life, questing your goals, adopting a growth mindset, and challenging your assumptions when It’s natural to assume the worst about other people’s motives and capabilities, especially if we don’t agree or connect positively with them. Another very simple yet powerful lesson is “you are not too aged to be childlike”

I definitely recommend this to others to read. It’s short but impactful. It refreshes those things which have in ourselves but at times forget in normal routine life. There are takeaways for teachers and other staff as well, important is to look for a connections!

When thinking about reading, the first thought that comes in my mind is a sense of boredom as I am not a book lover at all. But to change this attitude towards the reading I Joined book club so I can change my thinking about the reading and can find if I really can develop an interest about books. To my surprise I found the book FISH very interesting to read and a kind of motivational book for me.

The way a women Mary Jane started her struggle in life after the sudden death of her husband and the progress of her in the Company First Guarantee, And a sudden unexpected change of her promotion is 3rd floor which is so called known as a “Toxic energy Dump” due to the environment there.

And from the real struggle to identify the actual identity of her own, Her own threats for the life after the death of her husband and to find a way to the fish market and meet Loonie who helped her to understand and change the “Toxic energy dump” environment to the pleasant work area where every one would love to work.

Loonie teaches her that a normal fish market works ca also be a pleasant work place by adding the play in the works. Making an office an adult playground most tedious jobs can also be interesting.

Along with Loonie She also help other team members to realize the actual problems and why they should be come out of the current mindset and think for a better future is required ad essential .

She successfully change the 3rd floor from a toxic Energy dump” to a healthy environment . This dramatic change also help me to understand my problems with the work environment ad lead me to a better solution which I personally can apply and bring positivity in my life.

This book has been written by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen. The purpose behind writing this book is to motivate all of those workers who find difficulty in leading their work and as well to make the work effective and qualitative. It shows the importance of a healthy environment at the workplace and how impactful it is on all the workers. The book is specially created for professional development but somehow the write up is connected to one’s personal life also. The character Mary Jane has been portrayed in such a way where her problems are just like any normal person’s problem. The way she had to take responsibility professionally to serve a need for her personal life is the scenario in many people’s life. We are doing things at a point in life for our responsibilities to be filled. The way she learned visiting the fish market about how your attitude towards your work can just change the way your work is something amazing. It all starts with your energy, willingness, positivity, your presence. Overall what matters is just your “attitude”.To bring the attitude one needs to work on own self. It is you who bring change in life. without courage, one can not achieve success. To bring the joy to your work you must believe, have the courage, and have a positive attitude in ownself.

 

-Vaidehi Shethji Gujarati.