Customer Reviews: Read 208 more reviews...
 The story is inspiring, but not in an overwhelming way July 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There are certainly bad jobs, but even the best job can be mildewed by a bad attitude. If a large percentage of the people in a group feel that their job is lousy, then it will be contagious and all will catch the disease.
This story is about Mary Jane, a woman that moved to Seattle, Washington with her husband, only to have him unexpectedly die of an aneurysm. She is the manager of a group that does very well; the negative talk is not within, but about the third floor. Apparently, the floor is populated with the slackers of the company, people who care little for the quality of their work or how it appears to others.
Since her husband died, Mary Jane has been struggling to pay off the residual medical bills, so when she is offered the management position of the third floor with a substantial pay raise, she accepts. She arrives to find that things are about as bad as she expected. Morale is horrendous; people delay in answering the phone and sometimes unplug it instead. There is no energy in the workers, everyone arrives as late as possible and seems to just endure until it is time to quit.
At first, Mary Jane has no idea what to do and when her superior gives her an ultimatum to increase productivity or else, she knows that she has to do something. Her first idea comes from her trip to a fish market. The workers there clearly are enjoying themselves; they toss fish around and even use them as makeshift hand puppets. When she asks about their positive attitude, one of the workers, a kind man named Lonnie, points out that a positive attitude is a necessary prerequisite to enjoying any job.
When Mary Jane calls a meeting and discusses it with her staff, she finds them much more positive than she expected. They are not by nature negative, in fact they are happy that someone is trying to improve their situation. After a few more visits to the fish market, Mary Jane discovers the other "secrets" to making her work environment a positive one and at the end, her staff is a team, happy and enjoying their work.
The word "secrets" is extremely overused in the context of success. No effective tactic is really a secret, everyone knows about it, the difference is in the effective application. Mary Jane learns, and you will too, that treating people as valuable and appreciated members of a group is a sure way to raise morale, which always improves performance. It also helps if you can disguise the work as play, which is another one of the tactics employed by Mary Jane. The story is inspiring, but not in an extremely dynamic manner.
 The Choice is Yours June 19, 2008
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
In a simple easy to read story "Fish" is about igniting passion into your work environment that can spill over into all aspects of your life. The "Fish Philosophy" is based on a few simple ideas that can transform your daily grind of a nine to five workday into an enriching, easy and yes, even a fun time at the office.
I work at a large financial firm and currently am heading a team that is focused on creating a new work procedure that has never been applied in our office previously. The creative start up process can be challenging but the team we have assembled for the work is up to the challenge and eager to be a part of something that will have an impact on the firm overall. I am so glad I read "Fish" in that I can share with my team the insights I've learned so that our work together can be productive, successful and yes here it is again...fun.
If you found "Fish" to be inspiring and enlightening, I highly recommend reading any of Ariel and Shya Kane's books called "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment", "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: A Book About Instantaneous Transformation" or "How To Create a Magical Relationship." All of the Kane's books impart insights and ways into living a life that is meaningful, satisfying and joyful.
Working in a place where you smile often...how cool is that? Can you imagine living a life where you smile often? It's definitely possible.
 Man I never knew that fish could be so foul! April 20, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was given this so-called motivational book by a coach at my place of employment. I work at a financial institution which is very tedious and boring everyday.I read some of the book and couldn't stop wondering about how much worse my day could be! Its is very slow witted and repetitive. I was thinking to myself about how slow this coach could be since he said that the book changed his life! It offers very little practical advice and is a waste of time and energy. I see the reality in work. You work at a job for 20 to 25 years, like it or not, so that you can retire and enjoy everyday from that point onward. Enjoying counting money, fighting with customers, and listening to everyones complaints is anything but enjoyable and fish can't change that! It is just another book to waste your money on. If you are doing your job well, are mentally stable and not depressed, then this book is not needed. So instead of buying this waste of trees, why not take a walk in the park, learn a new language, get a hobby, or just enjoy your life and do your job. You don't need a book to do that! LOL Oh and this book titled fish really stinks! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY $$$$$$
Attitude is NOT the problem February 8, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
What irritates me about this book is the idea that an employee's attitude is the problem. The premise seems to be: Hate your job? It's your attitude!
There is no allowance made for the fact that perhaps there is a REASON that people might hate their job.
Perhaps they are made to follow rules that don't make sense. Perhaps they see what they need to accomplish, but lack the training or resources to get it done. Perhaps the office environment is old, crumbling, the bathrooms don't work, and the printer keeps jamming.
In other words, if employees are unhappy, then you need to find out WHY they are unhappy and FIX it.
Don't just tell them to change their attitude. Sure that might be the case with a few hardcore cynical people. But most of us WANT to do a good job. We only get cynical when we are prevented from doing so.
So look for tangible obstacles to your employees work, and remove them.
The attitude will take care of itself.
And, for the love of god and all that's holy, don't give them this stupid book.
 Motivational, but not helpful January 29, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
My boss gave me this book to read and tell her what I thought. My review here will be essentially what I told her.
The FISH concept is exactly that, a concept that has been heard before from countless speakers at every business conference you have attended. Chose your attitude, have some fun at work, pay attention to people, and be focused on the present. None of these are breakthrough concepts. The book itself is a quick read; I finished it on my lunch break after she gave it to me. Large font, large margins, and lots of wasted space make and already thin book even shorter.
The biggest problem with this book is that it is written to be motivational, but not exactly helpful. Most people will read this book, and be very excited about what they have read, wanting to run right back to work and start implementing the FISH philosophy. By the end of the week this enthusiasm will be gone because, unfortunately this book does not give you the knowledge or the skills to implement their theories. The character in the book is fictional, and the results she achieved by implementing this philosophy are just as fictional. I would have been much happier to have read about a company that actually DID implement this philosophy, how they did it, and the true results they achieved. Certainly reading that a fictional person implemented it and it worked phenomenally can be motivational, but reality works differently.
The flaws in the concept can be overcome, but the book itself does not help you to achieve this. The employees have to trust their management, the management has to both trust their employees and also have employees in place that can be trusted to want to do their job to the best of their ability. Also, you have to assume that the work that the employees are doing is actually value added work. In the day and age of lawsuits over everything, trying to add "fun" to the workplace can be a terrifying thing to management who has been trained over the years that anything out of the norm can result in a lawsuit of one type or another. The suggestion of beach balls and throwing footballs around the room (from the second book "Fish Tales") is any safety manager's nightmare.
In the end, this is a weakly written book about a philosophy that is motivational, but of more use in your personal life than the business world.
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