PLAY

Have a joke bulletin board

Photo Day - Baby Photo Contest
Post a cartoon every day
Joke around with one another
Tease a co-workers good naturedly
Laugh at yourself - don't take life so seriously
Color for the day - all wear same color to work for unity
Talent show
Monthly, pick a day and have department go somewhere in the afternoon, such as
climb a mountain together then go somewhere to eat
Switch roles for one hour
Put a face of someone from the dept or hospital on every screen saver in the dept
Play: Music/entertainment in the cafeteria at times
Start the day with a group cheer!!

MAKE THEIR DAY

Tenth customer gets something special
Do something special for your customers – unexpectedly
Have the customer of the week - someone you pick for a silly reason or an
accomplishment and start a bulletin board
Sending anonymous notes of appreciation
Celebrate people's birthdays by cutting out paper balloons and having everyone write
down something that they appreciate about the birthday person
Everyone who works this weekend gets.... movie ticket, gift certificate
Leave a surprise trinket/chocolate/etc on someone's desk
Ask "Can I help you with something, or do you need any help?" once a day
Bring a cake to work for no reason
Plan staff retreats, picnics, parties

BE THERE
Say "Good Morning"
Stop into someone's office just to say "hi"
Listen to what others have to say
Give undivided attention/focus
Engage in meaningful conversation
Find out about someone's hobby
Care about employees lives outside of work
Ask the residents about their day - talk to them about the old times, the weather -
something that brings back memories, smiles & tears

CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE

Count your blessings not your troubles
Write down why you love your job
Take time to celebrate your successes
Feel lucky to have a great job, home, etc.
Don't let circumstances or others set your attitude
Do not carry over a bad day to the next day
Wake up each morning and make a decision to be happy that day
Have a positive attitude regardless of how your day is going
Find the humor in situations as well as the seriousness
Don't sweat the small stuff
Stop complaining (do something about it)
 Don't gossip or spread gossip
Make it your job to cheer up fellow employees’ everyday
Make an effort to be more patient with others
Put positive notes on your desk for yourself & others to read
Take a break (go for a walk) when you feel you are getting frustrated
Remember difficult circumstances don't last forever - This too shall pass!

Spirituality is Creativity

Spirituality is Communication

Spirituality is Respect

Spirituality is Vision

Spirituality is Partnership

Spirituality is Energy

Spirituality is Flexibility

Spirituality is Fun

Spirituality is Finding Your Self

Creativity includes conscious efforts to see things differently, to break out of habits and out-
dated beliefs to find new ways of thinking, doing and being.  Creativity is a natural, normal
aspect of healthy human beings.

Communication!  This is the vehicle that allows people to work together. When we go out into
the world, most of us have not learned how to communicate with our peers for the purpose of
achieving something beneficial for all of us. Learning to listen to others and really hear them,
speak the truth - your own truth, and come together in a human understanding leads to powerful
productivity for all involved.  Whether a personal relationship or a work relationship, one of the
most important skills anyone can learn are good communication skills. Lack of Communication
leads to isolation, confusion, conflict, unnecessary anxiety, mistrust, suspicion and much more.  

Respect of self and of others; includes: respect for the environment; other people's personal
privacy, their physical space and belongings; different viewpoints, philosophies, religion, gender,
lifestyle, ethnic origin, physical ability, beliefs and personality. When we learn respect for our
peers, we can come to acceptance of their differences.  We can learn to use those differences for
our mutual benefit. Along with Respect comes Acceptance, which includes acceptance of the
inherent right of each person to follow their chosen life path, and acceptance that diversity and
variety lead to a rich mixture of humanity. Lack of respect and acceptance lead to conflict and
hostility.
Vision means seeing beyond the obvious - seeing the unseen.  It is a trait used to describe leaders
and entrepreneurs. Vision can be learned.  The only requirement is a strong desire to want to
learn, coupled with a strong desire to grow and expand beyond where you are.

Partnership encompasses individual responsibility and trust that other people will perform
according to their commitments for the good of the team and partners. Partnership accepts that
different people have different viewpoints and beliefs; those differences are used as positive
aspects for broadening the team experience. Lack of partnership leads to isolation and unhealthy
competition.

Very positive energy forces are released when people feel creative, have the freedom to express
their opinions, and feel respect from their management and their peers. The opposite energy
force creates Hostile Workplace situations - including: Violence, Sexual Harassment,
Discrimination, Verbal Abuse, Lack of Respect, Loss of Productivity, as well as all
dysfunctional or addictive work situations. Your contribution to the collective positive energy is
using your own creativity, communicating well, having respect for others, adapting to changing
situations, working well with others and enjoying what you do.  Your contribution to the
collective negative energy is withholding your talents, communicating without respect, fighting
and arguing with others, resisting changes, creating tension with others and hating what you do.
You play a significant role in the overall energy force - each person can contribute positive
energy or negative energy.

Flexibility includes the ability to adapt to changing situations and allowing one's own beliefs and
habits to change as needed.  As our world changes at an ever-rapid pace, we need to find ways to
adapt and change ourselves with it.

People who enjoy their life work harder, make more money, have more confidence in
themselves, have more friends and are far healthier than people who worry constantly, fight with
others, feel frightened all the time, abuse their health and have low self-respect. Starting today,
you can change your life - simply by changing how you see the world. If you put a smile on your
face, learn to see the beauty all around, take a deep breath instead of criticizing someone, count
to 10 when frustrated, and take a walk instead of throwing a punch - life will become more fun
for you too! Reducing stress requires a willingness to appreciate nature, to see what others are
too busy to see - the peaceful way that nature changes and grows all around us. Greet each day
with a sense of wonder and expectation of wonderful things - before long, you'll be seeing magic
and joy, instead of grief and heartache.  Smile when you see someone, say "hello" to a new
employee, help a stranger find their way, take a moment to smell the roses!

Your self (small "s") is the person you are here on this planet.  Your Self (capital "S") is the
greater energy of the Universe that connects all of us.  Learning about who you are, how you can
control your world by changing your attitude, and learning to respect and accept others helps
unite us together, strengthening that universal energy that keeps us alive. What you call this
universal energy is unimportant.  It is there, whether we see it, feel it or believe it.  When we are
in harmony with it, our lives are smoother and easier.  When we fight it, we are only fighting our
self. Whether in the workplace or in our personal lives, our attitude about the world defines how
our life unfolds.  Make a choice today to live the fullest life possible - filled with friends and
enjoyable work.  The world will be a better place for all of us.

Imagine a workplace where everyone chooses to bring energy, passion, and a positive attitude to
the job every day. Imagine an environment in which people are truly connected to their work, to
their colleagues, and to their customers. In this engrossing parable, a fictional manager is
charged with the responsibility of turning a chronically unenthusiastic and unhelpful department
into an effective team. Across the street from her office is Seattles very real Pike Place Fish
Market, world famous and wildly successful thanks to its fun, bustling, joyful atmosphere and
customer service. By applying ingeniously simple lessons learned from the actual Pike Place
fishmongers, our manager learns how to energize those who report to her and effect an
astonishing transformation in her workplace. Addressing todays work issues (including
employee retention and burnout) with an engaging metaphor and an appealing message that
applies to any sector of any organization, Fish! offers wisdom that is easy to grasp, instantly
applicable, and profoundthe hallmarks of a true business classic. Based on a bestselling
ChartHouse training video which has been adopted by corporations including Southwest
Airlines, Sprint, and Nordstrom.

EMERGENCY MAKEOVER

Makeover is changing one’s appearance. In the present environment the need of the hour
is to revitalize and reenergize your workplace and yourself.

The FISH Philosophy is a set of simple, practical tools to help you create the work
culture you’ve been looking for. It’s a way to build stronger relationships that equip you to face
your challenges more effectively. The FISH! Philosophy fulfills the most basic needs of human
beings who, in turn, fulfill the needs of the organization—more connected teams, better
communication, extraordinary service and higher retention. This philosophy aims to encourage
employees to create a better workplace culture and engage with their workplace

The philosophy is simple, and goes by applying four ingredients that will turn the place
from stress and dullness into relax and fun. The ingredients of FISH philosophy are as follows:

1. Choose your attitude

2. Play

3. Make their day

4. Be there
Ingredient 1 – Choose your attitude:

This is the platform to build upon, and the core concept that everything else depends on. You
have the freedom of choice of your attitude: an optimistic and happy attitude, or a pessimistic
and sad one. Choose to be happy, smiling, easy going, ignorant of mistakes, and you’ll discover
how beautiful and shining you and your place would be. On the other hand, choose to be angry,
frowning, hard-headed, picky on mistakes, isolated, and you’ll discover how miserable your day
would be!

“Choose your attitude” is the hardest ingredients, but sets the stage for all other ingredients to
happen. So work on your attitude, and work on it now.

Ingredient 2 – Play:

Have fun, even if you have lot’s to do with deadlines nearing, and don’t seem to have enough in
your schedule. All that stress come from the fact that you prevent yourself from enjoying what
you do. Make it a playful project, an enjoyable study, an easy shopping, a fun meeting, etc. If
you cannot enjoy what you do, then try to have some pleasant moments between the heavy tasks
you work on. Engage with colleagues or family to create a play yard out of your place.

Ingredient 3 – Make their day:

By having fun yourself, work on extending that to others who surround you. Make their day by
expressing how you’re grateful to have them, or by cheering them up. Get them out of their
misery by offering advice and help. You cannot imagine how cheerful you would be when giving
a hand to someone.

Ingredient 4 – Be there:

Be present to your family, customers, colleagues, and people by giving full attention to who calls
for you to advice or help. Don’t be ignorant to those calls… get to answer them on the spot, or at
least dedicate some time to connect with those you care about to listen to. Ignoring a call for help
from your wife, your son, a colleague, or a customer could yield to disappointments and
sometimes problems that you could’ve avoided earlier.

Applying FISH to your life:

I actually believe in the importance of these ingredients to have better place whether at home or at
work, and below are some ideas I’m thinking of to practice those in my life (both at home and at work):

Ideas At Home At Work

Be happy, smiling, and open-minded, soft, easy going, ignorant to small acts or
Choose mistakes.
your
Spell out the good thoughts, and ignore the bad ones.
attitude
Say hi or salam to everyone you face!

Educate by fun, and stop yelling. Start your meetings with fun or jokes

Make the shopping a learning experience Post some funny pictures or comics to your
for your child where he or she looks for desk, or common places

Play the stuff and picks them up.

Have a board so employees can post some
Enjoy home fixes. jokes

Watch cartoons with your child while Have a gaming console and work on a
commenting. gaming competition

Compliments, Compliments,
Compliment the work and attitude of your
Compliments.
colleagues.
Bring your wife some flowers.
Engage with customers and pinpoint their
Make their Invite the family to a day out (I really
pains and offer solutions with what they
day mean the invite here, and not like …
already have.
we’re bored, let’s go out).
Avoid bad news, and be a passenger of the
Bring your child something he or she
good ones!
likes (candy for instance).

Be there Listen to your wife and don’t offer Listen to pains from colleagues and
solutions, just listen (we all can hear, customers and offer solutions
you need to listen!).
 Stop emails and phone calls if someone
calls for your advice
Have a conversation with your child on
Give full attention when talking to your
school or how others deal with him.
colleagues or customers
Listen to the unsaid, and express your
Not all people are comfortable talking
willingness to offer help if needed.
about their problems, so dig deep within
the soles and look for faces that need help.

Remember to work hard on setting the stage by choosing the right attitude!

Pikes Place, a fish market in Seattle, is known for its fun style of business. They toss fish around as if they
were footballs.

They have a sign that says, “Caution: Low Flying Fish.” Any business that has a sign about low flying
product must be having fun. The employees love working there because they are engaged and willing to
“ham” it up.

People from all over visit this historic place to buy fish and watch the show. So it also attracts customers
who are looking to buy quality fish and have a fun experience.

Everybody wins!

John Christensen noticed the magic at Pike’s Place and created a documentary called “Fish!” which then
spawned the book Fish Philosophy. There are four main concepts that Fish Philosophy focuses on. They
are…

Be There
An employee who is engaged in his/her work isn’t concerned about anything, but the job at hand. They
are there to do good work. It’s hard to put ourselves in the moment, but the more we can get lost in the
work the more fun it is.

“It means getting out of your own ‘world’ so you can BE THERE for someone else. It means setting aside
emotional baggage from the past, and worries about the future in order to appreciate the opportunities
you have available to you, right now.”
Choose Your Attitude
What we choose to focus on will determine how we feel. If all we do is complain about making more
money or wanting a better boss, we are creating a negative mindset. If we choose to focus on our
wonderful co-workers and how we enjoy the work that we do, we are choosing to see the positive in our
situation.

“Most of us believe our attitudes are caused directly by outside influences like unpleasant experiences
or negative people. But while external pressures may trigger our feelings, we are the ones wearing those
feelings like a suit of clothes. We can either be subservient to external events, few of which we have any
control over, or we can take charge of our own response.”
Make Their Day
We talk about the importance of gratitude on this site, specifically giving gratitude to others. Gratitude
makes the giver feel good as well as the person who receives the compliment. When we stop worrying
about how we are going to be happy at work and focus on helping others be happy, the byproduct is
that our happiness increases.

“At a deeper level, “make their day” means taking a genuine interest in the unique gifts of others.
Spontaneous or planned, when you make the effort to brighten someone’s day—not because you want
a reward, but because that’s the person you want to be—you receive an internal gift that makes life
even more meaningful as well. No matter what, making someone’s day is a win-win. Every single time.”
Play
Having fun at work is a must. If all a company does is make products and push them down people’s
throats then work is a drag.

“An ‘all-business’ approach has a human cost: It’s not inspiring. We shut down emotionally and many
who might make creative contributions keep that part of themselves at home.”
Fish Philosophy and Work Happiness Go Hand in Hand
When we work in the now (Be There), stop complaining and start noticing the good in our lives (Choose
Attitude), recognize the importance of giving gratitude (Make their Day), and have fun at work (Play),
then we are creating a work life that makes us happy.

And we all know happy employees give the best results.