THE FURTHEST THING FROM A FISH MARKETImplementing the Fish Philosophy with a Lack of Leadership

By: Cara Giovinazzo

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Fish Philosophy is presented not only as a way to change the organization for the better, but the people in the organization’s lives

“We can't always control what happens to us, but we can always control how we react to it.”- Robert Urich

Typical Week 40 hours work (M-F 9-5) 56 hours sleep (recommended 8 hours) 72 hours personal time (doesn’t seem like it)

Why spend that time miserable?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Culture is influenced greatly by the leadership, but all employees contribute to the organizational culture

Leader should be conscious of the effect that their actions have on their employees at work and in their personal lives

Proposal focuses on how employees can implement the Fish Philosophy when they do not have strong leadership or leadership that is not cooperative with the Fish Philosophy

Fish Philosophy should be practiced inside and outside the office

BACKGROUND

Civil Litigation, Bankruptcy, Real Estate and Personal Injury law firm

Founded 1939 Managing Senior Partner successful

bankruptcy attorney with no management experience

6 partners, 2 associates and 1 of counsel Office Manager- no power About 20 employees General feeling of the employees is that they

hate their job No system of evaluation

BACKGROUND

Old, dingy and neglected building Most employees arrive late, leave early and

abuse smoke and lunch breaks No respect Ignore phones or let them ring until the call

drops or do not return voicemails Partners treat lower level employees as

replaceable Most employees are there only because they

need the paycheck; few are there because they like the specific attorney they work for

Yelling, name calling, cursing and general verbal abuse is common

BACKGROUND

For the most part, the lower level employees get along

There is often play already, but it is punished by a few partners

Some partners do not mind and encourage it, but they are outnumbered by the partners who discourage it

If you are laughing you can’t be working Rules are not stable, there is no employee

handbook and different employees are treated differently

PROJECT DETAIL

Since the culture issue stems from the leadership, the office manager needs to initiate the desire for Fish Philosophy training

Much like the book, begin with meetings to introduce the concept to the employees and describe how to choose your attitude It is impossible to move forward with the other

steps until all employees feel that they can choose their attitude

Since there is likely to be resistance from the negative partners, the Fish Philosophy should be presented as a way of life as opposed to office protocol

PROJECT DETAIL

Currently the culture does not focus on the needs of the employees, so there is likely to be little encouragement to follow the Fish Philosophy because would entail the most effort from the senior leadership The office rules are in place to favor and support

the partners, not the lower level employees “Cheerleaders” should be named to help get

others excited about the choose your attitude ideas with visuals or other inspirational messages

Employees should be encouraged to decorate desks with colors, flowers and personal effects

PROJECT DETAIL

Since the Fish Philosophy needs to be taught in an effort to change the entire culture of the organization an off-site retreat would be ideal

The retreat would have to be mandatory, as it is unlikely that employees who do not have loyalty towards the firm would voluntarily attend

Off-site retreats are favorable to on-site retreats Makes the retreat feel “special” and not like a

normal meeting People can get involved because there are not

normal distractions from work

PROJECT DETAIL

Hire a facilitator Relationship between the partners and the office

manager is not good There are power struggles and open insults

There would not be much cooperation if office manager facilitated and she would have too much of a personal stake in the discussions

More respect for a hired facilitator who knows the Fish Philosophy well

Office manager would be responsible for planning the retreat, but would not have the responsibility of leading the retreat

PLAY

Since the employees already typically play during work, the focus in this area would be for the leadership to understand why it is important

The employees could explain the benefits of play during work Productivity Happiness Loyalty Low turnover More willing to go the extra mile for work

Ideas for appropriate play in the office

MAKE SOMEONE’S DAY AND BE PRESENT

Both of these aspects of the Fish Philosophy should be in people’s lives everyday

How can each employee make someone’s day in their position

How can they make each others’ day Can we tell if people aren’t being present

with us? How are you not present right now?

Reading emails when on the phone Letting the phone ring or not returning calls

How will being present enhance the relationship of co-workers, customers and friends?

HAVE SOME FUN!

The message of the retreat is that the Fish Philosophy should be lived outside of the office

By making the Fish Philosophy part of their everyday practice, it will automatically trickle over into their work even without the leadership enforcing it

To bring home the idea of play, the retreat will end with a fun activity such as laser tag, charades or any other activity that breaks down roles so all employees are equals and can bond as friends, not as employee and employer

RESOURCES

Available Since the firm is successful, they have money to

host a retreat There is also enough money to give the

“Cheerleaders” a budget to purchase visuals to decorate with

Needed An off-site space for the retreat A facilitator A copy of the Fish book for each employee Budget for office parties, employee outings, etc.

EVALUATION Exit survey after the retreat to determine whether

the employees felt the retreat was effective Measurable action plans need to be created at the

retreat and followed through then evaluated individually

Accountability is key Partners cannot punish employees for play if they are

getting their work done Employees cannot use play as an excuse to not get their

work done Cheerleaders should continue to update visuals and

created an exciting atmosphere that encourages the Fish Philosophy

Follow-up meetings to discuss new ideas and evaluate old ones in between a yearly retreat