catch the energy, release the potential

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNDP9jLuzXU]

I remember back when I worked for Universal Music we had our annual company meeting in LA to discuss new artist releases, business goals and the next years agenda. On the last day, we had our closing meeting with a presentation from our CEO with the goal to get everyone hyped up for the new quarter. Usually these presentations are brushed off and forgotten by dinnertime. This   presentation was given in 2003 and in 2011 I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was one of the most impactful presentations I’ve ever  heard, and not because of our speaker, but because of the content.

The  presentation was called “Fish Philosophy” and it was about a  company in  Seattle that ran a fish market where their employees loved  their job  and couldn’t imagine working anywhere else. Now I know the  first thing  that came to my mind was “oh gross, a fish market. I would  hate to work  there all day, handling dead fish and go home smelling  like salmon everyday, yuck”. I was obviously missing the point and  bigger picture. The  video presentation talked about the culture of the people at the  fish  market. Their philosophy being to “catch the energy, release the potential” (get the fish analogy??) and using their 4 practices including Be There (for your employees and co-workers), Play (make it fun), Make Their Day (rewarding), and Choose Your Attitude. It’s all about making the workplace fun, energetic and a creative space to make an impact. Investing in workers and looking out for them in order to bring out their best, ultimately resulting in a successful business.

Now there has been a lot of criticism  surrounding the Fish  Philosophy and you might be thinking this is just  bogus. The reality is  that people obviously can’t be like this everyday.  There are good days  and there are bad days. No one can be happy-go-lucky everyday. But  more happy days than sad/angry/frustrated days is  the overall goal.  It’s weighing in the pros and cons and hoping the pros  outweigh the  cons. The Fish Philosophy has become a huge success, with DVDs for sale, speaking obligations and the such. It’s been marketed like no other,  but the idea remains strong.

I  think about this presentation a lot, especially at this point in  my  life where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with my life  and  where I can make an impact on the world and the people around me.  You spent around 70-80% of your life at work. If it’s not fun, rewarding  or challenging, its time to make a change.I’ve attached the Fish Philosophy video. I hope it makes as much of  an impact on  you as it did for me, 8 years later I still think about  it.