The 4 “Fish” Principles
Let me start by saying that this is by no means is the work of myself but I am so passionate about this story that I wanted to share it with you.
In fact I wanted to witness it for myself so I went all the way to Seattle to see the Pike Place Fish Co. After I saw it live I bought the books and the video and decided this success story is so powerful that I wanted to share its principles with you.
John Yokoyama bought Pike Place Fish in 1965. John was one of a few workers that where employed in this unassuming little fish stand. After many attempts to sell the company John’s employer offered him the chance to buy it for himself. John purchased Pike Place Fish and the main reason was he needed to take an owners salary instead of a workers salary in order for him to make his car payments - amazing how things turned out!
(Find out how to get more articles by following this link.)
One of the first decisions he needed to make was to decide on what sort of company they were going to be. One of his younger members of staff said “we want to be world famous!”
That got John thinking of what world famous really means and so they decided to define what world famous really meant to them, their customers and their company.
The definition needed to incorporate everything they did. How they interacted with their customers, how they worked alongside each other. They wanted to achieve fantastic service so that each and everyone of their customers went away feeling that had experienced something very special even though they may not of bought a fish today….. but they would probably come back again tomorrow to enjoy the experience again and maybe then buy a fish.
They soon understood that selling is not about an intricate corporate process but actually it is how they would be in the present with people and relating to them as actual human beings. It’s about taking care of people and how they can make a difference in someone’s life even if they only met for a few minutes.
Being memorable for all the right reasons goes further than just a product and a price tag. Being world famous was not just a declaration but actually a commitment to everyone they met and interacted with.
Once the team made that commitment and stuck to it, it was only a matter of time for the Pike Place Fish Co. to become truly world famous. People have tried to copy them over and over but that is when the fish principle becomes unstuck. By just copying someone else means that you are not being yourself and if you are yourself how can you be in the present for your customers?
However the four fish principles can be used by anybody or any company and I feel that these are the corner stones that we should all look to build our business’s on if we too want to be “world famous.”
By implementing the four fish principles into your daily routine you and your business will grow through; Great sales, Great staff relationships And most importantly you will have Great customers……after all this is where the sales come from.
The four fish principles are as follows;
1. Play - Have fun at work with your customers and your staff.
2. Make their day - Go M.A.D. [Make a Difference], engage others. Make them part of the fun.
3. Be there - actually pay attention, be in the present moment and love them by being interested in what they have to say…. make sure you take care of the person in front of you right now and give them a great experience.
4. Choose your attitude - Before you go to work in the morning, choose an attitude, just like you would choose what you are going to wear. Its up to you we can decide to be miserable all day if we want to and let some of bad things that happens to us all overtake our life or we can choose our attitude …. The happy one is so much better than the miserable one.
Check out the books “Fish” and “Fish Tails” by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen for more information. Or do what I did go to Seattle and experience live it is truly amazing to witness how smelly fish and a 14 hour day can be loved by all.
James Pope, The Training Expert