FISH! Philosophy of Teamwork PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 2
FISH! Philosophy of TeamworkDawn BriskeUniversity of PhoenixFISH! Philosophy of TeamworkFISH! is a philosophy people around the world are implementing in workplaces and educational facilities to help foster fun and teamwork in their business. This philosophy is interesting and has been successful. The founders Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen pulled together to create three books on teamwork which are named Fish!, Fish! Sticks and Fish! Tales. In these books they give pointers and tell stories of how making work fun and working as a team creates success. (Lundin, Paul, & Christensen, 2000) The idea of this philoso ...view middle of the document...
Say hello, converse with co-workers, be friendly and help co-workers laugh. Take the time to listen to people around the workplace. When seeing a co-worker not happy, go up to them and give them a pat on the back and a compliment. Make an effort and try to get to know everyone. Show up for work to help the team. A team is not a team with people missing. These are all some of the things we can do to be there for co-workers. These strategies are used worldwide and seem to help. The second strategy is to play at work. Playing helps energize the workplace. Some examples of play are telling jokes to co-workers, maybe even pass around appropriate jokes (no personal jokes), saying things throughout the day to help people laugh. Have theme days where everybody dresses up differently. Having office parties helps unite play and team because everyone gets together. Create bulletin boards and decorate the office with fun stuff ensuring everyone's involvement. Making work fun helps work to get done and makes people want to participate in a team. Third, make someone's day which is easy to do and makes the team run smoother. Several ways to make someone's day are as easy as saying hello, complimenting their looks, bringing baked goods to work, having a candy bowl out for others to enjoy, thanking people for the small and often overlooked things they do for us, acknowledging others' accomplishments, being nice, and by simply volunteering our time.When working as a team it is very important to remember team means "we" not "I" that is why it is so important to help the team work easier. (Morton, 2007) Fourth, choose your attitude. Attitude plays an important role in teamwork as well. The good thing about attitude is you can choose a new one. Some ways to keep a positive attitude and help support the team are start each day with a personal positive thought, go to work with a positive attitude, put on a smile, start the day with a laugh or by being helpful, think positive. If you feel yourself getting a bad attitude change it so it does not affect others, be pleasant even if your day is not going well, leave home at home and last walk around, speak to co-workers and wish them a good day.Successful teams all over the world are using these strategies and making them work. Some of these teams are Ford Motor Company, Wells Fargo, Sprint, the U.S. Army, the May O Clinic, Harley-Davison, the National Weather Service and Verizon Wireless. (Lundin, Paul, & Christensen, 2000)An article about Verizon Wireless struck an interest to me. It tells about how the Fish! Philosophy has helped the Southfield Verizon Wireless' office. Call centers can be tough. Upset and angry customers call with billing and service questions, even problems. They chew up whoever answers the phone and results can hurt the company. T...
