Let's Be Successful Again!

FISH live!

I have just returned from a work-trip to Seattle, working with the amazing talent at Microsoft.

On our one morning free we went to the city's famous Pike Place Market, the home of FISH! Anyone unfamiliar with the story of the Pike Place Market and the FISH! philosophy can go to this page for the full outline. But my understanding is that the Pike Place Market was threatened with closure some years ago and the whole area was going to be turned in to a car park.

The traders had to think very creatively about how to reinvent the market. There are any number of initiatives the visitor can experience which are related to this mission to save the market. Local people who gave money to save the market got a floor tile with their name on (as you can see below) and these seem to cover the floor of the whole place, signifying that some of the donations were small ones from individuals committed to the future of Pike Place and that it required a lot of support to stay alive.

The FISH principles relate to the philosophy of the fish stall employees who are engaging, entertaining and knowledgeable about their products. They throw the fish at one another, not for the fun of it, but in order to get fish from the display to the guys at the back who are wrapping it and packing it. They are constantly busy, wiping surfaces, preparing fish, packing boxes or just saying hello to passers-by.

This is not a show. It isn't cabaret. It is delight in ones work.

By the way, at the first ever Starbucks across the road they also throw the take-away cups to one another...maybe inspired by the fish guys. It adds a lot of energy to the process of making a cup of coffee. It would also exclude me from becoming a barrista as I have no hand-eye coordination! 

The whole market, not just the fish mongers, seems to live by the FISH! principles. Crafts were sold by people who actually wanted to talk about their products and who offered their email address if you had a problem once you got the item home. Musicians smiled and spoke to shoppers. Even the shoppers seemed happy and relaxed - unsurprising in that environment.

Pike Place is small. It is probably smaller than the market in your town or your part of the city. And yet it has developed a powerful brand and a unique atmosphere. As a result it is still surviving and maybe even thriving in this difficult economic climate.

Text from the FISH website -

The FISH! Philosophy includes four simple, interconnected practises:

Be There is being emotionally present for people. It’s a powerful message of respect that improves communication and strengthens relationships.

Play taps into your natural way of being creative, enthusiastic and having fun. Play is the spirit that drives the curious mind, as in “Let’s play with that idea!” It’s a mindset you can bring to everything you do.

Make Their Day is finding simple ways to serve or delight people in a meaningful, memorable way. It’s about contributing to someone else’s life, not because you want something out of it, but because that’s the person you want to be.

Choose Your Attitude means taking responsibility for how you respond to what life throws at you. Once you are aware that your choice impacts everyone around you, you can ask yourself, “Is my attitude helping my team or my customers? Is it helping me to be the person I want to be?”

Entrepreneurial thought

I occasionally listen to Stanford University's Entrepreneurial Thought podcast when I am driving long distances. For some women, their secret shame is buying the latest copy of Vogue or TV Quick (or the Dobies catalogue...actually, that is my other secret shame) and flicking through with a nice cup of tea before anyone else in the household is awake.

Well my secret shame (apart from the Dobies thing) is listening to and reading stuff about business. This is stuff most people find boring but which I find stimulating in ways I can't really describe. Just as one might look through the latest trends in Vogue knowing full well they cannot afford the clothes, I listen to pocasts like Entrepreneurial Thought and read the Case Studies in Harvard Business Review knowing full well they are not really relevant to me with my little business.

However, I always pick up a few gems and this morning was no different. The speaker was the founder of  LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman. He is not a great speaker in that he doesn't have much stage presence and seems to find speaking to an audience rather challenging. However, every word he spoke made perfect sense. Listen yourself to hear everything he had to say.

But the part that has stayed with me today is his challenge that a good business is more than a good idea. Simple and obvious perhaps. But he argues that the best businesses set out to solve a simple problem where there is a clear need. They do not set out to solve difficult problems. When we set out to solve difficult problems it is usually because we want to test ourselves and our mental capacities and demonstrate that we can do something clever. In fact, this is a poor motivation for starting a business.

Instead, solve a simple problem, in a simple way if possible. Clearly the solution may not actually be simple and a great deal of technical knowledge and skill may go in to solving the problem but it appears simple to the user.

Hoffman provided me with a lot of food for thought today, questions I need to ask about my own businesses and the solutions we provide. However, that one seemed so neat, so simple if you like, that it may change the way I present what we do for companies. It isn't necessary to show off how clever you are if the solution meets a simple need, simply.