John Christianson, whose FISH! video and philosophy have been adopted at thousands of companies, visited our company yesterday to give a brief talk. He is a good guy, and a real expert on motivation and what makes a company great.

Basically, the FISH philosophy is some time tested wisdom-isms that always seem to work, but are often ignored. This is not to take anything away from John and his work—he is very insightful and his film about the Seattle Fish Market is very well done.

The basic concepts:

PLAY. Have fun at work. Look for ways to smile, and make the workday a more enjoyable place for everyone.

MAKE THEIR DAY. Never lose sight that even the smallest contact can have a meaningful impact on your business, your job and your life.

BE PRESENT. Don’t daydream.Get engaged. Listen. Participate. Think. Work.

CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE. You are in control of how you choose to approach your life and your job.

This is a very rough summation, and to get a better understanding buy the book FISH! or visit www.charthouse.com.

My takeaway from the meeting was that most of us wait for these wisdom-isms to travel down the chain of command. The real test of a vibrant organization is if they tend to start at the bottom and work their way to the top.

The point is that ANYONE can do these things at any organization. If you work in a boring dead-end type place…your workplace needs these ideas more than anyone. YOU can start it no matter what your current position.