GUIDE QUICK START CULTURE TO YOUR FIRST SESSION. Essential conversations that transform your organization

GUIDE QUICK START TO YOUR FIRST SESSION CULTURE Essential conversations that transform your organization OVERVIEW When you introduce people to Th...
Author: Cecilia Porter
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GUIDE

QUICK START

TO YOUR FIRST SESSION

CULTURE Essential conversations that transform your organization

OVERVIEW When you introduce people to The FISH! Philosophy®, you’re opening the door to something potentially powerful. But it all depends on how you present it. This guide lays out a simple yet effective step-by-step method of introducing The FISH! Philosophy. It gets people involved in talking about how FISH! can make a positive difference in their work—and inspires them to make that difference. Whether you’re a seasoned facilitator or someone who’s never facilitated before, this guide will help you lead a compelling 75- to 90-minute introduction to The FISH! Philosophy. It will lay a strong foundation for your team to build a lasting FISH! Culture. This Quick Start Guide was created to give you five simple steps to getting started with FISH! • Insights on Introducing FISH!© • Preparing for Your First Session • Inviting People to the FISH! Journey • Facilitating Your First FISH! Gathering • Next Steps: Diving into the FISH! Culture Facilitator’s Guide

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STEP 1: INSIGHTS ON INTRODUCING FISH! People who have built strong FISH! cultures tell us that when you introduce FISH!, the way you talk about it influences how others think about it. Here are three insights, based on years of feedback from our clients, on what has helped them launch FISH! successfully:

FISH! IS

If you say, “Today we’re going to watch a training video,” people will see it

A JOURNEY,

as little more than that: something that’s entertaining to watch—a break

NOT A

from work!—but nonetheless an event that ends when the video and

ONE-TIME

EVENT

presentation are over. On the other hand, if you present FISH! as a journey, they will understand that it doesn’t happen overnight. It means traveling together from a place … a way of thinking … a way of being, to another. Along the way, the FISH! practices—Be There, Play, Make Their Day, Choose Your Attitude™—are the provisions that will fuel you and also the compass that will guide you.

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STEP 1: INSIGHTS ON INTRODUCING FISH!

FISH!

IS AN INVITATION

You can try to impose and mandate FISH!—as in “We’re all going to be doing FISH!” or “We need more smiles around here, doggone it!” The only problem with this approach is it won’t work. Our clients have told us, over and over, that the only way FISH! takes hold in people’s minds and hearts is by inviting them to live it for themselves. People will only make FISH! their own if they are free to explore it and see if it makes sense for them, as individuals and as part of a group.

FISH!

COMES ALIVE IN

Once you’ve introduced the concepts of FISH!, the most important thing you can do is to get others talking about it. Your role is to inspire—and be part of—a conversation that will help people decide for themselves how to apply the practices of FISH! to their work and life. That’s how true commitment is built.

CONVERSATIONS

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STEP 2: PREPARING FOR YOUR FIRST SESSION Before starting on any journey, you want to know where you’re headed. Ask yourself or your management team, “What kind of culture do we want to create by bringing FISH! into our organization? How will this help us achieve our business goals?” Your thoughts:

ROLL TAPE GRAB A PEN

Be sure to watch the FISH! film a couple of times before your presentation (it’s the best 18 minutes ever). The first time, watch it like a participant. Ask yourself, “What does The FISH! Philosophy have to do with my life?” Don’t take any notes yet. The second time you watch, take some notes with your facilitator hat on. Here are some things to look for: • How are these ideas relevant to the people who will be watching? • What objections can you anticipate from your group? (Hint: We can’t throw fish.)

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STEP 3: INVITING PEOPLE TO THE FISH! JOURNEY Here are a few ideas our clients have used to invite people to the initial FISH! experience: • Send out the first invitation with little information. Like a “save the date” card. Or coupons to a tag sale. As the event approaches, send out a little bit more information—just enough to pique interest. Keep ’em guessing! • Send out coupons for them to receive a plastic or stuffed fish at your event. • Put out a variety of fish-shaped food to make people curious. • Have people call a special hotline (it could just be your internal number or a prerecorded message) for information about the event. • Create an internal web page with clues that gradually reveal your event. • Take time to personally invite each participant. • Whatever you decide to do, make it completely different from your other trainings or meetings. FISH! is different!

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STEP 4: FACILITATING YOUR FIRST FISH! GATHERING What kind of atmosphere do you want to create when people first step into the room for your gathering? Your thoughts:

Here are a few ideas: • Arrange the room for small groups of six to eight people. This will add to the intimacy and sense of community. It will also help when it’s time to work in small groups. • Play energetic music as people arrive. • To engage people while they wait, use a scrolling PowerPoint® with inspirational quotes, quips, or pictures that relate to one of the four FISH! practices. • Use nametags. Here are some fun variations: 1) Hang the nametags on a clothesline in front of the room. 2) Give a nametag to each of the participants, except give them one with someone else’s name on it. This will ensure some interaction as people get settled. • Greet people by name as they enter. This not only is a great personal touch, but an

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excellent example of Be There.

STEP 4: FACILITATING YOUR FIRST FISH! GATHERING FIFTEEN MINUTES

FISH! OPENER An effective opener energizes people and whets their appetites for what’s to come. Use one of your favorites, or try the following:

Three Things About You And Me Use small groups of five or so. Give each group a sheet of paper and a marker. Ask them to draw a circle in the middle, leaving enough room to write outside the circle. Ask people to find three things that they all have in common and write those things inside the circle. Next, ask each person to come up with one thing that is unique about him or her and write that outside the circle. Address the entire group and ask for volunteers to talk about what they discovered is shared and what is unique.

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STEP 4: FACILITATING YOUR FIRST FISH! GATHERING

FIVE MINUTES

INTRODUCTION TO FISH! Before showing the FISH! video, you can make the message of FISH! more personal for others by sharing how it has affected your life. Share a story about how you first encountered FISH!, or how one of the FISH! practices has impacted you.

Or consider the following introduction: I recently came across an idea that’s had a profound impact on the way I think about my work. It’s helped me see the possibility of living a more creative, expressive and rewarding work experience, and to see new opportunities in my relationships with my colleagues, my customers, and every person I encounter throughout the day. In just a minute I am going to show you a short video that speaks powerfully about this idea. I’d like to invite each one of you to think about how you might take this idea into your work, and perhaps most important, into our conversations about the kind of experiences we want to create and share with others. This will move your group away from the thinking that this is just another “flavor of the month” program. Feel free to use the preceding example for your introduction. Be sure to practice your introduction before your first gathering.

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STEP 4: FACILITATING YOUR FIRST FISH! GATHERING

ONE MINUTE

FRAME THE FILM – BRING IT HOME!

TWENTY

SHOW THE FILM

MINUTES

It’s important to put the video into context for your group. Frame it with a statement such as, “As you watch, ask yourself, ‘What does FISH! have to do with us and what we do here?’ ”

This is not the time to wheel out the 13" TV/VCR monitor, or tone down the volume. To be inspired, people need to be able to see and hear the video. For maximum inspiration, run your DVD player through a data projector to project a larger-than-life picture.

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STEP 4: FACILITATING YOUR FIRST FISH! GATHERING “WE CAN’T THROW FISH.” FISH! has just ended and you can feel the exhilaration in the air. People are smiling and applauding. You’re feeling pretty good about how things are going so far. Then someone raises their hand and says something like this: “Great video. I like what they do at Pike Place Fish Market, but we can’t throw fish here. How does this apply to us?” Your response: If you think about it, The FISH! Philosophy is not about throwing anything—except for how we choose to throw ourselves into our work, and our relationships with each other, our customers, and all the people we meet during the day. You will see little light bulbs going off over people’s heads because of the brilliant way you have framed FISH! for them. If no one asks this question, bring it up yourself; you know some people are thinking it.

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STEP 4: FACILITATING YOUR FIRST FISH! GATHERING TWENTY MINUTES

GET THEM TALKING Use some or all of the following questions to facilitate a great conversation:

• What scene did you like the most? Why? • Where do you think the energy at the fish market comes from? • Why do you think the fish market is so successful? • What at the fish market do you wish we had at our place of work? Why? • The fishmongers are all committed to being “World Famous.” What would it be like if we had that same commitment? What are we committed to? • Which of the four practices is most difficult for you? Why? Which one is easiest? Why? While The FISH! Philosophy isn’t about throwing, many clients have fun encouraging participation by tossing Pete the Perch to those who speak up and volunteer answers. Giving FISH! pens and magnets to participants is a visual reminder to help keep the four practices in people’s minds.

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STEP 4: FACILITATING YOUR FIRST FISH! GATHERING TWENTY-

IDEA STORM – HOW’S IT GOING TO WORK FOR US?

FIVE MINUTES

practice listed at the top. Give everyone a marker. Break into four smaller

Hang up four pieces of flip chart paper around the room, each with a FISH! groups, one for each FISH! practice. Ask each group to list as many ideas as they can to apply this specific practice to their work.

After five minutes, ring your bell, buzzer, or squawk like a chicken to get their attention. Have each small group move to a different FISH! practice, review the ideas on the sheet and add new ones. Make sure each group gets to each of the four practices, giving them five minutes per practice. Then ask the entire group, “What are the consequences if we chose to do nothing with these ideas?” After a couple minutes of conversation ask the group, “What benefits would we experience if these things really started to exist here?” Get thoughts from the group. End your conversation with this question, “Which of these ideas can we starting doing right now?” This will lead you into a great ACTION-oriented discussion. Collect the flip-chart paper, then compile and distribute the results to your group within a day or two. Revisit these ideas in your later FISH! Culture gatherings.

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STEP 5:

FIVE MINUTES

NEXT STEPS: DIVING INTO THE FISH! CULTURE FACILITATOR’S GUIDE

As your FISH! introduction comes to an end, it’s important to remind your audience that today is just the first step on your journey.* FISH! will live only if you feed it by talking about it, thinking about it, and doing it.

FISH! Culture is a step-by-step process that guides you and your team through meaningful, practical conversations that inspire you to put the FISH! practices into action. Be sure to tell your group when and where to meet for your next FISH! Culture gathering. To take advantage of the momentum you’ve created today, it’s best to get back together within a week, three at the most. If you’ve ordered FISH! Culture Personal Workbooks for each person, now is a good time to hand them out. Ask the participants to read the FISH! Wisdom section in session one, Be There, before the next gathering. To prepare yourself, read pages 1 to 6 in the FISH! Culture Facilitator’s Guide. *To emphasize this, you could show a short video in which the creator of FISH!, John Christensen, explains why FISH! is a journey. You’ll find it in the main menu of your FISH! Culture DVD.

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Our Cause To Inspire Our Promise Through the sharing of The FISH! Philosophy, we INSPIRE people to take action toward fully-engaged living, IGNITE their creative spirit and ENCOURAGE them to live into their full potential.

Official Home Of The FISH! Philosophy®

800.328.3789 • FISHPHILOSOPHY.COM

Charthouse Learning 221 River Ridge Circle, Burnsville, MN 55337 © MMVI ChartHouse Learning. FISH!, Joy & Blax Designs ® or TM ChartHouse Learning.

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