At Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market, customers gather to watch fishmongers work with remarkable energy. The work is cold, physical, and demanding, yet the people behind the counter bring humor, attention, and connection to each interaction. Many readers arrive wondering what makes that possible. The FISH! Philosophy is a way of being that helps individuals, and the organizations they make up, become more engaged in their work.
It gives people a shared language for how they show up, how they treat one another, and how they create a workplace where people want to contribute. At its center is an ongoing conversation about culture and the question, “Who are you being while you’re doing what you’re doing?” The four practices—Choose Your Attitude, Be There, Make Their Day, and Play—help people keep that conversation alive and turn everyday interactions into chances to build trust, energy, and purpose.
How Did the FISH! Philosophy Begin at Pike Place Fish Market?
The story starts before the film. In the late 1980s, the crew at Pike Place Fish Market made a bold choice: they decided to become “world famous.” They chose a shared way of being and used it to shape how they served customers and worked with one another.
In 1997, John Christensen was near Seattle filming the poet David Whyte with Steve Lundin. When filming ended, John stayed an extra day and wandered into Pike Place Market, where he saw flower stalls, produce stands, coffee counters, and several places selling fish from the same ocean. One fish market stood apart. Pike Place Fish Market had a crowd gathered several people deep.
John saw fish being thrown over customers’ heads. He heard people laughing and calling out to one another. The fishmongers were working hard, but the scene felt less like a burden and more like an invitation. They were paying attention to customers, bringing energy to routine tasks, and treating each interaction as a moment that mattered.
John made the FISH! film, which was released in 1998. Through the words and actions of the fishmongers, the film showed four practices at work: Choose Your Attitude, Be There, Make Their Day, and Play. The point was never that every workplace should throw fish or copy the market’s exact style. The market’s way of creating energy belonged to that team. The larger lesson was that any team can decide how it wants people to experience the work and then make choices that support that vision.
Since then, the FISH! book, film, and training programs have helped organizations begin conversations about engagement, relationships, service, and culture. More than 6 million copies of the FISH! book have been sold, and FISH! has been helping organizations for nearly 30 years. The film has also reached people around the world, with translations into 20 languages and use across 32 countries.
What Are the Four Practices of the FISH! Philosophy?
The four practices of the FISH! Philosophy are Choose Your Attitude, Be There, Make Their Day, and Play. They give people practical ways to bring the philosophy into daily conversations and interactions. Each one begins with an individual choice, and those choices become part of the culture as more people on a team make them.
The practices work together, and each one strengthens the others. Being present makes it easier to notice how you can Make Their Day, while Choose Your Attitude helps you respond with intention. Play stays appropriate when it happens alongside the other three practices because they help set its boundaries; a joke that offends someone, for example, is not Being There for them.
How Do You Choose Your Attitude?
Choose Your Attitude means taking responsibility for how you respond to what happens around you. It does not mean pretending every situation is easy or pushing difficult feelings aside. The practice calls for noticing your attitude, deciding whether it is helping you and the people around you, and choosing how you want to move forward. The choice happens both ahead of time, when you decide what attitude to bring into a day or situation, and again in the moment after a setback or change of plans. Teams choose a shared attitude too, and leaders spread the practice by modeling the attitude they want to bring rather than telling someone else to fix theirs.
At work, this practice can show up before a busy shift, a difficult meeting, or a conversation with an upset customer. A team member may recognize, “I am frustrated, and I am bringing that frustration into every interaction.” That awareness creates a chance to pause and choose a response that supports the team instead of spreading the tension.
Choosing your attitude also gives people a sense of agency. You may not control a schedule change, a hard decision, or another person’s behavior. You can still ask, “Who do I want to be in this moment? What impact do I want to have?” The answer can guide your next action.
One way to start is to write down the attitude you want to bring into the day. It might be patient, curious, helpful, or focused. You can also name what is true and add, “It’s not going my way right now, but at least I…” followed by something positive. Check in with yourself at a natural transition, such as before a meeting or when you return from lunch. If the attitude you chose no longer fits, choose again. That small act of awareness can change the direction of an interaction.
What Does It Mean to Be There?
Be There means complete presence. It brings together physical presence, such as eye contact and open body language; mental presence, which keeps your attention on the person instead of splitting it across other tasks; and emotional presence, which means staying in the moment when someone sees things differently, without prejudging them or forming your reply before they finish. It is a powerful message of respect because it tells another person, “You have my attention right now.” Presence improves communication and strengthens relationships, whether the person in front of you is a customer, coworker, student, patient, or family member.
At work, being there can mean putting away a device during a conversation, closing an email, or turning away from a screen so you can listen. It can mean asking a follow-up question instead of preparing your reply while someone else is speaking. It can also mean noticing that a teammate is having a difficult day and making room for them to say what they need to say.
A few focused minutes can be more meaningful than a longer conversation filled with interruptions, and focused presence often gives people what they need to share information, ask for help, and take part in solving problems. Being present does not mean dropping everything the moment someone needs you; you can say, “I want to give you my full attention, and I can’t right now. Can we talk at two?” and then be completely present at two.
Try starting with one conversation each day in which you remove distractions and listen to understand. Let the other person finish a thought before you respond. Ask, “What would be most helpful right now?” Then stay engaged with the answer. Be There is mostly an individual practice, while teams come together around it through shared objectives, support, and debriefs about where they can serve people better.
How Can You Make Their Day?
Make Their Day means finding a simple, meaningful way to serve, encourage, or delight another person. It is about contributing to someone else’s experience because that is the kind of person or team you want to be. A small gesture can be meaningful when it shows that you noticed the person and cared about the interaction.
In a workplace, Make Their Day might look like thanking a colleague for work that often goes unseen, recognizing someone who handled a difficult situation well, or taking an extra step to help a customer. A manager might celebrate progress instead of noticing only the final result. A teacher might welcome a student by name. A healthcare worker might explain what will happen next so a patient feels less alone in an unfamiliar process.
The practice works best when it is specific, personal, and sincere because people recognize flattery quickly. “Good job” can be encouraging, but “The way you stayed with that customer until the problem was solved made a difference” tells someone what mattered. Recognition should also fit the person: some people prefer a private word of thanks, while others enjoy public recognition, and leaders should make sure no one is left out over time.
Make Their Day can reach customers and teammates, as well as strangers and people in other departments. To begin, look for one good thing someone does today and name it. You might send a short note, offer sincere thanks, or tell a teammate’s manager what they contributed. The aim is to build a habit of noticing and responding to the good that is already happening.
Why Does Play Matter at Work?
Play is a mindset people bring to their work rather than an activity set apart from it. If work is what we do, Play is how we do it. It brings curiosity, energy, and creativity to the way we work, with its most important effects showing up in creativity and problem solving.
At Pike Place Fish Market, the fish toss began as a solution to a problem. A fishmonger tired of walking around the counter threw a salmon to a coworker, which made the work more efficient; customers loving it was a bonus. At work, Play can look like saying, “Let’s play with that idea,” and exploring several possible solutions before choosing one. It can mean using humor that includes people rather than putting someone down, trying a new way to improve a process, or learning from a mistake.
Every team has its own boundaries and personality, so Play should be invited rather than demanded. A team’s playing field is its shared agreement about what is in and out of bounds, and that field can expand as trust grows. People also need safety to try something that might not work, knowing that a mistake that leads to learning is valued. The aim is to create enough openness for people to think, connect, and bring energy to the work.
A good first step is to invite your team to experiment with one small improvement. Ask, “What would be interesting to try?” Give people room to offer ideas, test one, and learn from the result. You can also notice what already brings the team enjoyment and make more space for it.
Why Does the FISH! Philosophy Work?
People who enjoy their work and see it help others are more engaged.
The FISH! Philosophy starts with each person because engagement grows in individuals. When people choose how they want to show up, pay attention to one another, create positive experiences, and bring energy to their work, those choices begin to shape the team. Over time, the organization’s culture changes as a result.
This matters because workplace engagement is not a small concern. Gallup’s 2026 State of the Global Workplace report found that only 20 percent of employees worldwide were engaged at work in 2025, which means about 80 percent were not engaged. In the United States and Canada, 31 percent of employees were engaged. These figures show why organizations need more than slogans about morale. People need practical ways to connect their daily choices with the experience of work.
Gallup’s new analysis also found that when employees enjoy their work, feel it improves other people’s lives, and believe they have choices in what they do, they report stronger wellbeing and higher workplace engagement. That finding connects closely with the FISH! practices. Play creates room for enjoyment and creativity. Make Their Day connects work with the lives of other people. Choose Your Attitude reminds people that they have a choice in how they respond and what they bring to the moment.
Since the film’s release in 1998, more than 30,000 organizations have brought FISH! into their culture work, and FISH! has more than 50,000 customers. The philosophy also works because it gives teams a common language. A colleague can ask, “How can we Be There for this customer?” A manager can recognize someone for Making Their Day. A team can pause and ask whether its current attitude supports the kind of workplace it wants to create. These conversations make culture visible and give people a way to act on it.
FISH! is not a one-day event or a script that people perform. It is a journey of learning and practice. Leaders help most when they live the practices themselves, invite people to explore them, and make room for teams to find their own expression. When people are invited rather than ordered to participate, they have a better chance to make the practices their own.
As Rob Gregory, owner of Rochester Motor Cars, put it: “The simple principles in FISH! helped us to transform our culture from indifference to enthusiasm.”
How Is the FISH! Philosophy Used in the Workplace?
FISH! Philosophy in the workplace can look different from one organization to another because each team has its own responsibilities, customers, and personality. More than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 have used FISH!, showing how widely the philosophy can be adapted. The practices invite each team to ask what engagement, presence, service, and creativity look like in its own setting.
Healthcare
Healthcare teams can use FISH! to strengthen the human side of care. Be There can mean listening closely to a patient or family member, while Make Their Day can mean offering reassurance, explaining the next step, or noticing a need before someone has to ask. Teams can also use Choose Your Attitude to support one another during demanding shifts and Play to invite creative ideas for improving care and teamwork.
Schools
Schools can use the four practices with staff, students, and families. Be There helps students feel heard, while Make Their Day turns appreciation and encouragement into part of school life. Choose Your Attitude gives students a way to think about their response to a difficult moment. Play can support curiosity and learning.
Customer Service Teams
Customer service teams can use FISH! to make each interaction more personal. Be There helps representatives listen for the need behind the request. Make Their Day encourages them to look for a useful extra step, not just the fastest way to close a case. Choose Your Attitude helps them decide how they want customers to experience the conversation, even when the issue is difficult. Play can support flexible problem-solving and a more welcoming tone.
Government and Public Service
Government teams often serve people who are navigating complex systems, deadlines, or stressful situations. Be There can make a process easier to understand because employees are focused on the person in front of them. Make Their Day might mean explaining an option clearly or helping someone find the right next step. Choose Your Attitude can help teams bring steadiness and care to public service, while Play can open the door to better ideas and more human ways of solving problems.
Across all of these settings, the practices work best when they are connected to the real work. Each team can decide what kind of experience it wants to create and then practice the behaviors that make that experience possible.
How Can a Team Get Started with FISH!?
A team can begin by reading the FISH! book together, watching the FISH! film, or joining a FISH! training program. The film is a useful starting point because it gives people a shared experience and shows the practices in action. Afterward, ask questions such as: What stood out to you? What would we like to see more of here? What might each practice look like in our work?
The FISH! book gives the story more room and helps individuals connect the practices with their own work and lives. A team can read a section at a time and discuss one small action it wants to try. Training programs add structure, activities, facilitation, and support for teams that want to make FISH! part of a larger culture effort.
Start with an invitation rather than an order. People are more likely to engage when they have room to explore the ideas, draw their own conclusions, and connect the practices to real situations. Leaders can support that process by modeling the practices, recognizing them when they appear, and returning to the conversation over time.
Try the FISH! Philosophy with Your Team
You can try the FISH! Philosophy upgraded trial with your team for 30 days. The trial gives your team access to the FISH! film and its digital guides so you can see the four practices in action and start putting them to work.
