Fish! Philosophy & ART

The FISH! Philosophy is a life-long learning approach that inspires us to feel alive and engaged in the work we do. Have you ever heard of this? I am a FISH-Y person as it is (I think that comes from your up-bringin' - ya know....the way you are raised and how you learn to deal with things!) - but yes, I have taken the staff development with 2 different school systems in 2 different states (GA & FL). I do LOVE this philosophy and the possibilities that it inspired with art classes. Above is a watercolor fish created by an art class for our new lower school head. What a memory of the staff development from that year and a fun way to help explain this Choose Your 'Tude to kids!

FISH! is an invitation to re-awaken the self-trusting, creative spirit within all of us. To start new conversations about what’s possible. To develop new attitudes. To have more fun again. At work. At school. At home.

As the official home of The FISH! Philosophy and its four practices —Be There, Play, Make Their Day and Choose Your Attitude  — ChartHouse Learning inspires individuals to become alive and engaged through a blend of FISH! experiences that include films, books, speakers, curriculum, consultation and fun FISH! gear tailored to any organizational goal — improving innovation, productivity, leadership, culture, employee retention, customer service, and other initiatives.

A global phenomenon.

FISH! is alive in organizations throughout the world — large and small, in all industries — championed by business leaders and owners, HR and training professionals and individuals committed to creating a culture of trust, accountability and innovation.  The FISH! Philosophy has been embraced around the world. There are many reasons FISH! is welcomed by so many in so many organizations and individual classrooms across the nation.

FISH! is a philosophy, not a program. You implement a program to change or fix people, but there’s nothing inspiring about being “programmed.” You can’t implement a philosophy. Instead you explore it, try it out and decide if it’s right for you. If it is, you live it because you believe in it.

FISH! is an invitation. The quickest way to kill FISH! is to mandate it. You can, however, invite people to be part of an environment in which people care about each other and their commitments. When people see these qualities flourishing in others, they want to join in because they want to improve their own lives, too.

FISH! creates a common language. Language changes everything. To begin to change anything, we have to change the way we speak about things, the way we feel about things, and definitely the way we act about things day in and day out. The four practices of FISH! — Be There, Play, Make Their Day and Choose Your Attitude — are the basis of a new language everyone can understand and connect to instantly.

FISH! is genuine. Originally modeled by fishmongers who decided to choose their attitude and become world famous, The FISH! Philosophy gets into the hearts and minds of everyone at work. Focused on the individual first, FISH! is simple, common wisdom that everyone can embrace.

FISH! is playful. Creativity, inspiration and innovation are directly disproportionate to how tightly we’re wound! Nobody’s talking about throwing patients, spreadsheets or hamburgers at one another like the guys throw fish in the original film. What we are talking about is throwing yourself into your work in a wholehearted and lighthearted way.

FISH! is an ongoing journey. FISH! cuts across all industries and all organizational departments, functions, goals and objectives. As a philosophy that’s infused into a culture over time, you can’t “do” FISH! and be done with it. It’s not the newest motivational fad. It’s not the flavor of the month. It’s an opportunity to create and be part of a group that honors individual spirit and the right to choose.

FISH! isn’t “something else” you have to do. In most cases, FISH! complements what you’re already doing — whether it’s launching a new company, new customer service initiative, new leadership style or any number of other learning programs tailored to specific organizational goals. Because FISH! is focused on “who you’re being while you’re doing what you’re doing,” The FISH! Philosophy is also a powerful, flexible platform that can help spike and support many of your other goals and programs.

All organization’s & classrooms have pockets of natural FUN energy. FISH! can help you release and focus that potential in fresh, new ways! Click here for a slide show that explains this in detail. On a side note, I believe as creative people - we already have a FISH-Y philosophy within us but we also have to learn how to tactfully say NO to folks that want to overload or burn us out for our creative juices. So folks, followers and readers....my tid bit for today from 1969....you know your boundaries and what you are capable of doing...saying No is OK! I believe it is part of our creative right! Stay Fishy and Keep on Creating!

x0x, Kim