What is a Joy Monger? This is an article describing what a Joy Monger is. In the article a workshop of approx. 60 minutes  is also included , a workshop which anyone can present and carry out. The workshop is serious as well as full of fun. You can also do a 5 minute self study course - read a few lines and accept 4 small challenges. First the article, which could be a self study course: How to become a Joy Monger who lightens up other peoples day You can show up for work. This does not make you a Joy Monger. You can meet on time and leave on time. This does not make you a Joy Monger either. You can be a valued employee. This does not make you a Joy Monger either. You can achieve high grades and distinctions. This does not make you a Joy Monger either. You can understand a system, a language, a machine, a new way of doing things. Surprise. This does not make you a Joy Monger either. So how do you become a Joy Monger?  Well, you and only you can make you a Joy Monger. But...

The team T: My job, your job, our job This exercise is a great way to agree values and responsibilities in a group. No cost. No props. Only a few minutes. I would say: Go for it. Draw a big T and write the words MY JOB over the left column and YOUR JOB over the right column. Now go through MY JOB and the things you have to do: preparing, planning, leading, involving, negotiating, being friendly and curious, say what you do and do what you say etc. Write these in the left column. Now go through their job and write them in the right column: teaming, enjoying, preparing, keeping time, counting, being friendly and curious etc. Go through the two lists and look for similarities. There must be a number of overlaps. Now cross out the two words at the top: MY JOB and YOUR JOB and exchange them with the word OUR JOB . Now you have a list of responsibilities for all of you. Ask everybody what they see. Ask several times: What do you also see? Involve everybody in how you all commit and stick to...

The Time to Return to People is Now Article written by John Christensen , Founder & CEO of FISH!, Advocate for Joy, Publisher, Film maker and Servant Leader. The time to return to people is now. After four years of adapting to new norms and reshaping the way we live and work, one thing has become undeniably clear: what we miss most—and what we need most—is each other. The Great Shutdown turned our world inside out, pulling us away from familiar rhythms and forcing us into a world of remote everything—work, school, even weddings. In the midst of the upheaval, many of us clung to the hope of a return to “normal.” But as the dust has settled, it’s clear that things didn’t go back to the way they were. And maybe that’s for the best. Instead of looking backward, we’ve streamlined, adapted, and carried on. We’ve questioned old routines, discarded the unnecessary, and found new ways to reclaim our time. Yet one challenge remains: how will we choose to re-engage with one another as we ...

3 group-exercises that really works with 6 or 600 participants These 3 exercises will connect your participants emotionally. This is the best start of building relationships in a group. At the same time the group will be synchronised and will get to know each other. These exercises are not just icebreakers. They are used when there is a need for them - creating subgroups, practising excitement and cheering, connecting and relationships.  The first exercise: Militant toilet paper What's needed?: No props. 5 minutes. Create new random subgroups.  This first exercise is about toilet paper. Explain that some of us are OVERS and some are UNDERS . OVERS as in you prefer when the toilet roll goes over and down - as in the picture above. Ask them to raise their hands. UNDERS as in you prefer when the toilet roll goes under and down. Ask them to raise their hands. And some of us are militant OVERS - we turn the roll to the OVER orientation. Ask them to raise their hands. And some of u...

Read this blog written by  John Christensen ,  CEO, ChartHouse Learning ,  Home of the FISH Philosophy : Here’s the raw truth: 57% quit because their boss is a nightmare (source: Gallup ). 82% fantasize about quitting for the same reason (source: GoodHire ). Ouch. That’s a lot of talent walking out the door. Here’s what can turn your workplace into a ghost town: Lack of Recognition . When managers fail to appreciate employees for their work, they can feel undervalued: “Why work hard? Nobody cares.” Poor Communication . A lack of open, honest communication from managers can create uncertainty and mistrust. “Every week we get a memo that nobody reads.” Inflexibility . Managers who are unwilling to consider employees' ideas can come across as uncaring or dismissive. “Nobody listens and nothing changes   Now, flip the script. Imagine: Attrition plummets to 1.5% ( Verizon ) Productivity surges 50% ( Citizens First Bank )  Turno...

How healthy is your culture? Find out in 5 minutes. Take the FISH! Culture Checkup! Leaders have one perception of the company culture. Employees may have another perception. But why don’t you check it in 5 minutes and then have a look at it? This is how you do it: Ask 3 employees to follow this link https://fishphilosophy.com/culture-checkup/ and register and receive an email to start the checkup. Answer all 20 questions and submit your answers and receive the result. Show the result to the entire team at your next team meeting. Ask again and again: What do you see? What do you also see? When you have asked this question at least 20 times continue with a new question: What shall we do about it? What shall we also do about it? When must we start? Do we agree? Do we all agree? Just do it! Talk about it next time you meet and agree more or adjustments. Keep talking about it! If you need relevant tools please have a closer look at website www.LEADERSwarehouse.COM/en/ including many FI...

The Team Coaching Mat is a must have:  Build your team with this mat for 1 focus person at a time and up to 10 helpers. It is totally OK to read out loud from a script when you have a focus person in the middle that needs help. With The Team Coaching Mat, you are more likely to get started helping a colleague, both getting to know her or him better, acknowledging and appreciating her or him and then also helping her or him with a problem area.  When the coaching carpet lies there on the floor or on a table and invites you, there is a greater willingness to talk about what may be difficult to talk about. When talking about things, frictions, problems, conflicts, difficulties become halved or in any case smaller. And when problems become smaller, they take up less space and there is more room for actual tasks - the work. It is also nice to know for everyone that help is near. The Team Coaching Mat is right there. You really just have to step into the middle and call for some co...

Speed dating with no dating but lots of speed:  All fun and serious teambuilding activities starts with the same thing. The leader says: Please stand up and enter the floor. The leader should not tell them what to expect. Don't tell them about the method. Don't tell them to be anxious or safe. You are their leader and they should have confidence in you. So tell them the headline, the cause, why they are leaving their chairs to stand up together.  Please get up and enter the floor For your information you must have an objective inviting everyone out on the floor. This objective could be learning how to handle a new system, coping with stress, your company culture or the team and the way they work as a team. And you want them to talk about it in pairs. Why this? I mean why talk about a vital topic in pairs? Well, first people tend to open up easier when they only have one to talk to. But there is another reason too. People always remember what they said themself. So if you come...

12 fishmongers and their leader became the start of a global cultural revolution:  FISH! films, books, posters, soft toy and team exercises have been a source of inspiration in many, many companies worldwide. The iconic fish shop World Famous Pike Place Fish has been an inspiration ever since the first fish was thrown in 1965. The 12 fishmongers just sat down in the back room and talked about how they could become world famous. World fame does not come by itself. It must be created every single day. Therefore they continued to meet out in the back room and talk about business for half the meeting time and about their manner of doing what they did for the other half of the meeting time. Every second Thursday. All year. A relatively simple recipe. But even though it sounds simple, there are not many who have succeeded in doing what the fishmongers did. FISH! is an  invitation  to re-awaken the self-trusting, creative spirit within each of us. FISH!  inspires  ...