Find common ground in 15 minutes:  If you want your team to be a community, ie. be connected by something you have in common, something you agree on, something you have the same point of view on or something that interests you, then start this exercise. Being connected by something you have in common means that it has to be a little unusual. It is not enough to have two eyes. But if several people have one green eye and one brown eye, then you have something in common. The common thing must therefore be somewhat rare. Somewhere in Copenhagen there is an apartment complex where only former employees of The Royal House. They have in common that they have all served various Danish royals throughout their lives. Elsewhere in Copenhagen, there is an apartment complex where only former actors live. They have in common that they have all appeared in theaters and in films throughout their long lives. Community can also be togetherness. This is usually the case in a workplace. When the comm...

My advice to you is: Take these 5 cool coaching questions:  There are conversations for every occasion. Here I will describe a few of them that you will need the most. Some people think that conversation is pure talk that leads to nothing. But that is not correct. If you are a group that has to solve a problem, it typically starts with talking. Talk turns into conversation.  And conversation leads to plan and action. There is small talk for a start Here they talk about weather and wind and health and children and grandchildren. Small talk is good for relationships. You have seen me and I have seen you. It is in line with waving and smiling at each other. Then there is Team Talk Which can be used when the whole group is gathered for, for example, a weekly meeting. Everyone gets to say something. Because everyone means something. Because everyone has something to contribute. Because everyone has an idea or two for a solution. Team Talk is, for example, 'the round table'. This is...

Eliminate the awkward silence and instead have some dignified conversations about the deceased:  Since there is rarely a leader of the funeral ceremony the whole thing becomes very quiet and serious and there is no room for conversation. It is of course very different from funeral to funeral. But there will always be people present who are neither family nor friends, but who are 'stakeholders'. Those who only have a small contact surface or know the deceased from a small angle, e.g. work, sports, school, etc. Therefore, one is content to show one's respect, calmly and dignified. But in reality, the deceased might want people to meet and have a nice experience. And in fact, the funeral is the deceased's last 'management task'. It is the last time that the deceased gathers these very people around him. The deceased would probably like it to be fairly pleasant and educational. New conversation cards For this purpose, I have formulated a series of conversation cards...

There is Small Talk and there is Team Talk. Here comes a 'what is what' explanation?:  When we meet with family and friends at the dining table, a conversation ensues where the host or the elder takes the lead, which sometimes shuts down the entire dinner party. Once in a while, the unique thing happens that everyone around the table speaks the same amount. Then there is both laughter and answers in the air. It all happens randomly and without control. It is usually problem-free. It is small talk about small and large topics. It's close to cozy. I have tried to be at a birthday party, where my waitress told me about her exciting job as a secretary for the well-known danish TV producer and master of our childhood Ingvald Lieberkind. And I have tried having a potato grower at the table. And there I listened to new and old stories about both potato species and cooking methods. But these must be described as small talk. Small Talk with content. Because there is also Small Talk ...

I can't find my will - where did I put it?: The headline puts the matter a bit on the edge. The will is not a gland or a special center in the brain. But the will is good to get in touch with if one day you sense that it is a bit difficult to get started with anything. There are people who, without warning, start playing the piano. They find a teacher. They practice. And then all of a sudden they play for us all. There are people who start to learn a new language, to ride a mountain bike, to collect ... I myself have been practicing to become a better badminton player. There are many things to practice. To pose correctly. To move systematically. Practicing the basics. Being able to vary. To be able to mask. To hit hard. To strike softly. To endure to win. To bear to lose. It's a long catalog. One stroke I have worked on refining is the serve. A good start is crucial to whether the ball gets into play at all. That's why I've been practicing the serve and it works really ...

Five nice learnings about eLEARNING:  Here you can read what eLEARNING actually is and what FISH! eLEARNING in particular is. With FISH! the film, the books, the tools, the methods, the posters, the gifts you can dazzle your FISH! process, so that you extend over a longer period of time and thus be remembered. 1: eLEARNING takes too long? Studies show that eLEARNING typically takes between 40% and 60% less time than when you have to learn the same thing in a traditional classroom. FISH! eLEARNING can be accessed from any computer or mobile when it suits the employee and at the employee's own pace. A few minutes at a time or the whole course at once (1 hour in total). 2: Isn't eLEARNING mostly for young people? Half of all content on YouTube is seen by 35 to 64 year olds. 55% of all people over 50 receive news online. If you watch videos or read news on a PC, a tablet or a mobile phone, then you are already familiar with eLEARNING. FISH! eLEARNING offers exciting video clips, qu...

What to do after showing the FISH! film: Unite your team:  When the FISH! film has ended, the leader must follow up. The worst thing a leader could do - is nothing. The leader must not do nothing. Just showing the film leads to nothing. Well, nothing but confusion. Every employee can with their own eyes see that the fishmongers are having a wonderful working environment, with four great values or practices. But what should the employee do about that - alone? Things will only happen when employees are united. The leader is in a position to unite them. The leader must consider the film (before showing it) as a beginning. A new beginning. A refreshing start. A film about a very productive service culture. A film about teamwork and trust, retention and recruitment, innovation and creativity, boosting engagement and morale. What is your aim? What will be your focus? Pick one - not all of them. After showing the film the leader must inspire employees to internalize the messages in the fi...

Read this guide before your first FISH! presentation:  Vital conversations that transforms your business When presenting The FISH! Philosophy, you are about to open the door to something potentially powerful. Therefore, it is important how you present FISH! This guide suggests a simple, yet very effective step-by-step method that you can use when inviting to and presenting FISH! The method involves participants talking about how FISH! can make a positive difference in their job – and inspire them to make this difference. Whether you are a seasoned facilitator or you have never facilitated before, this guide contains suggestions for a FISH! presentation of 75 to 90 minutes. This is a solid foundation for your team to build a long lasting FISH! culture. With this Quick Guide you have 5 simple steps to get started: Insights into introducing FISH! Your preparation before the first presentation Invitation to participants for the first FISH! presentation Facilitating the first FISH! pres...

Start your weekly meeting in a delicious way:  Well begun is half done When you are the meeting leader, you probably think that it is you who has to speak most of the time. You shouldn't. Instead, you must be listening and asking questions most of the time. It is popularly said that he who talks a lot dominates. But he who asks a lot rules. The danger, of course, is that your participants will say most things and decide everything. Nah no. It is not like that. Are you giving up your power? No, neither. You just have to keep calm. You manage abundantly. Now you have to involve. And here are 12 involvement tips. It is for certain that when the meeting is boring, no one hears anything, learns nothing, gets smarter about anything. They all sit and sleep inside. They sleep with their eyes open. Their thoughts are elsewhere. They are not in your conference room. Therefore, try one or more of these tips: 1. Ask your participants to note the topic or issues that, in their opinion, are the ...

How to pat everyone on your team:  Is it really necessary to praise each other at work? I have a story that I would very much like to tell you. A cause I am passionate about. A matter that occupies me most of my waking hours. At the same time, it is an experience that is about you and your employees being able to achieve extraordinary results when you are all involved in creating the team culture you really want. Unhappy employees Being a consultant, I hear about unhappy managers and stressed employees daily. Employees are underinformed. They are overloaded with too many and too difficult tasks. They are stressed. They are overloaded. They get no help. They get confused. They get sick. It can hardly be called well-being and teamwork in year 2022. You can't be like that to the most important people you have at work. It is both hideous, disrespectful and mediocre. It hardly matches the company's values ​​either. The colleagues who remain fear that they may be subjected to the sam...

It is not possible to choose your own attitude, when everything goes wrong at work:  This story begins with a young roofer who shows up for work early in the morning. Cold rain is planing down from gray clouds. The roofer would like to be somewhere else entirely, but he has a job to do. While the icy raindrops cut his cheeks, he turns his face up to the clouds, grinning: 'Is that all you have to offer? Spit it out!' The roofer understands that the 'choice' is his. By 'choice' means that he himself is responsible for the way he reacts in relation to what life offers him in his path. No one else can choose for him. 'You have to choose where you want to be as soon as you get up in the morning,' says Bear, one of the fishmongers at Pike Place Fish. 'I make a conscious choice every day.' Trapped in an unpleasant situation We often feel like prisoners in an unpleasant or stressful situation and our reaction shows it: 'I can not help it! I look like...

Why not be serious at all times?:  What is PLAY? If you think along the lines of learning, experimentation or interaction, then it makes sense. Wherever creativity flourishes, there is play going on. We all learn as we did when we were children - by playing with ideas. We learn by setting aside the idea that we are limited. We open our eyes. Here are 3 ways to relate to PLAY when we are at work: First option: PLAY without working The individual employee or the group can step away from the tasks and start PLAYING. This is what happens when you step out onto the lawn and start a game of football, or go out onto the walkway and PLAY chair racing. It is fun. It gives energy. Those who want to join will have red cheeks. The community sparkles. If the boss allows it, it is a great way to team build, to focus, to boost enthusiasm and a number of other skills. The boss and the employees know that it costs money. Because while the PLAY is going on, we don't solve any of the tasks. We don...

Team tools must be both fun and serious:  I found this pencil sharpener the other day. It is not for pencils but for carrots. This tool is both fun and serious. You can peel the carrot and you can sharpen the carrot. But why sharpen a carrot? Well. Just for the fun. The slices you sharpen off you can eat. Both functions are working very well. Exactly the same expectations you may have to a team tools. It must be both serious and fun. In Copenhagen, Denmark you can walk into TIVOLI - a huge and ancient amusement parc. TIVOLI opened in the year 1843. If you read TIVOLI backwards it says I LOV' IT.  TIVOLI is serious in so many ways (safety first, traditions, good looking parc from all angels, well kept, moneymaking) and fun in so many ways (scary, fun for all ages, concerts). This is why a number of museums have used the term 'Tivolization' - where the customer experience is both fun and serious. You learn something while you're having fun. Laugh and learn.  The very same...

Formulate team interaction rules:  From time to time, the leader can formulate some interaction rules for the group or team. The team leader does not have to come with all the rules - fully formulated and laminated - just ready to hang on the wall. A list of 'sensible' interaction rules' can be a good starting point. The list can be used to check off. Which of these rules do we want here with us? When will they come into force. And what will happen if you do not comply with them? Explain that conversations about the group's way of working together can become emotional. Therefore, it is vitally important that everyone dares to say what they think and dare to mean what they say. Everyone must be safe when the collaboration is easy and unproblematic, as well as when it all becomes difficult and challenging. For example, when the team has to find new solutions, it can be difficult to talk together properly. Everyone must be aware of the good tone, many bad and useless ideas...

The times are full of worries, uncertainty and disturbances. And we don't know for how long: How can we support each other as a community and as a society? Here are a few FISH! philosophical thoughts that you might be able to use. BE THERE  Sometimes we get worried when we communicate more via technology than face to face. Now the situation is completely different. Now our smartphones, tablets and PCs are red hot. The recommendation is clear. Talk to family, to friends, to customers. Contact those you haven't spoken to in a while. Ask how they are doing. Encourage them to talk. When they talk, listen carefully. It is especially important to reach out to people who live alone. They need your ear and your voice and your concern. MAKE THEIR DAY This is not the time for a surprise party with 100 guests. But there are other ways you can show your interest and attention. When you are in the supermarket, you must keep a distance of 2 meters - with a smile. Show that you are interested...

Are you absolutely certain?: When another person asserts something that sounds like it is enacted by law, it is called 'stubbornness'  and 'slanted certainty'. Very few people enjoy encountering bias. In fact, I would argue (with some alacrity) that one can react to skewed confidence, stubbornness and alacrity in 3 ways: You can go with it (accept it and agree with it). You can go against it (- with an equally steep claim). You can escape from it (to avoid more steeps). An unmistakable statement Sometimes the bias can be comical. Then it's okay to laugh at it, for example: 'I saw an episode of Doc Martin the other day. Clint Eastwood starred in a minor role. You might not spot him, but you can rely on me.' or In reality, we drive the wrong way into a roundabout. We should turn left if we were to do it correctly. None of these examples are seriously dangerous or catastrophic. They are just verbal assertions that are unwaveringly certain and also a little ann...

In this article I will describe an age old paradox - the individual against the community. You will encounter a new and surprising message. Hold your horses.   You and me and all of us The situation is that everything is part of something bigger. A drop of water is part of a lake. An ice crystal is part of an ice cream cake. A resident is part of a residential area. Five dollars is part of a monthly salary. An employee is part of a team. A center forward is part of Real Madrid. A singing voice is part of a choir. Seven examples that are clear and understandable. But even so, they can be deeply complicated when the harmony, the balance, the power, the agreements or the balance of power shift. What exactly is a community? A community is a group of people who are connected by something they have in common, something they agree on, something they have the same point of view on or, for example, something that interests them. Community can also be togetherness. In all communities, both i...