On the other hand, the book has some serious flaws. For example, one of the principles is "Choose your Attitude." It would be wonderful if every person could be magically transformed into having a good attitude. But that's not the way it works in the real world. Though I deeply believe that a lot of people can develop a great attitude if they are managed correctly, the truth is that there are some people out there who have terrible attitudes (i.e. they are lazy, don't work well with others, don't take pride in their work, etc.) and will never change regardless of how they are managed. It's a shame this has to be done, but the best way to deal with this problem is to fire these types of employees (after giving them a fair chance to get better) and replace them with people who have a good attitude.
Also, the authors virtually said nothing about the importance of how employees are managed. If you want an employee to have a good attitude, I personally feel that genuinely listening to their ideas or giving them a sincere compliment on their work will often do the trick. But good management techniques such as this aren't touched on in the book.
In summary, the book is worth reading since it'll only take an hour or two of your time. But remember that this Fish! is swimming in shallow water.
Greg Blencoe
Author, The Ten Commandments for Managers
Let me set some boudries, first of all, to show you how important I think the material is. If this was Doctor Suess- like book, marketed and written with my kids in mind, I would be cool: five stars easlily. If it was marketed as a self-help book for reframing your attitude, it would get four, maybe five stars. If it were a hippy/ new-age book about just being and enjoying life, five stars plus.
However, as a business book, it is pure fluff.
I was forced to watch this in a corporate setting. Instead of fostering honest, human fun amongst our workforce, it seemed like an invitation for many on the management staff to work on trivial activities. Using Covey's "Seven Habits" and "First Things First" language, they were spending their time in Quadrant 4 of the time management matrix (unimportant, not urgent), instead of the stewardship that comes from Quadrant 2 (important,not urgent).
And employees were ignored while these managers "played," bringing in megaphones and making silly videos. If you want to find out about how to create good customer service, try "Customers for Life," "Raving Fans," or "Hug Your Customers." If you want to motivate your workforce, "The Streetwise Guide to Motivating and Rewarding Your Employees," or a reprint of the HBR article by Herzberg, "Once Again, How do You Motivate Your Employees?" is an excellent place to start.
This book, from my experience, will likely lead to the denial of serious issues, which are actually a blast to tackle in my experience.