Dental Practice Meets Fish Market

After reading the book "Fish: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale & Improve Results" by Stephen C. Lundin Ph.D., as part of Transitions Leadership and Team Development program, we decided to visit Seattle and Pike's Place Fish Market, world renowned for their customer service philosophy. Little did we know what a pivotal moment this would be in our dental practice team health.

We observed the professional service business similarities, at the original Starbucks and Pike's Place Fish Market, and how they operated with such ease and success.

At Pikes Place Fish Market, we observed the systems and how they worked together in complete fulfillment and how they incorporated fun and engagement. We found ourselves "playing" and having fun with a group of people we had never met before. It not only felt great but the energy spread and the experience solidified our commitment to each other and our vision.

As we created our action plan and listed many ideas on how to learn ways to enhance our practice by watching them, we found a common thread existed: fulfillment of employees, fun and energy, and connection with strangers so they are drawn to us.

A highlight to our trip was when we spotted John Yokoyama, the owner of Pike's Place Fish Market, working behind the counter. He gracefully and patiently answered our many questions.

Overall, our weekend resulted in genuine sharing, listening, and a re-energizing with a great sense of moving forward toward a shared vision. We had a lot of fun and made some wonderful connections.