Back in the early 2000s, there was a video circulating in the training world about the Seattle fish market. This film showed the people who worked there, about their enthusiasm for doing their jobs, working with others and serving their customers. A book had come out: Fish! Live Your Market!
The excitement of those years is long gone. Now some would probably consider us naive with such a movie. Cynicism, partial involvement, demotivation, and dissatisfaction as a way of life took the place of that philosophy that urged us to live every moment with pleasure.
And yet…
I met such people at a Lafayette Gourmet restaurant. And the irony is that it was in Paris, a city not necessarily famous for the way it treats customers or motivates people at work.
The people at this seafood restaurant looked like something out of a 2000s movie. They made conversation with all the customers, joked with each other, helped each other, were very energetic, smiled, laughed, asked if we liked the food. All this in such a natural, spontaneous, casual way that it seemed like everyone there was having a good time.
Even when they cleared the table, wiped, cleaned, they did it quickly, exemplarily, smiling, and we admired them, chatted with them and felt as if we belonged.
In the end, the way we work depends on how we relate to what we do. These people were of different nationalities, doing activities that many people wouldn’t do, but they set an example of how to do your job, how to live and how to position yourself. I know thing don’t happen easily, but this experience gave me confidence that there is still enthusiasm for what we do every day. I hope it goes viral.