The Benefits of a Challenge: A Lesson from Japanese Fishermen

What do keeping employees motivated and fresh fish have in common?

I just got back from my first trip to Asia, where I learned an interesting story about Japanese fishermen that directly correlates with business principles for employee motivation.
The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But over the past several decades it has become increasingly difficult to find fish in close waters. Fishing boats have gotten bigger and ventured farther and farther out into the ocean. Of course, the farther the fishermen go, the longer it takes to bring back the fish, and soon people began to complain the fish did not taste fresh.
To solve the problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. This allowed the fishermen to go farther into the ocean, and stay longer to catch more fish. This seemed like a great solution, but the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen fish, and they preferred the taste of the fresh fish. Back to the drawing board.
The fishing companies then decided to install fish tanks on their boats. They caught the fish then stuffed the live fish into tanks, fin to fin. After some initial thrashing, the fish would stop fighting to move around, and would remain stagnant for a few days. The fish arrived to shore alive, but were tired and dull, and the Japanese could taste the difference between these and fish that had recently been active in the water. So, how did the Japanese solve this problem?
They found their answer in a principle that also holds true for people — when people reach their goals and feel that there is no where else for them to go, they often lose their passion and become stale. People thrive in the presence of a challenging environment. And as it turns out, the same is true for fish.

The Importance of a Challenging Environment

To keep the fish tasting fresh, Japanese fishermen continued to use fish tanks on their boats, but they added a small shark to each tank. Although they lost a few fish in each tank in the process, the sharks kept the remaining fish as challenged as they had been in the ocean, and they arrived to shore in a lively state. These fish tasted fresh — and the Japanese were able to do a great deal of fishing in deeper waters and come back with fish that met their high standards.
People perform at a higher standard when they are challenged, so setting short-term and long-term goals is essential for individual employee and business success. Set goals for yourself and your employees that are challenging yet still attainable, so they are able to get quick hits and steadily conquer bigger challenges. Once the goals are achieved, raise the bar. Challenges keep us determined, keep us motivated, and yes, keep us fresh!
Put a shark in your tank, and see how much you can achieve.

What motivates employees most? Share your answers below.