Category Archives: Best of site
The very best from the site
What do you do when there’s just too much work?
Last year I did a workshop for a client in Copenhagen whose main problem was that they were just way too busy. They're a trade union and new legislation meant that they got an influx of new government-mandated tasks but budget constraints meant they couldn't hire more people.
Consequently they were … Continue Reading ›› 
Top 10 Reasons Why Job Satisfaction Surveys Are a Waste of Time
I’ve been with my current company for 9 years, and our “engagement score” just hit an all time high in a year when I have heard more employee concerns about the company than ever before. Over the last five years, I have personally seen a combination of rewriting survey questions and “teaching to the test” that … Continue Reading ››
Kill the suggestion box – there’s a much better way
Almost every company talks about empowering their employees, but few actually do it an any meaningful way. In many cases it becomes a sham process, where employees are encouraged to voice their opinions and those opinions are then promptly ignored.
And the best (or is that worst) symbol of fake empowerment is the suggestion box. Many … Continue Reading ››
Our 10 most popular articles ever
The articles on this blog have been viewed more than 10,000,000 times. I can hardly believe it. Here are the 10 most popular of all time.
10: Top 5 reasons why "The Customer is Always Right" is wrong
The phrase “The customer is always right” was originally coined by Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge’s … Continue Reading ››
Steal our best exercise for happiness at work: The Poncho
Praising people at work is great, but hard. It takes some practice to do well and doesn't come naturally to many people.
So ages ago we developed an exercise to help teams praise each other and it's our absolute favorite thing to do in our workshops. And now we've … Continue Reading ›› Much of what you know about business is wrong. You will continue to believe it even now that you know it’s wrong.
"Cognitive illusions can be more stubborn than visual illusions" - Daniel Kahneman (Source)This quote explains why many workplaces are still unhappy even though we all should know by now, that happy workplaces are not only more fun but also make more money. In the image above, every … Continue Reading ››
3 simple ways to hack your to do list for happiness
Do you keep a to-do list at work? And if you do is it a source of happiness at work or an endless source of frustration, overflowing with unsolved tasks - as it is for many people?
One blog post sums it up like this:
I hate … Continue Reading ››
My top 10 most popular articles ever
Why are managers so afraid to show some happiness?
Billionaire Ingvar Kamprad hard at workThat day, the IKEA store in Gentofte, Denmark is a hive of activity. Not only is there a European executive meeting taking place, but the company founder, Ingvar Kamprad himself, is in the house. That’ll make most … Continue Reading ››