The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Category: Happy At Work

How to be happy at work

  • Book review: The one minute apology

    Saying sorry when you are is one of the most fundamental and important personal skills there is. A well-timed, well-phrased apology can get you out of a lot of trouble – and conversely, withholding and apology when one is due can poison almost any relationship.

    In The One Minute Apology: A Powerful Way to Make Things Better Ken Blanchard and Margaret McBride tell a story of positive change promoted by just such an appropriate apology. And of course along the way they outline the principles of good vs. bad apologies.

    And it’s powerful advice. Apologizing means you take responsibility for your actions. It displays confidence, responsibility and maturity. It also lets you move on from a sticky situation that might otherwise trap you and others for a long time.

    So here’s my challenge to you: What apology have you been postponing? Think of one, and go apologize now :o)

  • Book review: Guts!

    Kevin and Jackie Freiberg are the consultants and authors that gave us a wonderful insight into the weird and wonderful (and highly succesful) ways of Southwest Airlines in their book Nuts!. This book has really shaped my perception of what can be done to create a workplace that is both fun and makes money. You may scoff at their alternative business practices and their willingess to promote fun and caring at work, but right now Southwest Airlines is the only major airline in the US that makes any money.

    In Guts!, companies that blow the doors of business as usual, the authors look at more companies that have become succesful by defying traditional business practices. Among the mos well-known are Southwest Airlines and SAS Insititute. The authors argue, that the main ingredient needed to use different strategies is courage, hence the title of the book.
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  • Book review: Love is the killer app

    A killer app is an idea so good, that it simply has to spread. Something so necessary and basic, that you have to adopt it. And according to this book by Tim Sanders, Love is just that.

    I admire people who dare to use the word love in a business setting, and to stick it in the title of the book is down-right gutsy. What’s more, I agree completely. Love is a powerful force in all aspects of life, including business. Here’s what Tim sanders believes you should do to become a lovecat, ie. someone who uses love for business success:
    1: Learn and share your knowledge
    2: Grow and share your network
    3: Show compassion

    See a trend here? This is about giving. About sharing. About focusing on others instead of only on yourself. Tim Sanders shared some of these tips in an excellent article in Fast Company.
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  • Book review: Tyranny of the moment

    Subtitled “Fast and slow time in the information age”, this book by norwegian Thomas Hylland Eriksen details the struggle between two kinds of experiences. Fast time is when you’re doing 10 things at the same time. You’re talking on the phone while reading email, listening to the radio and half-following another conversation in the room. Slow time is when you focus on one thing only. You take time to cook a nice meal, to play with your child or to do nothing.

    Eriksen argues that the information age is geared almost exclusively towards fast time and that consequently we have to make slow time for ourselves. Eriksen also argues that in any contest between fast time and slow time, fast time will win, because it is immediately gratifying and (not least) addictive.
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  • Back from Goa

    We’re now back from Goa after two wonderful weeks that seemed to contain a little of everything and a lot of pool-side relaxation. Here are some pictures, and here are some highlights from the trip:
    * Feeding, riding and washing elephants. Not to mention being washed by an elephant.
    * A bookshop so cheap, that I bought 40 books to take home and give away.
    * The incredible service at the hotel.
    * The food. Aaaahh, the food :o)
    * Finding that once again, the happy at work project inspires people. We may even get the happy at work project India going, and if that’s not an interesting idea I don’t know what is.
    * Stirring up trouble at the Open Space on Open Space conference :o)
    * The sunsets.
    * Meeting so many wonderful people – both locals and at the conference.
    * The insane traffic. Cars, trucks, scooters and motorcycles. And bicycles and pedestrians. And cows, dogs, goats and more cows.
    * Fooling around with the new camera. Excellent!

  • In Goa

    Well, Patricia and I are taking a break from lazing at the pool enjoying the Goan sun to sit in the business centre and write a few emails, and I thought I might give a short update for those of you not here and for those of you coming later for the Open Space on Open Space conference.

    Executive summary: This place rocks!
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  • Open Space World Map

    I’m on the map. Go see, and click on Denmark.

    Michael Pannwitz rocks for being behind such a cool tool.

  • The unmentionable designer

    I’m currently talking to our designer about a re-design for the Happy At Work Project’s web site, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

    She’s done all our design work so far (you can see some examples here), and if you’re ever in need of good design, on or off-line, I can’t recommend her highly enough. She’s extremely talented, and most importantly, she can grasp the important features of a task really quickly.

    I’d like to translate her company name into english, but unfortunately, what is in danish a quirky and fun word becomes, when translated into english, something that is entirely unmentionable in polite society :o)

  • Ricardo Semler

    The ever blogging Chris Corrigan points to an excerpt of Ricardo Semler’s book The Seven-Day Weekend. A small teaser:

    I believe the old way of doing business is dying, and the sooner it’s dead and buried the better off we all will be. Incendiary words, yet Semco’s alliance with Cushman & Wakefield, as well as other joint ventures that I will describe shortly, suggests that the transition from the old to the new can be hugely profitable and not nearly as socially disruptive as might be feared at first. On the contrary, the path Semco has been blazing for more than twenty years has led to an unprecedented record of innovation, customer satisfaction, growth, and an end to repressive command-and-control management practices that cause much labor unrest and personal misery, from the top to the bottom of many organizations.

    That does it, Semler is going on my list of people I’ve gotta have a conversation with.

  • Book review: Smart Love

    I try to gather input for the Happy At Work Project from many sources. Web sites, books, movies, magazines – whatever may give me some new angle on what makes people happy at work. So please don’t read too much into it when I tell you, that I just finished reading a book called Smart Love: The Compassionate Alternative to Discipline That Will Make You a Better Parent & Your Child a Better Person by Martha and William Pieper :o)

    I saw the title, and thought that any alternative to discipline might be a nice thing to know about, in the search for ways to create better work environments. Indeed, much of what is says CAN be transplanted from the world of bringing up children to that of working together on the job.

    The obvious notion NOT to take with you, is the one where managers take on the roles of parents and employees become the children. Where knowledge, authority and responsibility is seen to lie only with some people (those who happen to be leaders) and employees are expected to do as they’re told. Fortunately this mindset is slowly disappearing.
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