The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Category: Leadership

Leadership is an insanely important discipline. Here you’ll find the thought, tools and tricks of the trade of great leaders.

  • Brilliant study: Chimps would rather cooperate than compete

    A BRILLIANT study found that:

    When given a choice between cooperating or competing, chimpanzees choose to cooperate five times more frequently.

    And also that:

    The chimpanzees used a variety of enforcement strategies to overcome competition, displacement and freeloading, which the researchers measured by attempted thefts of rewards.

    These strategies included the chimpanzees directly protesting against others, refusing to work in the presence of a freeloader, which supports avoidance as an important component in managing competitive tendencies, and more dominant chimpanzees intervening to help others against freeloaders.

    This indicates that cooperation is hardwired into humans on a biological level by evolution.

    Which makes you wonder why so many workplaces heavily emphasize competition over cooperation.

    Related posts

  • This IT company is helping the world (and its employees) by sharing its skills

    I have previously written about Vega IT Sourcing, a very happy tech company in Serbia whose vision is to “Create a successful and happy business and use its success and power to create a better world.”

    They do that in many ways, most recently by launching Code For A Cause, where individuals or NGOs from anywhere in the world who need a software solution (like a website or an app) can apply to have it created for free.

    This obviously helps the organizations who get free solutions but it also helps the IT staff become happier at work because they get to use their skills to help organizations who do good work around the world.

    So if you know an NGO who might need a new website, app or other software solution, tell them about Code For A Cause. They are accepting applications until June 30.

  • The meaning of life is happiness – just not your own

    A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to give a speech about a brand new (for me) topic: Why are we here, alive, in this universe? What’s the meaning of life? What is a good life and how do you get it?

    Based on lessons from philosophy, psychology and neuroscience, I make the claim that the purpose of life is happiness – just not your own. I also talk about how to apply that in our workplaces.

    Watch the speech and tell me if you agree :)

  • How WD-40 built a billion-dollar business with happiness

    In this AMAZING speech from our International Conference on Happiness at Work, CEO Garry Ridge gives you a look “under the hood” of one of the world’s most recognized brands, WD-40 Company,  where 98% of employees say they “love to work.” This high engagement has resulted in a company that has doubled in revenue in the last decade, and is on a trajectory to double again in the next.

    Garry shares his “learning moments” from his journey to transform the company’s culture, beginning in 1997. Lessons and principles covered include:

    • The personal journey of every servant leader, and why that philosophy is critical
    • The emotional connection of a greater purpose that creates high engagement
    • How to carefully and consciously choose values that will be embedded in all aspects of leadership and employee development
    • The difference between a “team” and a “tribe”, and why WD-40 Company strove to create a cohesive tribe that spans 15 countries where employees work
    • How company performance results are directly connected to its focus on people

    Watch the whole thing – it’s phenomenal!

    Here’s my personal favorite quote from his speech:

    Leaders are champions of hope. Life is a gift. Let’s not send it back unwrapped. We have only time, talent, treasure, and technology to deal with, and none of them are abundant. So it’s our job as leaders to help people focus on the things that really matter and to take that hope to a real result.

     

  • Hiring For Happiness at Lykki

    How do you hire the right people? And maybe more importantly: How do you avoid hiring the wrong people?

    Calvin Johnson, the founder of Lykki, an e-commerce retailer based in Vancouver, shares some fun and innovative ways they screen and test job applicants.

    Related

     

  • Hiring For Happiness at Menlo Innovations

    Tech company Menlo Innovations in Ann Arbor, Michigan have a VERY different way of hiring and interviewing new employees.
    They call it Extreme Interviewing, and it is not only much more efficient than the traditional approach, it also has a much better success rate in hiring the right candidates (and eliminating the wrong ones) AND it’s fun and engaging for everyone involved.

    Related links

  • We need more science in business

    Yesterday I participated in the Copenhagen March for Science – part of a global movement to celebrate science and the role it plays in our live.

    It was tremendously cool to march through the streets of Copenhagen along with hundreds of other science enthusiasts and it’s easy to see that it has never been more important to encourage the use of science in public policy given the challenges we’re facing (especially climate change) and the current unscientific and populist tendencies we’re seeing in some countries.

    And the same goes in business. Many of the most widespread practices in business and leadership have been repeatedly proven wrong in studies and yet they persist. Here are some of my favorite examples of scientific findings that are being soundly ignored by many companies:

    Don’t take my word for it – click each link above to see the research behind it.

    Leaders and businesses need to know the science AND apply it. Ignoring this research is hurting employees and the bottom line.

    Related posts

  • Another CHO is born

    Kristian Fischer, The Global VP of Professional Services at Tradeshift just changed his title to Chief Happiness Officer. Here’s how he announced it:

    Yes! Finally got a new a new title – and I’m loving it already…

    Strongly inspired by a great new book by Alexander Kjerulf I have taken a decision to change my title to (CHO) Chief Happiness Officer.

    And that basically means that my main objective will be to make my colleagues happy. And if they are happy, so are our customers.

    And if my customers are happy, I’m happy. And when I’m happy, so is my family.

    What’s not to love…

    How awesome :)

    Here’s  my article on why every company should have a Chief Happiness Officer.

  • Your job: Make someone smile!

    Danish CEO and entrepreneur Peer Krogh had one main message for his employees:

    ”The most important thing is really this:

    Have you made someone smile today?

    If you have, you’ve done a good job.”

    He passed away in 2013, but the company still has that message written in the office and on badges like the one you see above.

    What a great example of Leading With Happiness.

  • Good leaders put happiness first

    Good leaders put happiness first! Here’s a very short summary of my presentation on “Leading With Happiness” in The Netherlands last month.