The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

  • Great comments

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    CommentsThe best thing about writing this blog, are all the great comments it gets. As the blog gets more and more popular (and it’s totally getting out of hand right now, I love it), it seems that I get more and more great ideas, feedback, thoughts, input. Here are a few of my favorite recent comments.

    Mack asked why we want to be happy at work at all and a great conversation ensued, including this comment:

    I’ve seen businesses make drastic moves and have a groundswell of support from the employees regardless of the sacrifices they endure. I’ve seen businesses throw goodies at employees and they still complain. What it’s about is trust, and it’s more than just having an HR slogan of “we will be trustworthy???. The problem is that corporations don’t want people working for them, they want human resources. Trust?

    If you’re arguing to make corporations see the bottom line from the long term picture (by promoting trust and human decency towards employees), you’re fighting the entire history of business in this country, buddy. Good luck!
    – Jeremy

    Yes that is exactly what we’re up against – about 200-300 years of tradition for doing the opposite. Call me an optimist, but I really believe that us happy people are so much more efficient and creative that we are the ones who will define the future of business.
    (more…)

  • Help me name my book

    Happy at work bookLast week I asked for help naming my book about happiness at work and great suggestions have been flowing in. Thank you to everyone who’s contributed.

    I can still use more ideas, so please let me know what you think would be a great, eye-catching and happy title.

    My favorites so far are:

    • “Oh Happy (Work)day” based on Paul’s suggestion
    • “Happy hour is 9 to 5” based on Greg’s, Lars’s and PJ’s suggestion
    • “Happiness at work??? as Bob suggested (and as I originally suggested)

    The book also needs a catchy subtitle, and here are my favorites so far:

    • How to love your job and boost your career, your life and your profits. Based on Fleejay’s idea.
    • The Chief Happiness Officer on how to make yourself happier and more successful at work. Based on Rodolpho’s suggestion.
    • How to love your job, love your life and kick butt at work. My idea.

    What do you think? Any of this grab you? Got any more ideas? I’m still totally open about this and have made no decision, so write a comment if you have a suggestion.

  • Monday Tip: Positive Day

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    The Chief Happiness Officer's monday tipsYour mission this monday, is to make today positive day. Positive day is about focusing on the good stuff rather than the bad stuff, and while you will be doing exactly what you normally do, you’ll be doing it with a positive focus.

    Here are the ground rules for positive day:
    1: See the good in everything
    If somebody brings up a co-worker, the boss, a client, an event from last week, a sports game or last night’s movie you’re only allowed to talk about what you liked about it. The good stuff only. If you have nothing good to say, say nothing. Or change the subject to a positive topic.

    2: Agree first
    If someone comes to you with a suggestion, and idea or a new thought, you are, of cours, allowed to disagree, but you must first say what you like about the idea and what you agree with.

    3: No complaining
    Sorry, but today you can’t complain. Remember, it’s only for a day, so tomorrow you can complain to your heart’s content, but not today. You’re absolutely allowed to do something about any problems you see. But you can’t bitch about it to anyone.

    4: Remember the good stuff
    Before you go home, do this: Write down five things that made you happy at work today.

    The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

    Previous monday tips.

  • Journey into leadership: Two interesting days

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    New leaderThis post is part of a series that follows A.M. Starkin, a young manager taking his first major steps into leadership. Starkin writes here to share his experiences and to get input from others, so please share with him your thoughts and ideas.

    Dear me! – and dear anyone. Let me pick out two significant days since my last post that are really significant.

    Thursday last week, 9:15 in the morning – everyone comes in systematically late.

    My ops manager/deputy pulls me aside and says that she has had enough of this place, and that she is only waiting for a better salary offer to leave. And that I might as well begin thinking of hiring because two others are going to leave real soon.
    (more…)

  • National Worklife Balance Week

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    HappyOn Monday October 30, the Danish National Worklife Balance Week kicks. It’s a whole week of activites that companies can participate in to create awareness around worklife balance. You can read all about it here (in danish).

    The week starts with a conference about leadership on Oct. 30 in Copenhagen. One of the speakers will be yours truly, talking about how some of the best organizations in the world make their people happy at work.

  • Help me name my book about happiness at work

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    Happy at work bookMy book about happiness at work is practically done and is coming out in November. I’m revising the text one last time and I’m really, really happy with it.

    I had a meeting monday with Palle Schmidt who is going to illustrate it throughout. Palle is a great artist (you can see his work here – click under “gallerier”) and is really good at illustrating business concepts. The incredibly talented designer Lone Orum will create a beautiful cover and design the inside of the book so it will look not just good but grrrrreat!

    There’s just one, tiny, insignificant detail missing: A title! I really suck at coming up with names (always have) and the best I’ve been able to come up with so far is “Happy At Work Now”. Surely we can do better!

    What do you think I should call the book? I need a title and a catch-phrase, as in The Seven-Day Weekend – Changing The Way Work Works. I also like that title because it immediately evokes a positive image of what the book is about.

    The book is of course about happiness at work. What it is, why it matters and how we can get it. The book is for anyone who has a job and anyone who wants one. You can read all about it (and even read the first draft of it) here.

    Help me out here – I really need some ideas. Write a comment if you have any suggestion!

  • Happy hiring

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    SouthwestI found a great interview where Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines explains some of their thinking behind leadership and culture. Here’s what he says about hiring leaders:

    For our interviewing in general and looking for leadership in particular, we use model employees to do it. We bring in our mechanics to interview mechanics, pilots to interview pilots, flight attendants to interview flight attendants, etc. We want their insights. They’re out in the field, they know the kinds of people we want and so we involve them in the hiring process. And of course they can give us some pretty good insight. Most of our pilots have a fairly keen sense of humor. One day a bunch of applicants thought one of our pilots was also an applicant and sat down and started discussing things very frankly and two or three of them eliminated themselves from consideration by their comments. We also watch applicants when they go to the cafeteria and watch how they relate to our people while they’re up there.

    So it’s not just a question of sitting down with them and asking, “Are you a good person? Do you have great leadership qualities???? We try to put them in situations and have conversations where this naturally comes out.

    This is a fine application of Southwest’s “hire for attitude, train for skill” principle. When you put people skills and being a nice person first when hiring or promoting leaders, you get waaaaay better leaders. And waaaaay better employees!

    UPDATE: And this is what happens in real life, when you hire your employees that way (a great story about Soutwhest from Church of the customer).

  • Don’t coddle me at work

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    Don't coddle me at work

    Some businesses seem to think that they must protect their employees from all the dangers of working life.

    Before people can be happy at work, the thinking goes, they must be shielded from all manner of ills: angry customers, unrealistic deadlines, unfair decisions, overwork, boring meetings, stress, annoying co-workers, insecurity, diffiult situations, hard choices – you name it.

    Wrong.

    The best and happiest workplaces in the world haven’t become so by shielding their people from problems, but by giving their people the skills, the energy and the freedom to deal constructively with problems.
    (more…)

  • Ask the CHO: What’s with all this happiness crap?

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    QuestionAllengirl4 asked how you can spruce up an otherwise boring workplace and Mack came back with this question in the comments:

    Sorry I just don’t get this!! Work is work play is play. I cannot stand it when people “decorate” their cube etc. this is not kindergarden it is a place of work treat it as such.

    Grow up! This constant moaning from people really annoys me. If you are not happy at your Job leave. How about this for a motivation to do your job, your SALARY!!

    Look at people in the third world and their plight and get some perspective! Be glad you have a Job!

    I believe there is relevance to Mack’s question. Why do we want to be happy at work? Why is it not enough to go to work and get paid for it? Why do we want work to be more engaging, playful and fun?

    What’s your take?

  • Monday tip: Learn 3 new things about a co-worker

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    The Chief Happiness Officer's monday tipsYour mission this monday is to learn three things about a co-worker, that you didn’t already know.

    That’s it: Over lunch or in a coffee break or something, take the time to learn at least three new things you didn’t already know about one co-worker. About their professional background, education, private life, etc…

    Simple, huh? :o)

    The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.

    Previous monday tips.

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