The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

  • Book review: The living company

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    I always thought that the really big companies were immortal. That once an organization attained a certain size, it would last forever, barring some catastrophic event or weird fluke. But it turns out, that the average life span of Fortune 500 companies is under 50 years!

    Arie de Geus pioneered a study at Shell that uncovered this fact, and looked at companies that have lasted a long time, and “The living company: Growth, Learning and Longevity in Business” summarizes the characteristics of these organizations. The most important fact that sets them apart: They are not in business only for the money!

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  • Po Bronson: What Should I Do with My Life?

    Po Bronson (the author of “The nudist on the late shift“) takes on the most fundamental question “What Should I Do with My Life?” in his new book. There’s an article on it in Fast Company, and it’s excellent stuff.

    Here’s a teaser:
    Instead of focusing on what’s next, let’s get back to what’s first. The previous era of business was defined by the question, Where’s the opportunity? I’m convinced that business success in the future starts with the question, What should I do with my life? Yes, that’s right. The most obvious and universal question on our plates as human beings is the most urgent and pragmatic approach to sustainable success in our organizations.
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    [People] thrive by focusing on the question of who they really are — and connecting that to work that they truly love ( and, in so doing, unleashing a productive and creative power that they never imagined ).

    Yes! Thank you Mr. Bronson. Some of these thoughts lie at the center of my project (projekt arbejdsgl?de), and it’s beatiful to see a writer with his clout popularizing the same thoughts.

    However, I do have one observation to add.
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  • Quote

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    My name is closely associated with Open Space, which might lead people to assume that I designed it with infinite patience and great care. This would be an error. As I see it, Open Space has always existed, or it has recently emerged by itself. My privilege has been simply to stumble upon it.
    – Harrison Owen about the discovery of Open Space Technology

  • Stomach brain

    How many brains does the average human have? One? Wrong! There’s one in the head, and it seems we also have an extra one wrapped around our intestines. Read all about it.

  • Quote

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    How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.
    – Niels Bohr

  • Anger management

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    There’s a new series on TV2 about anger management. It turns out that in most cases where we danes are hopping mad inside, we try hard to maintain a calm exterior.

    Which got me thinking: Might this also be going on at work..?
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  • Quote

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    A leader is best when the people are hardly aware of his existence,
    not so good when people stand in fear,
    worse, when people are contemptuous.

    Fail to honour people, and they will fail to honur you.

    But a good leader who speaks little,
    when his task is accomplished, his work done,
    the people say “We did it ourselves.”

    – Lao Tzu

  • Book review: The cathedral within

    The cathedral within by Bill Shore is about charity. Bill Shore is the founder and executive director of Share Our Strength, an organization that supports anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts worldwide.

    This book strengthened my conviction, that giving is important. Giving something to your community or your world confirms your identity, it strengthens your spirit and creates meaning for both individuals and organizations.
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  • FAST personality test

    How about an MBTI test that only takes a couple of minutes? I tried it, and in just four questions it figured out that I’m an ENFP. I’ve tried other MBTI tests that had a lot more questions, and they gave the same result. Try it.

  • Quote

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    A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.
    – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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