The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

  • I need your feedback on the back cover text for my new book

    ,

    This is the first draft I wrote for the back cover of my new book, Leading with Happiness. Do you like it? Would you read this book? Any suggestions?

    Here it is:

    What if there was more to leadership than maximizing business results, whatever it takes?

    Drawing on fascinating research from psychology, brain science and philosophy, this book will show you why leaders are more successful when they put happiness first – for themselves, for their employees, for their customers and for the wider world.

    Learn from some of the best and happiest leaders in business, arts, politics and the military, including:

    • The symphony conductor who knows that happy musicians play better music
    • The company founder who got much better results when he stopped being a jerk and started being happy
    • The industrial CEO who had to unlearn everything he’d been taught about leadership to create a happy and successful manufacturing giant
    • The nuclear submarine captain who stopped giving orders
    • The IT executive who brought his company out of a major crisis by focusing on his employees’ happiness

    Using these lessons, your leadership can become a force for good, creating better business results and a better world.

  • My new business card

    We had a photoshoot for our website. This one is going on my new business cards.

    Here’s another of my favorite shots:

  • See all the fascinating talks from our 2017 Conference on Happiness at Work

    , , , ,

    We have now published all the amazing talks from our 2017 International Conference on Happiness at Work.

    You can watch every single talk from the event above or at this link.

    And if you think that looks awesome, join us in Copenhagen on May 17+18 2018 for the next conference. Sign up here to be notified when ticket sales start.

  • Download a free pdf poster with great quotes about happy leadership

    , , ,

    We have created a poster with inspiring quotes about leadership – you can download the pdf for free right here.

  • Enter for a chance to win the 2017 “Out of Office” World Championship

    Help us find the best out of office auto replies in the world!

    Do you have a really good, funny or creative auto reply for your e-mail when you’re off on Summer vacation? Or what is the best “Out of office” reply you have received this summer?

  • Everyone deserves a happy career. Here’s how to get it.

    ,

    Time and again, we see a bell-curve response to surveys on workplace happiness – 20% engaged and happy, 20% disengaged, 60% in the ‘so-so’ zone.

    Why don’t people pay a little more attention (and a whole lot more respect!) to their own happiness – and what happens when they do?

    In this hilarious talk from the 2017 International Conference on Happiness at Work in Copenhagen Irish career expert Rowan Manahan will show you how to use happiness at work as a career advantage. Because the science is clear: While success is no guarantee of happiness, people who love their jobs are more productive, innovative and motivated and ultimately more successful in their careers and in life.

  • Help me name my next book

    ,

    I need a great title for my next book on Leading with Happiness.

    The book explains why and how leaders should lead in a way that improves happiness for themselves, employees, customers and the world. Read more about it here.

    So far I’ve just been calling the book Leading with Happiness (and that kinda works) but maybe there’s a better, more eye catching and more fun title out there?

    As you know, business books tend to to have a title and a subtitle. Here are some titles I really like:

    • Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for your People like Family
    • The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized workplace and surviving one that isn’t
    • The Customer Comes Second: Put your People First and Watch’em Kick Butt
    • The Lazy Way to Success: How to do Nothing and Accomplish Everything

    The title itself is short and inspiring and the subtitle explains what the book is about.

    So please give me your best ideas for a book title in a comment below.

  • Why Ping-Pong Tables Wont Make Your Employees Happy – And What Will

    ,

    In this animated interview Olivier Larvoir and I talk about:

    • Which company recently installed a slide in the office to make it a ‘happier’ place to work (#facepalm)
    • Why your employees don’t want free coffee, ping pong tables and away days – and what they DO want
    • How to attract the best talent without writing a job ad or hiring a recruitment agency
    • What happiest places work all do that you can implement today (think: Google, Zappos, Southwest Airlines)
    • The one word most leaders are scared to say but is the key to better productivity (hint: it isn’t ‘motivation’)

  • Ben Zander on Leading with Happiness

    , ,

    I interviewed the legendary conductor Ben Zander for my next book on Leading with Happiness and here is one of my favorite quotes of his:

    Doing well in the stock market, or satisfying the shareholders is a natural byproduct of an effective business. And what makes an effective business is the same thing that makes an effective orchestra: People who want to be there, who give everything they have, who are having a wonderful time doing it, whose eyes are shining, who are giving out energy to people around them.

  • Show investors that you care about more than just profits

    , , ,

    I found this researching my next book, Leading with Happiness.

    At the 2008 Southwest Airlines Shareholders’ Meeting, CEO Gary Kelly ended his presentation with this wonderful story.

    February the 27th we had flight number 1218 preparing for departure from Dallas to Las Vegas via Austin and as the customers were taking their seats our Dallas flight attendant Robin Hopkins was approached by a customer who I’ll refer to as Janice.

    Janice was asking for help with her cellphone and she didn’t know how to turn it off. Robin assisted Janice but asked if she was okay because Robin can tell that she had been crying. Janice answered that she was on her way to Las Vegas to identify her only son at the medical examiner’s office.

    Upon hearing this Robin informed the two other flight attendants Melissa Smith and Lisa Christian as to what was going on and our flight attendants comforted Janice.

    Melissa and Lisa handled the entire flight from Austin to Las Vegas while Robin sat with Janice and she learned about her son and she was there to provide comfort. They talked for the rest of the flight.
    When they landed in Las Vegas Candace Robinson and Brandy Fuller who are Las Vegas in-flight supervisors met Janice at the gate and they took over. Brandy handled all of her immediate needs while Candace went on to get her own car to drive Janice. Candace was also able to secure a hotel room next to the funeral home.

    There was no one there for Janice except for Southwest Airlines people and this is just one powerful example of our people in action and it happens hundreds of times every single day and most of which we never hear about. But they don’t do it for the recognition, they don’t do it for the money. They do it because they care and at Southwest Airlines we are blessed to find and to hire and to keep people who care.

    I don’t know if you can teach people how to care but you can’t encourage it you can support it and when you know about it you can certainly recognize it.

    This is amazing story and I love the fact that the CEO told it at the shareholders’ meeting. This clearly shows investors where Southwest’s priorities are and that they can expect the company to continue to treat its employees and customers well.

Connect

Get our newsletter

“I can’t believe it – a newsletter actually worth reading!”
– Subscriber

Over 6,000 people subscribe to our newsletter with tons of tips about happiness at work.

Get our books

“It’s very, very good. It’s incredibly well written, full of insights, and there are exercises to improve your own happiness at work. You can’t ask for more than that!”
– David Maister, author of Practice What You Preach

“What an inspiring book. Every leader should read it. This type of leadership has been integral to our success and I know it will boost your results too.“
– Garry Ridge, CEO WD-40 Company

Get Our Free Newsletter

Over 6,000 people already get our free newsletter with useful tips, videos, links and articles about happiness at work.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Top posts last week

Non-inspirational quotesOctober 22, 2003
Top 10 reasons why constant complaining is so toxic in the workplaceAugust 7, 2007
The movie "The Secret" is entirely fakeMarch 15, 2007
How to handle chronic complainersAugust 24, 2006
The world is uncertain (again). Happiness at work must be part of the answer.April 9, 2025

recent Posts