University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
What Happy Companies Know
Book

What Happy Companies Know

How the New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Company for the Better

Dan Baker, Cathy Greenberg and Collins Hemingway
FT Prentice Hall, 2006
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

The concept of ''happiness'' only recently entered mainstream business thought, although wise executives have long understood the importance of having happy employees. Creating a happier workplace makes everyone's job easier and dramatically increases the bottom line. In this blueprint for corporate health, authors Dan Baker, Cathy Greenberg and Collins Hemingway explain why organizations with empowered and motivated workforces can expect to exceed growth expectations. getAbstract strongly recommends this sensible and indispensable guide that's jam-packed with illustrative examples of the best – and worst – business practices in America. Come on – get happy, for fun and profit.

Summary

Corporate Illness

You're at the end of your fiscal reporting period and your predictions have fallen short. Rather than take a beating on Wall Street and heat from your board, you cook up a scheme with your sales department head and CFO to offer discounts to large accounts. Miraculously, you reach your numbers. Two years later, your seemingly harmless "trick" has evolved into the deleterious practice of offering larger discounts and fudging accounts. Now the board is investigating. Hopefully, you'll just get fired. Beats jail. You try to blame your co-conspirators.

Though fraud can indicate corporate unhappiness, absenteeism and turnover are more common signs. Companies waste thousands of dollars dealing with bullying and other dysfunctions instead of recognizing that they have a people problem. They reanalyze and reorganize, hoping to come up with a new answer when the solution is in front of them.

What Happy Companies Look Like

"HAPIE" is an acronym that describes five characteristics of happy companies:

  • "Humble" top managers who inspire and innovate.
  • "Adaptive" employees who are content and enthusiastic.
  • "<...

About the Authors

Dan Baker, Ph.D., a psychologist, is a leader in the life coaching and management field. He wrote What Happy People Know: How the New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Life for the Better. Cathy L. Greenberg, Ph.D., is a leadership expert and organizational development consultant. Collins Hemingway, MA, is a business writer and co-author with Bill Gates of Business @ the Speed of Thought.

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