Comments on: Happiness Matters

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:20:09 +0000

Though I do volunteer work too, I believe that the market itself can help create happiness. That is, each of us seeking to do business adds to the sum of happiness. You offer something and someone wants to pay you for it.
It is interesting that we take for granted this relative comfort we live in is the result of commerce (the market) with a healthy dose of government work (water, sewage treatment, environmental protection, fire, police, etc.) that makes this all possible.
We live in incredible abundance and the free market is what drives it. Amazing really. It is not a government agency that decides how many loaves of bread you get but this self organizing thing we call capitalism. The invisible hand does work!
Look around you. We live in the most abundant time in the history of the world. Literally.

By: Amy Vercruysse

Amy Vercruysse — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:59:34 +0000

This truth bears out in organizations that treat their employees like mere cogs in the machine. They (the companies) then are usually contending with high turnover rates which in turn has a very real and negative impact on the bottom line.
I never understood the mentality behind that.

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:36:17 +0000

I agree with all your points, Lewis, although I didn’t find working inside the nonprofit sector a “laid-back” experience. In fact, expectations were often very high and people worked hard.
In my experience, what was often lacking was a healthy, happy internal “corporate” culture with an external customer focus. You are so right – engaging and valuing employees bring success.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:51:38 +0000

Elaine,
That’s an interesting comment because when I worked for non-profits, everyone was a bit too laidback for me. Here’s the lesson, I think.
Before we begin a quest for happiness, we need to understand what that special spirit inside us tells us. What is it that makes us happy and then go out and surround ourselves with it.
Businesses do this a bit differently: First, the founders look within and then create a business around what is important to them (i.e., their values). Then they build a culture (hiring process) that also is passionate about those same values. Then everyone works together to ensure the culture is noursihed by those values (i.e., the happiness factors).
Finally, the business works to understand their customers, especially their customers’ bliss touchpoints, and works to ensure the environment, the atmosphere, the products and services, and their employees touch those bliss points in very positive ways.
At the end of the day, the most successful businesses put people first. By doing so, they engage both employees and customers, thereby maximizing the business’s potential for success. We do the same in our lives, if we wish to be the best we can be.

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:07:35 +0000

This is a great lesson, Lewis. I guess that’s why I was attractd to nonprofit marketing in my career. The mission and the people made the work meaningful. Any business can find its sweet spot for increased happiness.