The Big Idea: Happy employees are a competitive advantage.

• make it okay to try new things and fail
• learn something from every failure, always
• reward attempts, not just results

• office design matters
• eg. red invokes attention to detail, but also anxiety
• eg. silence invokes focus, but also anxiety
• optimal: caves + campfires
• caves are quieter spaces where people can focus and think
• campfires are interactive spaces where people can collaborate and communicate
• good to have: safe and warm environment, nice views, scenes of nature, sunlight, lots of plants, aquariums,
• use your workspace to convey what your company is about: Apple Store = simplicity, framed pictures, employee artwork,
• let the team design their workspace
• don’t forget about nice bathrooms (art, plants, magazines)
• if possible, let people telecommute. You can also try this web-site for the best plumbing services for your bathroom.

• to improve problem solving and creative thinking, go on a walk
• exercise improves your mood, triggers chemicals that reduces stress, and improves thinking
• napping also improves problem solving and creating thinking
• a careful balance of work and recovery is vital
• late nights and burnout culture lower long-term productivity
• disconnecting is important

• small, frequent pleasures can keep us happier than large, infrequent ones
• perks communicate on an emotional level and provide a motivational boost
• on-the-job rewards are significantly more motivating than cash bonuses
• variety increases happiness
• variation of activities make the workplace more enjoyable
• unexpected pleasures deliver a bigger thrill
• unexpected events have greater emotional weight
• a constant flow of surprises keeps you engaged (movie, massage therapist)
• experiences are more rewarding than objects; they involve other people, the memories improve with age; they can be relived
• we don’t always know why we’re happy
• color/scent/music can give an unconscious happiness boost
• a grateful mind is a happy one;
• gratitude: gratitude journal; ask staff to share what they are most proud of since last meeting; ask staff to thank someone else for a contribution made
• excessive/extreme happiness can increase tendency to make mistakes, reduce motivation; people who don’t have negative emotions are called psychopaths

• the strongest predictor productivity: friendship at work
• how to create workplace friendships: proximity, familiarity, similarity
• how to accelerate friendship: share personal information
• shared group activities (sports) >> happy hours and cocktail parties, because of interaction
• a shared purpose (or common enemy) can unite factions
• friendships at work help people stay emotionally and physically healthy
• gossip can be a problem but it can also be useful to establish company culture and norms
• gossip tends to happen when people are feeling powerless or insecure
• identify strategic and persistent gossipers early
• gossip tends to be a problem when leaders gossip

• intrinsic motivation > extrinsic motivation
• emphasizing rewards reduces intrinsic motivation
• the more emphasis placed on salary and bonuses, the more employees are going to focus on them
• autonomy increases intrinsic motivation
• let your team set their own calendar

• the only thing that sustains happiness is status, respect and admiration among friends/family/peers
• being recognized feels good
• recognition feeds our need for competence
• competence increases intrinsic motivation
• being ignored is often more psychologically painful than being treated poorly
• undeserved positive feedback is demoralizing to others who actually deserve the recognition
• feedback is more effective when it is provided immediately
• feedback is more effective when it is specific
• compliment the behavior, not the person
• public praise is more powerful than private praise
• reward high performers with more responsibility
• encourage peer-to-peer recognition
• find a way to give meaning to the work (eg. nonprofit fundraisers)
• to experience flow, work needs to be not too easy and not too hard
• consider making on-the-job learning a requirement
• acquiring new skills releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine
• consider peer-to-peer coaching (pods of 3)

• good communicators listen much more than they talk
• good bosses listen much more than they talk
• good listeners do a lot of paraphrasing and repeat backs
• resolve workplace conflicts by understanding there is a task channel and a relationship channel

• attitudes, emotions, and behaviors are contagious
• leaders attitudes and habits are adopted by the members of their teams
• culture comes from the top, so be aware that someone is always watching

• first impressions persist
• referrals from your high performers (with no referral bonus) is the best strategy for hiring
• interviews that involve a work assignment are optimal
• cultural fit matters but too much similarity can lead to groupthink and impair innovation

• pride in one’s company matters a lot
• pride is fundamentally about status
• share your company’s history with the team
• share your company’s mission and vision with the team
• being different is good (company culture)
• include altruism alongside making a profit
• emphasize everyone’s contribution: decision making, recognition by name
• consider thanking a high performer’s family for that person’s efforts at work
• avoid inflated job titles