the happiness advantage

Just about anyone focused on productivity—their own or a team member’s—is looking for hacks, some shortcuts that will improve performance.  We build efficiency processes, hold meetings, establish sales goals, and set and reset staffing levels all in the hopes of achieving more.  Much of which just grinds the joy out of our work and lives.  But what if there were an almost magical means of doing so?

Many of you have already decided that’s impossible.   But the science is in. And it’s both simple and compelling.  If you want you and your team to be more productive, be happy.

In his 2010 bestseller, The Happiness Advantage, Harvard-trained psychologist Shawn Achor details countless pieces of research indicating productivity and achievement are by-products of happiness, not the consequence of it. In his book and in his wildly popular Ted-talk, Achor demonstrates how our perspective impacts accomplishment. Among the most compelling items in the book is the Losada Line.

In short, the Losada Line indicates that it takes roughly “three positive comments, experiences or expressions to fend off the effects of one negative one…(raised) to a ratio of six to one and teams do their very best work.”   There’s a boatload of academic research behind this phenomena, and Achor’s work is rife with practical, effective ways to raise your own level of happiness, as well as that of your team.  And while being happy is simple, it isn’t easy.   You have to work at it.

But why not give it a try.  Achor doesn’t suggest we shouldn’t chant empty affirmations. Rather he gives us the means to invest in ourselves and others.  He gives us the research supporting meditation, kindness, anticipation, and many other tools that can actually make us happier and thereby more productive.  Investments take time to generate a return, so why not grab a copy of Achor’s book or watch his Ted-talk with your team.

You’ll be glad you did.

If you’ve found this information useful, encouraging or might see a way we can improve it, please let us know.  And if you thought it was encouraging, forward it to a friend so they can subscribe. If you want to find out more about how Performance Strategies Group helps organizations sharpen their sales skills and processes, builds more self-aware and resilient leaders, or equip more productive teams, find us online at www.performancestrategiesgrouponline.com, or call Principal Consultant, Jim Owens @ 256-426-0305.