Digby Morgan was delighted to play host recently to some of the country’s leading HR lights at an exclusive dinner at that perennial West End favourite, One Aldwych. The highlight of the evening was a short, pre-dinner presentation from the globally acknowledged authority on happiness and success, Robert Holden.

More than thirty guests attended the dinner including some of the country's most senior HR professionals from a range of blue-chip organisations such as Santander, Linklaters, Lastminute.com, IBM, Lovells, BP, Slaughter & May, Aviva and JP Morgan.

Robert Holden is the Director of Success Intelligence and The Happiness Project, two projects which coach individuals and organisations on how to succeed in a manic society that often confuses speed with progress. His work examines how the hyperactive workplace can move from endless activity to genuine accomplishment adding value. He also challenges the joyless economy to work with greater joy, creativity, and inspiration and identifies the need to create a learning ethic that embraces a need to grow and that also supports sustainable success.

Until recently, psychologists dismissed happiness as simply a ‘pleasurable emotion with no evolutionary value.’ The theory was that ‘happiness feels good but isn’t useful.’ However, new psychology research reveals that happiness has a powerful effect on the brain that helps you to think broadly, to be more resilient and to come up with creative solutions for difficult situations. Happiness helps you to bring out the best in yourself.

Robert’s new book Be Happy: Release the Power of Happiness in You launched this month and gives you a front row seat on his eight week course (also called Be Happy) which has been tested by independent psychologists and brain scientists who judged it to be ‘a genuine fast-track to happiness.’ The next course starts this month but, if you can’t make it, here are some tips to help you recession-proof your happiness and beat the economic blues.

The Big Rethink

The recession is a global shockwave that is forcing everyone to rethink the pursuit of happiness. Happiness research shows that, in spite of a golden era of economic growth, happiness levels have not increased in the UK since 1950. Since 1957, the number of Britons who describe themselves as ‘very happy’ has plummeted from 52% to 36%.

Our most basic assumptions about what happiness is, and what will make us happy, are now being tested. Happiness researchers confirm that money is important for basic needs like food, rent and clothes. Thereafter, the link between higher income and increased happiness has been described in one 16 nation study as ‘surprisingly weak’ and ‘virtually negligible.’ In fact, a third of all millionaires are less happy than the national average. Real, enduring happiness cannot be bought.

The Manic Society

Its official - the pursuit of happiness has speeded up! We are chasing after happiness faster than ever. And the faster we run, the longer the race becomes. In recent years our happiness levels have not risen. We are experiencing what researchers call ‘static happiness.’ In the 1940s when people were asked, “How happy are you?” the average score was 7.7 out of ten. Most recently, the average score was 7.2 out of ten.

The Monty Python sketch ‘The 100 Yard Dash for People with no Sense of Direction’ is a perfect metaphor for our mad-dash world. Success Intelligence helps you to create a vision for your life and work that does not get lost in ‘hurry sickness.’ It helps you to be success-focussed and to ask the question ‘what is real success?’ Vision is the key and beware of this ‘hurry sickness.’

Hyperactive Workplaces

People who report high levels of happiness don’t just have a job; they have a purpose. Malcolm Forbes wrote that ‘the biggest mistake people make in life is not making a living at doing what they most enjoy.’ Whatever your job is, think carefully about what you most enjoy about it, how you add real value and what the real purpose of your job is.

Success Intelligence promotes an ethos that helps individuals, teams and organisations recognise the difference between busyness and purpose.

The Joyless Economy

All too often the modern workplace presents a daily tragedy in which people work without love and joy. Official figures for job satisfaction show that over 50% of the modern workforce does not feel aligned, engaged or inspired. When you remember what you most love and enjoy about what you do, you perform better. S.I. memo to managers: Catch people having fun! People who feel good about what they do, perform better.

The Learning Organisation

Happiness is the key to success. The new world of work requires a genuine commitment to ongoing growth and learning. One of the things we have to learn is that, whereas in the past we were taught that success makes you happy, new research suggests that happiness is what makes you successful. Happiness brings out the best in you and in others. Knowing why you do what you do gives you the vision and resilience to keep going in difficult times.

Robert Holden, Ph.D., is the Director of Success Intelligence and The Happiness Project. His innovative work on success and happiness has been featured on Oprah and in two major BBC TV documentaries, The Happiness Formula and How to Be Happy, shown to more than 30 million television viewers worldwide. Robert coaches leaders in the field of business, politics, healthcare and education. Some of the world’s leading organisations consult Robert on their leadership philosophy and their vision and values - including Virgin, Dove and The Body Shop. He is the author of the best-selling books, Happiness NOW!, Shift Happens! and Success Intelligence. He lives with his wife and daughter in London and New York. For further information visit www.robertholden.org, www.behappy.net, or www.successintelligence.com


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