Podcasts about happiness index

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Best podcasts about happiness index

Latest podcast episodes about happiness index

Working With Humans by Matt Phelan and friends
Curiosity and Employee Engagement with Anne Burt

Working With Humans by Matt Phelan and friends

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2025 41:34


Matt Phelan Co-Founder of The Happiness Index sits down with Anne Burt the head of Employee Engagement at DEFRA to discuss Employee Engagement in the workplace.Matt asks Anne the following questionsWhat makes you happy?Tell us about your careerWhy do employees act the way they do?What factors influence employee engagement scores?How can we foster curiosity in the workplace?How can we shift from reactive "firefighting" to proactive problem-solving?What is the role of leadership in creating a supportive work environment?How can we create an environment where employees feel empowered and free to be human?About Anne BurtWith two decades of experience in change, engagement, communications and continuous improvement, I have a wide range of skills in understanding and reaching audiences. I have designed and implemented award-winning and industry-recognised solutions for hard to reach staff and stakeholders.I have extensive experience of leading, designing, creating and driving business change strategies.My innovative and collaborative working style, along with my expertise in people issues and strong facilitation skills, means I am a trusted adviser during major organisation change.

The Morning Review with Lester Kiewit Podcast
Barbs Wire: Wes-Kus fatal show for pilot, TikTok's filters, Finland dubbed happiest country

The Morning Review with Lester Kiewit Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 13:20


CapeTalk’s Sara-Jayne Makwala King (in for Clarence Ford) and digital editor Barbara ‘Barbs Wire’ Friedman check out some of the top stories trending on social media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Die Wochendämmerung
Eier, Wohlwollen, Proteste in Serbien und der Türkei, Autokratie in den USA, Finanzpaket und Schmerzgriff

Die Wochendämmerung

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2025 79:04


Diesmal: Eier aus Dänemark, Happiness Index, Proteste in Serbien und in der Türkei, US-Autokratie-Folgen, Sham Jaff zu Vietnam, Finanzpaket ermöglicht Milliardenschulden, was zum Mitschreiben, die gute Nachricht und Annalena Baerbock. Mit einem Faktencheck von Katharina Alexander und einem Limerick von Jens Ohrenblicker.

Indo American News Radio Houston TX
IANR 2508 022225 New Immigration Issues by James Parker; Indian Film Festival Houston with Sutapa Ghosh; RSS Explained with Dr. Rattan Sharda

Indo American News Radio Houston TX

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2025 115:56


IANR 2508 022225 Line Up4-6pm INTERVIEWSHere's the guest line-up for Sat, Feb 22, 2025 from 4 to 6pm CST on Indo American News Radio, a production of Indo American News (www.IndoAmerican-News.com). We are on 98.7 FM and you can also listen on the masalaradio app.By Monday, hear the recorded show on Podcast uploaded on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Breaker. We have 5 years of Podcasts and have had thousands of hits.TO SUPPORT THE SHOW, SELECT FOLLOW ON OUR FREE PODCAST CHANNEL AND YOU'LL BE NOTIFIED OF NEW UPDATES.4:20 pm The Trump administration wasted no time inissuing Executive Orders to curtail illegal immigration and Border Czar Tom Homan has been deporting migrants back to their home countries, including India, aboard military cargo planes and buses. The fear of being caught has dramatically dropped border crossings. Today, we are joined by immigration attorney, James Parker with the law firm of WillyNanayakkarato talk about the changing immigration landscape.5:00 pm The 17th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Houston is underway at the Asia Society. Last night, the presentation included a documentary on Bhutan's Happiness Index, a short film on obstacles to love life in congested Mumbai, and Boman Irani's “The Mehta Boys”. Cohost Pramod Kulkarni was on location at the festival to interview Founder and Executive Director Sutapa Ghosh and Emcee Iqbal Khan about the origins of the festival and its future direction.5:20 pm Hindu Nationalism has been on the rise in India and in the overseas diaspora for the past three decades and at its forefront are the deep thinkers who can guide the movement forward. Dr Rattan Sharda, a renowned author, TV panelist and commentator has a clear vision of what the Rashtriya Swyamsewak Sangh (RSS) can achieve in India and raise its international standing. While on a visit to Houston, he is taking the time to be in our studio to explain this vision to our listeners.Also stay tuned in for news roundup, views, sports and movie reviews.TO BE FEATURED ON THE SHOW, OR TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CONTACT US AT 713-789-NEWS or 6397 or at indoamericannews@yahoo.comPlease pick up the print edition of Indo American News which is available all across town at grocery stores. Also visit our website indoamerican-news.com which gets 90,000+ hits to track all current stories.And remember to visit our digital archives from over 17 years. Plus, our entire 44 years of hard copy archives are available in the Fondren Library at Rice University.

ESN: Eloquently Saying Nothing
ESN #499 : The Happiness Index Episode

ESN: Eloquently Saying Nothing

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2025 135:02


This week's topics: • Drake's new dig at Joe Budden • Melyssa Ford and pretty privilege • Morals or money • Do people know what makes them happy • Should you rely on your partner for happiness • Using a wash rag to shower • Black athletes and White partners • White tears • Is there a racial fear hierarchy • Walking around women and not scaring them • Kendrick Lamar's Superbowl performance • Drake & PND's new album • Stormzy's deal with McDonald's causing backlash • #StavrosSays : Wu-Tang - The Saga Continues Connect with us at & send your questions & comments to: #ESNpod so we can find your comments www.esnpodcast.com www.facebook.com/ESNpodcasts www.twitter.com/ESNpodcast www.instagram.com/ESNpodcast @esnpodcast on all other social media esnpodcast@gmail.com It's important to subscribe, rate and review us on your apple products. You can do that here... www.bit.ly/esnitunes

Working With Humans by Matt Phelan and friends
Psychological Safety & High Performance with Richard Reid

Working With Humans by Matt Phelan and friends

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2025 46:47


Matt Phelan co-founder of The Happiness Index sits down with Richard Reid a Behavioural Psychologist and Psychotherapist to discuss the importance of Psychological Safety in modern leadership.Richard in his own wordsAs a seasoned executive coach, psychologist, and consultant with decades of experience, I am committed to working with senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and public figures in addressing complex problems and taking advantage of strategic opportunities. As an in-demand media spokesperson and keynote speaker, I provide a unique combination of psychological acumen and business insight while supporting organisations in reaching their full potential and prospering in an increasingly fast-changing world.In this episode Matt asks Richard these questions.What makes you Happy?Tell us about your career?What is psychological safety?How can you have an honest supportive environment?How open is an open door?How do you encourage people to speak up?Is vulnerability important?How does feedback and authentic conversations work?What are your managers afraid of asking?How much is the cost of keeping a high fee earner with bad behavior?How do you start a difficult conversation?What does excellence look like?

Comeback Szn
BRANDON WALKER INTRODUCES THE CFB HAPPINESS INDEX

Comeback Szn

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2025 65:16


College Football podcast on Barstool sports hosted by Brandon Walker and Kayce Smith ++++++++++++++++++++++++ This episode is presented by DraftKings. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Please Gamble Responsibly. 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), or visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). 21+ and present in most states. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY). Void in ONT/OR/NH. Eligibility restrictions apply. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort (KS). Support us by supporting the brands that sponsor our show! CHUBBIES - Get 20% off your order when you use code UR at https://www.chubbiesshorts.com HUEL - Get Huel today with this exclusive offer of 15% OFF + a FREE Gift at https://huel.com/ur15 BOLL AND BRANCH - Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets at https://BollAndBranch.com with promo code ROUGH. NUTRAFOL - Get $10 off your first month's subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code UR. BLUECHEW - Try your first month of BlueChew FREE. Visit https://BlueChew.com for more details and important safety information, and we thank BlueChew for sponsoring the podcast. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Follow the podcast on... Facebook: facebook.com/UnnecRoughness Instagram: instagram.com/unnecroughness/ Twitter: twitter.com/unnecroughness/ TikTok: tiktok.com/@unnecroughnessYou can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/unnecroughness

The Melting Pot with Dominic Monkhouse
E326 | The Happiness Index for a Thriving Workplace with Matt Phelan

The Melting Pot with Dominic Monkhouse

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2024 46:00


SummaryIn this conversation, Matt Phelan, the co-founder of the Happiness Index and author of "The Business Case for Happiness" and "The Happiness Index, " shares valuable insight into measuring emotions in the workplace. Matt challenges the old business adage, "If you can measure it, you can manage it," emphasising that understanding and supporting employee happiness leads to better performance.Listen to this entrepreneur's story, which led to pioneering the integration of happiness metrics in workplace culture. Highlighting Richard Branson's belief that employees come first, Matt introduces his data-driven approach to fostering workplace happiness and its significant impact on business outcomes.The episode explores the complex relationship between measuring and managing happiness and the importance of emotional well-being in the workplace. Matt also offers book recommendations and practical advice for enhancing happiness at work, making this a must-listen for any leader eager to disrupt the norm and prioritise employee satisfaction.TakeawaysMythbusting the business concept, “If you can measure it, you can manage it.”Understanding the correlation between happiness and productivity.Professor Jeremy Dawson's fascinating NHS hospital research.Breaking down the Employee Net Promotor Score questions.Debating in the office or work-from-home models.Pixar's global emotions framework.Chapters(00:11) From digital agency to workplace happiness with Matt Phelan.(03:48) The Happiness Index V1(05:54) Measure it and understand it better.(07:52) Changing the value prop.(09:23) Defining happiness as an understandable business metric.(13:26) Employee Net Promoter Score questions.(17:23) TED Talk - Super Chickens.(20:22) Solving different problems from client to client.(24:31) Are happier employees more productive?(27:01) Happy Hospitals vs. Unhappy Hospitals.(28:53) In The Office or Work From Home?(31:40) Building Relationships.(34:08) Quick Fire Questions with Matt Phelan.(39:18) Book recommendations.About Matt PhelanMatt Phelan is the co-founder of the Happiness Index, an organisation that aims to understand what makes people happy at work and how that relates to their work performance. He is a self-confessed proud geek and a supporter of decent people.Matt's career started when he founded a digital marketing agency called 4Ps Marketing when he was 25 years old. After driving this agency to immense success, Matt and his partners sold the company and opted to double down their investment to go again.The Happiness Index is a SAAS platform that helps organisations measure their key employee engagement and happiness drivers. Follow Matt PhelanWebsite: https://mattphelan.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewphelan/ X: https://twitter.com/MatthewPhelan Happiness and Humans Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7h6wCWnjsgOIZSR6h0DKbq Book RecommendationsFreedom To Be Happy: The Business Case For Happiness by Matt PhelanThe Happiness Index by Matt Phelan

Working With Humans by Matt Phelan and friends
The 2nd Annual Employee Happiness Conference with Pat Phelan

Working With Humans by Matt Phelan and friends

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2024 20:16


Patrick Phelan interviews Matthew Phelan on what The Happiness Index has planned for their 2nd Employee Happiness Conference in London, UK.Podcast discountIf you use the code MattP when signing up for this event it will give you a 30% discountYou can sign up herewww.eventbrite.co.uk/e/employee-happiness-annual-conference-tickets-888246929477

The New P&L - Principles & Leadership in Business
The New P&L speaks with Matt Phelan, co-founder & CEO of The Happiness Index

The New P&L - Principles & Leadership in Business

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2024 44:43


This week on The New P&L - Principles & Leadership in Business we speak to Matt Phelan, co-founder and CEO of The Happiness Index and best-selling author. We discuss with Matt the role the pursuit of happiness plays in both our daily lives and more specifically in our professional careers. We chat about: Why happier employees are more engaged, productive, and collaborative employees The origin story of The Happiness Index An outline of how Happiness Index Platform works What defines the study of happiness in Matt's view Algorithmic bias in employee engagement measurement The complexities of measuring happiness Matt's own entrepreneurial journey LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewphelan Speaker inquires: https://mattphelan.co.uk/ Happiness Index: https://thehappinessindex.com/ To join The New P&L - Principles & Leadership movement and learn more about what we do, go to: www.principlesandleadership.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/principlesandleadership/support

Beanstalk Global
Beanstalk Global /AHDB Talking Leaders Series: Matt Phelan CEO of The Happiness Index – “Why the happiness of farmers matters”.

Beanstalk Global

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2024 58:24


We know how important it is to be inspired by both big businesses and individuals, which is why we are excited to present Talking Leaders, a monthly initiative from the AHDB which will see a series of inspirational speakers share their life experiences and deliver impactful stories to the AgriLeader community.In our July broadcast we are delighted to be joined by Matt Phelan, Author & Co-Founder of The Happiness Index.In his day-to-day role, he's responsible for the strategic direction of the business. He is the founder of The Happiness and Humans Community, host of The Happiness and Humans Podcast and author of Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness.Matt recently completed a TEDx talk where he presented 12 million data points in happiness from 1 million human beings in 100+ countries in less than 15 minutes!

The Big Drink Rethink
Ep 21: Key Drivers of Happiness and the Influence of Alcohol

The Big Drink Rethink

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2024 50:02


Anna Donaghey sits down with Matt Phelan, co-founder of The Happiness Index, to explore what makes us happy and the profound effects of alcohol on personal well-being, safety and relationships.They challenge the notion of alcohol as a social adhesive, advocating instead for genuine friendships that thrive beyond the presence of a drink. Together, they examine the importance of psychological safety, not only in the workplace but in all aspects of life, and how alcohol can hinder our abilities to meet basic human needs.Don't miss this enlightening conversation that promises to reshape how you view alcohol, happiness, and the strength of your social connections. Tune in as Anna and Matt share their journeys of self-discovery and the ongoing benefits of living an alcohol-free life.Here are the highlights:05:09 Neuroscience and psychology influence happiness research widely.09:21 Essential human needs endure through the ages.11:40 Alcohol's impact on psychological safety and relationships.16:01 Self-worth influences drinking habits and recovery.19:36 Balanced view on alcohol and regrets.20:41 Regret, self-belief, and the pursuit of happiness.27:35 Alcohol is a poison and happiness from drinking is temporary.33:13 Learn from getting drunk after a long sobriety.33:57 Matt talks about his LinkedIn article re. his journey, happiness and sobriety pros & cons.41:06 Employee happiness and alcohol article feedback.43:56 LinkedIn connections show genuine interest and empathy.47:26 Friendship based on alcohol isn't genuine; explore new genuine friendships.About the host Anna:Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do. Connect with Anna:Website: thebeliefscoach.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonagheyInstagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethinkAbout Matt Phelan:Matt Phelan is a Co-Founder of the Happiness Index. In his day-to-day role, he's responsible for the strategic direction of the business.Matt is the founder of The Happiness and Humans Community, host of The Happiness and Humans Podcast and author of Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness & The Happiness Index: “Why Today's Employee Emotions Equal Tomorrow's Business Success". Matt recently completed a TEDx talk where he presented 12 million data points on happiness from 1 million human beings in 100+ countries in less than 15 minutes.Connect with Matt:Website: mattphelan.co.ukLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewphelan/Twitter: https://x.com/MatthewPhelanProduced by...

If I Ruled the World by Gillian Burke
17: I would create a Gross Gaia Happiness Index: Tim Lenton

If I Ruled the World by Gillian Burke

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2024 48:16


Give us your feedback and tell us what you would do if you ruled the world!What would society look like if we scrapped GDP as a measure of progress? This week, Gillian chats with Professor Tim Lenton, a seasoned expert in Earth System Science from the University of Exeter to find out. We dive into the profound connections between our planet's systems and the Gaia hypothesis; exploring how the conditions of life on earth are maintained by self-regulating systems in the ocean, atmosphere, rock and by life itself.Key Takeaways:Understanding Earth System Science:Earth System Science views our planet as a cohesive unit, focusing on the thin, life-supporting layer from the top of the atmosphere to the crust. This perspective emphasises the interconnectedness and interdependence of all planetary components.Gaia Theory Revisited:Gaia theory conceptualises Earth as a self-regulating, complex system, akin to a living entity but not an organism. It maintains its stability through feedback mechanisms, despite lacking the robust material exchanges characteristic of organisms.Climate Tipping Points:The discussion highlights critical tipping points in the climate system, such as the melting of ice caps and permafrost, which could dramatically alter global climate patterns and sea levels.Positive Tipping Points:Positive developments in renewable energy technologies, such as solar and wind power, are becoming self-sustaining through economies of scale and could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Societal and Behavioural Changes:Emphasising the need for a shift in societal behaviours and norms, particularly in energy consumption and diet (reducing meat consumption), which are crucial for achieving sustainable environmental outcomes.Global Gaia Happiness IndexA new measure of success. Tim outlines what a world without GPD would look like and suggests ideas for what might take its place.Follow the show:You can follow ‘If I Ruled the World' on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred platform of choice.Connect with our guest:Tim LentonFollow Gillian:InstagramWebsiteMentions & Resources:Earth System Science

Ninja News Japan
Things Getting Sadder

Ninja News Japan

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2024 23:46


This episode is like getting slapped with a banana peel. Leave a message: https://www.speakpipe.com/chunkmcbeefchest chunkmcbeefchest@gmail.com Donate https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/chunkmcbeefchest Podcasts https://chunkmcbeefchest.com/ https://ninjanewsjapan.com/ Gaming https://www.youtube.com/@chunkmcbeefchestgames https://www.twitch.tv/chunkmcbeefchest Movies https://www.youtube.com/@CMcBIMDB Other things https://montanaeldiablo.com/ https://www.tiktok.com/@chunkmcbeefchest https://www.instagram.com/chunkmcbeefchest/ https://twitter.com/NinjaNewsJapan https://twitter.com/VelociPeter https://mstdn.social/@Chunkmcbeefchest https://www.facebook.com/ninjanewsjapan

Life Beyond The Numbers
#175 Book Launch - LinkedIn Live Replay with Introduction

Life Beyond The Numbers

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2024 61:15


"Susan, I've taken enough time with these questions. Firstly, I just want to say, I'm thankful that I've met you. And two, this is an absolutely brilliant book and I love it." Matt Phelan In this episode I celebrate the launch of my new book Leading Beyond the Numbers: How accounting for emotions tips the balance at work. The book was launched during a LinkedIn Live on Monday May 13th with the help of Matt Phelan, who wrote the foreword to the book, and Dr. Susanne Evans. The book has already achieved bestseller status in three Amazon categories in the UK. We explore the key themes, some takeaways and personal reflections including the creative process, navigating self doubt and what I hope the legacy of the book will be. Please do purchase, read and review the book to help spread its impactful message.   Matt Phelan is a dad, founder, business adviser & keynote speaker as well as being a proud geek (his words!) and supporter of decent people. He believes that the future of tech is human and co-founded The Happiness Index to try and positively shape the future of work in a small but important way. Matt has written two books ‘Freedom to be Human: The business case for happiness' and most recently ‘The Happiness Index: Why today's emotions equal tomorrow's business success.' He also hosts the insightful ‘Happiness and Humans' podcast.   Dr Susanne Evans creates change, one story at a time. She is on a mission to change the way transformations are managed in organisations. She founded Feldspar Consulting in 2007 to help her clients lead change in a more human, effective way through her work as an organisation change consultant, trainer, coach and researcher. Susanne is a storyteller and is writing ‘ChangeStories: How to have powerful conversations, tell inspiring stories and build engagement for transformation' which is due to be published in November and is the host of the engaging ChangeStories podcast.   Resources Mentioned  Follow this link to purchase Leading Beyond the Numbers: How accounting for emotions tips the balance at work If you would like to read a preview of this book follow this link. If you would like to watch the LinkedIn Live click here

Stuff Mom Never Told You
SMNTY Classics: Women and Happiness (Part 3)

Stuff Mom Never Told You

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2024 30:48 Transcription Available


As we continue our mini-series on women and happiness in this classic, we ask the question: who is happier? Are queer couples happier than straight couples?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Agile Uprising Podcast
Cultivating Team Engagement: Metrics, Models, and Experiments

Agile Uprising Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2024 15:57


In this episode of the Agile Uprising Podcast, Andy Cleff digs into the topic of team engagement, health, and happiness. Whether you're a team leader, a team member, or someone passionate about organizational culture, this episode is packed with actionable insights that promise to enhance your approach to employee and team engagement. Episode Highlights: Understanding Team Engagement: Andy explores the nuances between engagement and mere happiness, emphasizing the importance of resilience and an experimental mindset in cultivating a thriving team environment. Insightful Data and Metrics: Learn about various creative data gathering approaches inspired by models like the Spotify Health Check and Crisp's Happiness Index. These tools are not just about numbers; they're catalysts for meaningful change. Real-Life Success Stories: Get inspired by stories of teams who have successfully navigated challenges by implementing innovative engagement strategies, from revamping DevOps practices to fostering a culture of recognition and appreciation. Key Takeaways: Engagement is more than just happiness; it's about creating conditions that foster a healthy, resilient team ready to tackle challenges. Metrics and feedback loops are essential but should be tailored to fit your team's unique context and needs. Cultivating a safe-to-fail environment is crucial for continuous improvement and innovation. Links: Gallop Q12: Blog Post with Idea Starters Team Mood App About the Agile Uprising If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a review, a rating, or leave comments on iTunes, Stitcher or your podcasting platform of choice. It really helps others find us.  Much thanks to the artist  from  who provided us our outro music free-of-charge!  If you like what you heard,     to find more music you might enjoy! If you'd like to join the discussion and share your stories,  please jump into the fray at our  We at the Agile Uprising are committed to being totally free.  However, if you'd like to contribute and help us defray hosting and production costs we do have a .  Who knows, you might even get some surprises in the mail!    

BFM :: Tech Talk
MSP279. Inverting The Happiness Index.

BFM :: Tech Talk

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2024 37:16


On this episode, Rich and Matt delve into the surprising potential benefits of anxiety. You might think anxiety is purely negative, but what if it could actually be harnessed as a powerful tool?Recent research suggests that reframing how we view anxiety could unlock its hidden advantages. Instead of seeing it as a hindrance, scientists are finding that the heightened awareness and energy that anxiety brings can help people make better decisions, boost performance, and even fuel positive change.From using eco-anxiety to drive climate activism, to channeling nervous energy into focused thinking before a big presentation, researchers are uncovering ways to turn anxiety's negatives into positives. We'll explore the science behind this counterintuitive idea and hear real-world examples of people putting anxiety's power to work.

First-time Founders
The Business Case For Happiness with Matt Phelan

First-time Founders

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2024 37:35


Matthew Phelan is Co-CEO of The Happiness Index, a SaaS platform that helps organisations measure their key employee engagement and happiness drivers. Matt is also a speaker and business adviser. Prior to the Happiness Index, he founded, scaled and sold a digital marketing agency called 4Ps Marketing (which serviced over 100 brands such as Selfridges, M&S, Nissan and L'Oréal).In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, Matt shares some of his key learnings from a decade helping organisations measure their key employee engagement and happiness drivers. He also talks about the Go To Market challenges he experienced selling the concept of ‘happiness' to different types of employers (not all of whom ‘get it')!Interested viewers can reach Matt (https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewphelan/) at matt@thehappinessindex.com and Rob (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertliddiard/) at Rob@mission-group.co.uk (or to book some free time with Rob, visit https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard).

Purple Psychology
Episode 401: Dissecting the Happiness Index

Purple Psychology

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2024 14:57


Dissecting the Happiness Index - the qualities humans seem to need for happiness are pretty disturbing and unsustainable as a society.  

Politics Done Right
The World Happiness Index is out. AOC shames the GOP. Dr. Glaude: Damn, White men get breaks

Politics Done Right

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2024 50:30


The World Happiness is out, and the US is getting less happy. Eddie Glaude has an interesting observation about who gets the breaks. AOC put Republicans to shame in hearing. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/politicsdoneright/message

Employer Content Marketing Pod
How can organisations create happier workplaces?

Employer Content Marketing Pod

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2024 38:50


Happiness is fundamental to the success of any organisation, but often overlooked. So how can employers embrace this superpower? In Episode 106, I chat with Matt Phelan about the tools and elements that organisations can embrace to help their employees thrive. Matt is co-founder of The Happiness Index, author, business advisor and keynote speaker, so knows a thing or two when it comes to driving successful organisations! Subscribe to get more episode drops, news and events https://www.theengagingemployer.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/employercontentmarketing/message

Down To Business
The Happiness Index with Matt Phelan

Down To Business

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2023 9:31


Bobby has Matt Phelan in the studio to talk about his book 'The Happiness Index Why Today's Employee Emotions Equal Tomorrow's Business Success' and what it can do for a business.

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
PEL Presents NEM#203: Andy White Tells the Truth

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2023 99:47


Andy has released 20 albums since 1986, touring with just him and his acoustic guitar. We discuss "The Happiness Index" from AT (2023), his second collaboration with Tim Finn; the title track from The Guilty and the Innocent (2017); and "Speechless" from Out There (1992). End song: "Italian Girls on Mopeds" from Boy 40 (2003). Intro: "Vision of You" from Rave On (1986). More at andywhite.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Sponsor: Visit FactorMeals.com/nem50 (code improv50) to get 50% off America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit.

Insights To Live By
EPISODE 104 [guest] Aging Youthfully – The Swiss Way

Insights To Live By

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2023 45:49


TOPIC TIME CODES 0:42 – Introduction 1:50 – Ellen 3:12 – Dominique 5:55 – Origin Story 8:50 – Swiss Secrets 13:20 – The Five Dimensions 13:45 – The Intellectual Dimension 16:00 - The Physical Dimension 18:40 – Keys to Happiness 19:53 - The Emotional Dimension 22:35 - The Spiritual Dimension 26:10 - The Financial Dimension 29:10 – The Happiness Index 31:20 – 50+ Entrepreneurship 33:33 – How Gears Interact 36:00 – Insights About Ellen & Dominique 39:00 – Insights to Live By 44:10 - Parting Thoughts and Resources SOURCES: https://www.wakeupshakeupthrive.com/ whealthness.ch (Ellen)https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenkocherwhealthness/ pointnorth.biz (Dominique)https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominiquebendhaou/  Resource Hub Freebies:  https://www.wakeupshakeupthrive.com/resources/Use CODE ICARE for COST-FREE THRIVE GUIDE ALIVE VIDEO SERIES: https://www.wakeupshakeupthrive.com/thrive-guide-alive/ BONUS CONTENT:Our Top 10 Ways to Have More Fun: 1) Set the goal of playing more. After all, what's the point of setting a goal like being thin, having more money or having your own busi­ness if you're not enjoying yourself?  2) Decide what fun means for you by making a list of things that you enjoyed doing as a kid. Go over your list and highlight what still sounds appealing. Then explore what you want to try!  3) Schedule time to play in your agenda, because if you don't schedule it, it's unlikely to happen.  4) Create a play drawer for those times when you need a break from life or work, and you just want to be silly. You might include puz­zles, board games, coloring books, Lego's — whatever inspires you!  5) Combine fun with other activities. Think of the things on your to-do list and then look for ways to combine them to make them more fun.   6) Have more fun at work. Brainstorm with colleagues how you can bring more fun and humor into the workplace.  7) Make playdates with your significant other to strengthen your relationship and keep playfulness alive.  8) Befriend a fun person because the people you relate with will have an enormous impact on your life.  9) Hang out with kids who innately know how to play and have fun.  10) Add creativity to daily activities such as singing while you cook or dancing while brushing your teeth.

Triple M Rock Interviews
HOMEGROWN: Tim Finn and Andy White Share Unheard Stories Behind New Album 'The Happiness Index'

Triple M Rock Interviews

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2023 33:25


Join Matty O on Triple M Homegrown as he welcomes legendary musicians Tim Finn and Andy White for an exclusive interview about their latest collaboration, "The Happiness Index." Celebrating their remarkable 30-year musical friendship in 2023, Finn and White have delivered an extraordinary album that will captivate your senses. In this episode, they delve into the unique process of creating the album remotely, sharing intriguing insights into their creative journey. Matty O even seizes the opportunity to pitch himself as their touring drummer, leaving Tim's mind racing with possibilities. "In all my time, nobody has ever asked me that before." Prepare for a bombshell revelation as Tim Finn uncovers a secret: he was approached to lend his vocals to Kylie Minogue's iconic hit, 'The Locomotion'! During a thrilling game of Write, Party, Dinner, featuring the likes of Elvis Presley, Eminem, and Kylie Minogue, Tim reveals this surprising twist. Don't miss this engaging and entertaining conversation as Matty O, Tim Finn, and Andy White explore the depths of their musical partnership, sharing stories and anecdotes that will leave you craving for more. Tune in to Triple M Homegrown and immerse yourself in the magic of "The Happiness Index" and the enduring camaraderie between these talented artists.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove
Episode 380 - Suck My Tongue and Other Crazy Ideas

The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2023 52:21 Transcription Available


In this episode we discuss:(00:00) MeerKat Intro(00:43) Intro(02:34) Coolangatta(04:12) AI is all positive(08:27) Child Labour(11:03) I will always love you(12:49) Suck My Tongue(15:43) Brian Houston Blows 0.23(16:17) Soldiers of God(21:40) Trump Opens His Own Door(22:42) Another Shooting(24:01) Prisoner Organ Donation(28:40) Currency and Sanctions(30:37) Norway Knows How To Tax(36:29) China and France(45:44) Happiness Index(49:24) Mike PenceChapters, images & show notes powered by vizzy.fm.To financially support the Podcast you can make a per-episode donation via Patreon or donate through PaypalWe Livestream every Tuesday night at 7:30pm Brisbane time. Follow us on Facebook or YouTube, watch us live and join the discussion in the chat room.You can sign up for our newsletter which is basically links to articles that Trevor has highlighted as potentially interesting and which may be discussed on the podcast. You will get 3 emails per week.

Gavin Wood's Countdown Podcast
Tim Finn - Gavin Woods Podcast Series 6 Episode 6

Gavin Wood's Countdown Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2023 29:23


Tim Finn was born in  New Zealand.  In 1971 he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Auckland. It is there that he met Mike Chunn, Robert Gillies, Philip Judd and Noel Crombie. Phil and Tim formed a band called Split Ends, which became Split Enz before they started to tour Australia. Finn recorded his first solo album, Escapade, in 1983. This album was very successful in Australia and New Zealand,  he then decided to leave Split Enz in 1984.   In early 1985, Tim moved to London.  He  wrote some music for movies, and acted in a few movies. His role in The Coca-Cola Kid was about five minutes long. He had a bigger role in the movie La Donna della Luna (The Moon Woman). In late 1989, he went to live in Melbourne. He recorded his third album, Tim Finn. In early 1990 he joined Crowded House, the group Neil had formed after Split Enz split up. The band recorded Woodface with him. He left Crowded House after the album. Because of their success, Tim Finn and Neil Finn were made OBE for services to New Zealand music in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours List. The album Finn was released in 1995. This was an album made by Neil and Tim as the Finn Brothers. Also in 1995, Finn worked with singers Andy White and Liam Ó Maonlaí. They formed the band ALT. They released the album Altitude, and more recently collaborated with Andy White to release New Single 'The Happiness Index'.

Backchat
Regulating job-hopping for foreign domestic helpers / The workplace happiness index

Backchat

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2023 54:59


Dave and Dharm DeMystify
EPISODE 73: THE HAPPINESS INDEX WITH MATT PHELAN

Dave and Dharm DeMystify

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2023 27:23


Founder, CEO and Author Matt Phelan chats to us about the Happiness Index, a neuroscience-based platform offering products, insights and tools to shine a light on the cultural health of an organisation.

HR Insights
Series 4: Critiquing Performance Management

HR Insights

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2023 46:10


Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast! This week, our host Stuart Elliott, is joined by Kevin Campbell, an Employee Experience Scientist at Qualtrics, Kevin helps organisations acquire, develop, and retain their most valuable asset: their people. Kevin comes to us with an extensive career and has spent the last decade building leaders at every level and creating scores of engaged, high-performing, strengths-based teams. He has driven talent strategy, employee engagement, performance management, and leadership development initiatives for clients in the professional services, medical device, banking, hospitality, consumer products, technology, healthcare and life sciences industries. He also served as a principal investigator and researcher for social science programs funded by the U.S. Federal Government. It is safe to say Kevin is an expert in this field and in this episodes sits down with Stuart to discuss performance management, how to handle performance reviews, difficult conversations, managing remote teams and the happiness index.  Key Timestamps:2:05: Get to know Kevin 9:37: Changing the tone of performance reviews 13:30: Reacting to negative feedback 18:00: Objective truth and subjective experience 19:56: A change in performance reviews 20:53: Shiny object syndrome 23:29: Gallup's framework26:27: Cultural hierarchy and opening conversations 30:35: Descending from debate to confrontation33:26: Over managing remote teams 37:50: The mental state of flow 39:10: The happiness index

Need Boost! The RLCS podcast
5. The EU Fanbase Happiness Index

Need Boost! The RLCS podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2023 40:51


We've exited the frst Regional event for Europe. Let's dive in and rank how fans of each team are feeling after the opening weekend. https://twitter.com/belleairballer

How to Succeed Podcast
How to Succeed at Employee Engagement

How to Succeed Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2022 24:17


Matt Phelan, Founder of the Happiness Index, talks about productive workforces. In order to create an impactful and successful business, employees need to have confidence and the right attitude. This means treating people with respect and understanding, and not just seeing them as a means to an end. When employees are happy and engaged at work, they are more productive and the company thrives. Employee engagement is key to the success of any organization. Listen to the podcast to learn the secret to getting your team on board and engaged in their work! Timestamps: 0:00:02 How to Succeed at Employee Engagement  0:02:50 The Power of Employee Engagement in Business Success 0:03:57 The Business Case for Happiness: Why the Happiness of Your Employees Matters So Much 0:05:50 The Impact of Employee Engagement on Business Success 0:07:59 The Relationship Between Engagement and Happiness in the Workplace 0:09:36 The Benefits of Psychological Safety in the Workplace 0:13:06 The Benefits of a Positive Work Environment 0:15:17 The Benefits of the Happiness Index in the Workplace 0:17:00 The Power of Happiness in the Workplace 0:18:43 How a Simple Motto Helped One Entrepreneur Survive the Pandemic 0:20:36 The Power of Positivity: How to Succeed in Employee Engagement Key Takeaways  Using the information to make better choices will result in happier employees, less turnover, and higher sales. Having great relationships at work is the foundation for success. ========================================= SUBSCRIBE: https://podfollow.com/howtosucceed Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a comment! Get your TICKET to join our 2023 summit: https://events.sandler.com/summit2023  

Selling the Sandler Way Podcast
How to Succeed at Employee Engagement

Selling the Sandler Way Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2022 24:17


Matt Phelan, Founder of the Happiness Index, talks about productive workforces. In order to create an impactful and successful business, employees need to have confidence and the right attitude. This means treating people with respect and understanding, and not just seeing them as a means to an end. When employees are happy and engaged at work, they are more productive and the company thrives. Employee engagement is key to the success of any organization. Listen to the podcast to learn the secret to getting your team on board and engaged in their work! Timestamps: 0:00:02 How to Succeed at Employee Engagement  0:02:50 The Power of Employee Engagement in Business Success 0:03:57 The Business Case for Happiness: Why the Happiness of Your Employees Matters So Much 0:05:50 The Impact of Employee Engagement on Business Success 0:07:59 The Relationship Between Engagement and Happiness in the Workplace 0:09:36 The Benefits of Psychological Safety in the Workplace 0:13:06 The Benefits of a Positive Work Environment 0:15:17 The Benefits of the Happiness Index in the Workplace 0:17:00 The Power of Happiness in the Workplace 0:18:43 How a Simple Motto Helped One Entrepreneur Survive the Pandemic 0:20:36 The Power of Positivity: How to Succeed in Employee Engagement Key Takeaways  Using the information to make better choices will result in happier employees, less turnover, and higher sales. Having great relationships at work is the foundation for success. ========================================= SUBSCRIBE: https://podfollow.com/howtosucceed Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a comment! Get your TICKET to join our 2023 summit: https://events.sandler.com/summit2023  

ACTivation Nation
How to Succeed at Employee Engagement

ACTivation Nation

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2022 24:17


Matt Phelan, Founder of the Happiness Index, talks about productive workforces. In order to create an impactful and successful business, employees need to have confidence and the right attitude. This means treating people with respect and understanding, and not just seeing them as a means to an end. When employees are happy and engaged at work, they are more productive and the company thrives. Employee engagement is key to the success of any organization. Listen to the podcast to learn the secret to getting your team on board and engaged in their work! Timestamps: 0:00:02 How to Succeed at Employee Engagement  0:02:50 The Power of Employee Engagement in Business Success 0:03:57 The Business Case for Happiness: Why the Happiness of Your Employees Matters So Much 0:05:50 The Impact of Employee Engagement on Business Success 0:07:59 The Relationship Between Engagement and Happiness in the Workplace 0:09:36 The Benefits of Psychological Safety in the Workplace 0:13:06 The Benefits of a Positive Work Environment 0:15:17 The Benefits of the Happiness Index in the Workplace 0:17:00 The Power of Happiness in the Workplace 0:18:43 How a Simple Motto Helped One Entrepreneur Survive the Pandemic 0:20:36 The Power of Positivity: How to Succeed in Employee Engagement Key Takeaways  Using the information to make better choices will result in happier employees, less turnover, and higher sales. Having great relationships at work is the foundation for success. ========================================= SUBSCRIBE: https://podfollow.com/howtosucceed Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a comment! Get your TICKET to join our 2023 summit: https://events.sandler.com/summit2023  

No Dunks
The NBA Happiness Index, Curry's Shoulder Injury & Snail Mail!

No Dunks

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2022 74:06


On Thu.'s No Dunks, the guys debate which NBA fanbases are happy right now, discuss Steph Curry's shoulder injury and which team will try to salvage their season with a trade (Hawks? Mavericks? Wizards?), commiserate about our down-bad Bulls and Raptors, and open some real letters y'all mailed in! That, plus Basketball Reference's Sportify Wrapped, stealing chickens, and more. (This episode is sponsored by NBA Top Shot. Start your NBA Top Shot collection today at https://hoo.ps/nodunks. Get closer than ever to the game and players you love.)

Change The Game Podcast
The Happiness Index

Change The Game Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2022 16:26


Sergio Paiz, CEO of PDC Comercial, discusses how he improved his company and transformed the lives of his workers at the 2022 Conference in Kansas City.

The Re-engineered You
Episode 121 - CEOs Part 4 - Could CEOs Afford To Pay Us The “Happiness Index”?

The Re-engineered You

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2022


CEOs make all the money in the world. Literally. So why can't they pay employees a living wage? Or maybe even the Happiness Index…?

Playful Humans - People Who Play for a Living
Matt Phelan - The Happiness Index

Playful Humans - People Who Play for a Living

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2022 40:13


Can happiness boost employee and organizational performance? Does money make you happy? What drives loyal engaged employees? Matt Phelan is Co-Founder The Happiness Index, author Freedom To Be Happy and a former TEDx Speaker. He is happiest when spending time with loved ones, particularly anything that is outdoors in nature. The Happiness Index offers the products, insights and tools to shine a light on your organizaiton's cultural health and empower management to drive thriving cultures. He also hosts the Happiness & Humans podcast. Find Matt, his book, company, and podcast at: https://thehappinessindex.com/Subscribe to the Playful Humans podcast in your favorite podcast app: https://podfollow.com/playfulhumans/ or follow us on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/playfulhumans/feed?sub_confirmation=1 Support the show

Everyday Happiness - Finding Harmony and Bliss
415-Gross National Happiness Index

Everyday Happiness - Finding Harmony and Bliss

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2022 3:04


Have you heard about the Gross National Happiness Index or the GNH? Today we're discussing the origins of the index, how it works, and how we can use it to build a better, happier country!  Transcript:   Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.    I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and today we are talking about the Gross National Happiness Index or the GNH. The Bhutanese government created the GNH index. In case your geography is a little rusty, Bhutan is a small country in the eastern Himalayan mountains of Asia. Often, it is forgotten due to its weak economic structure and overpowered neighbors of China and India. Still, Bhutan came up with this concept, an idea far more valuable than money, in my opinion.   Much like its name implies, the Gross National Happiness Index measures the total happiness of the country's citizens. You may be thinking, how does one measure happiness? This tool is actually very well thought out; it uses nine domains supported by 33 indicators to analyze the nation's wellbeing according to each surveyed person's achievements in each indicator.   Okay…so? What's the point? Unlike other countries that focus on their GDP as their level of success, Bhutan uses the GNH in every facet of its government. They even use it to guide how policies are designed to create greater wellbeing and happiness for their people rather than focusing on monetary success. For example, Bhutan is the first and only country in the world to be carbon-negative! Additionally, from 2007 to 2017, they cut poverty from 36% to 12%! That's incredible!   Now, why am I telling you this? Well, often on Everyday Happiness, we talk about personal happiness, but Bhutan is showing the world that national happiness is a concept that is quantitative and can be improved.   How can a country get on this happiness train? It would likely take a shift in mindset. Bhutan is fortunate to have this ingrained into their way of life already due to the country's practice of Buddhist beliefs. But you don't have to be Buddhist to create a national change; you just have to have enough people aware of the concept and willing to vouch for it. The GNH is still a relatively new idea, but there are already small regions in the world testing it out. What do you think? Is this a concept you would want to be incorporated into your government? Shoot me a message over at Everyday Happiness!     Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness   And, let's connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram   Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/   Inspired by this article by the 2022 World Happiness Report - https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2022/

We Not Me
Happiness in teams

We Not Me

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2022 34:57


If you look after your employees, your customers will be happier, and you'll make more money. That's the hypothesis Matt Phelan took, inspired by Richard Branson. But with that hypothesis in place, where's the data to back it up?Before founding the Happiness Index, Matt began working with animals, then studied marketing, starting his own digital marketing agency just before the 2008 financial crash. As someone used to tracking the efficacy of digital campaigns, he began to explore how the assumption that happier employees meant more money could be proven.Takeaways from Pia and Dan Relationships are the primary driver of happiness. Humans have set points – almost predetermined levels of happiness we return to, after a peak or a trough. Bring a happy person into an unhappy team, and that person's happiness will dip. To build better relationships, we need to express our emotions. Links The Happiness Index How William Kahn revolutionized employee engagement at work Freedom to be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness – Matt's book Leave us a voice message

The Action Academy | Millionaire Mentorship for Your Life & Business
The Life Happiness Index : How To Measure & Better Influence Your Happiness

The Action Academy | Millionaire Mentorship for Your Life & Business

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2022 6:28


Today we are covering a tool directly from my mastermind group Gobundance - the LHI (Life Happiness Index). We use this tool to give ourselves an overall happiness score (1-10) and find areas of improvement to focus on!If interested in membership - click link below:Join the Action Academy Newsletter Below and snag the Following for FREE:Free Ebook on Framework to Leave your W2Free Wealth / Net-Worth TrackerTop Weekly Freedom Tips from Guests (5 Min Read)https://brianluebben.com/newsletter/Resources:GoBundanceAre you an accredited investor and want to learn more about GoBundance?www.gobundance.comBook a call to learn more: www.calendly.com/brianluebben/grablifebigConnect with Us!@actionacademypodcast@brianluebbenhttps://brianluebben.com

The Bangkok Podcast | Conversations on Life in Thailand's Buzzing Capital
The World Happiness Index: How Does Thailand Measure Up? [S5.E54]

The Bangkok Podcast | Conversations on Life in Thailand's Buzzing Capital

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2022 35:27


In the wake of the 2022 World Happiness Report - which saw Thailand drop by quite a few spots - Greg and Ed jump into the fascinating topic of the happiness of Thailand compared to other countries. How can you possibly measure something like the ‘happiness' of a country? Well, wannabe social scientist Ed claims it can be done, and Greg walks through the data from the report to discuss.  The boys go through factors such as GDP per capita, social support, and life expectancy, among others, that the researchers used to figure out how happy people were in various countries. So what of Thailand? Well, its ranking was 61 out of 146 countries which could be worse, but it turns out Thailand has slid 28 spots in the last few years! Ouch. The guys then discuss various possible reasons for the drop, with of course the military government being a prime candidate, given that Thailand's long slide started in around 2015. Could Thailand possibly no longer be the Land of Smiles? Well, at the very least, the hosts of the Bangkok Podcast are still smiling, so Thailand has that going for it. :) Don't forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

Israel ReBound
Ukraine and Happiness

Israel ReBound

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 23, 2022 22:38


In this episode Liz and Alan provide an update on the situation in Ukraine and how Israel is providing relief and other things. Alan introduces the UN's recently released Happiness Index declaring Israel is the 9th Happiest country out of 150. Israel moved up from 12th place last year. Here is a link to the full report. Happiness Report 2022 Enjoy.

MarTech Podcast // Marketing + Technology = Business Growth
Sales Happiness Index For MarTech Companies -- Kris Hartvigsen // Dooly

MarTech Podcast // Marketing + Technology = Business Growth

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2022 11:34


Kris Hartvigsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Dooly, discusses business strategies for marketing technology companies. If the Great Resignation is any indication, retention depends on companies keeping employees happy. To do so, they must engage in research to figure out what drives happiness and productivity. Today, Kris talks about the sales happiness index for marketing technology companies. Show NotesConnect With:Kris Hartvigsen: Website // LinkedInThe Voices of Search Podcast: Email // LinkedIn // TwitterBenjamin Shapiro: Website // LinkedIn // TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cyrus Says
Cnb ft. Utsav, Kajol and Antariksh | Phone Rings, Sri Lanka Cancels Exams Due to Paper and Ink Shortage, Pakistan PM Praising India's Foreign Policy & India's Rank in the World Happiness Index

Cyrus Says

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2022 73:26


On Cock & Bull today, we have Utsav Mamoria, host of Postcards from Nowhere, comedian Kajol Srinivasan and of course, Silverie (Antariksh). Cyrus starts the show off with a very pertinent question - How many rings must you wait on-call for before cutting the call? They also talk about how nobody wished Cyrus "Happy Navroz", Sri Lanka cancelling exams due to a shortage of paper and ink in the country, what has caused this economic crisis for them, the 'Chinese debt trap' that Sri Lanka have seemingly fallen into despite warnings, and more. They also discuss Pakistan PM Imran Khan's praise of India's foreign policy of buying crude oil from Russia while also being a member of the Quad, and whether this would this be considered as India indirectly funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They also talk about India's ranking in the Worlds Happiness Index, why our neighbours all appear higher on the list than India (all except Afghanistan) and Finland topping the list for the 5th year straight. Tune in for this and much more.You can follow Kajol Srinivasan on Instagram at @lolrakshakYou can follow Utsav Mamoria on Instagram at @whywetravel42Tune into Podcasts from Nowhere :- https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/show/postcards-from-nowhere-RtWECIO0QQVWGoBtYou can follow Antariksh on Instagram @antariksht: https://instagram.com/antarikshtDo send in AMA questions for Cyrus by tweeting them to @cyrussaysin or e-mailing them at whatcyrussays@gmail.comDon't forget to follow Cyrus Broacha on Instagram @cyrus_broacha(https://www.instagram.com/cyrus_broacha)In case you're late to the party and want to catch up on previous episodes of Cyrus Says you can do so at: www.ivmpodcasts.com/cyrussaysYou can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcasts App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

Revenue Generator Podcast: Sales + Marketing + Product + Customer Success = Revenue Growth
Sales Happiness Index For MarTech Companies -- Kris Hartvigsen // Dooly

Revenue Generator Podcast: Sales + Marketing + Product + Customer Success = Revenue Growth

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2022 11:34


Kris Hartvigsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Dooly, discusses business strategies for marketing technology companies. If the Great Resignation is any indication, retention depends on companies keeping employees happy. To do so, they must engage in research to figure out what drives happiness and productivity. Today, Kris talks about the sales happiness index for marketing technology companies. Show NotesConnect With:Kris Hartvigsen: Website // LinkedInThe Voices of Search Podcast: Email // LinkedIn // TwitterBenjamin Shapiro: Website // LinkedIn // TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Leadership Hacker Podcast
The Business Case For Happiness with Matt Phelan

The Leadership Hacker Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2021 45:09


Matt Phelan is an entrepreneur, the Co-Founder and CEO of The Happiness Index. He's also the author of Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness. In the superb episode you can learn from Matt:   How to turn emotions like happiness into business metrics. What the business case for happiness is. The role neuroscience plays in happiness. Why happy people are also the most productive.   Join our Tribe at https://leadership-hacker.com Music: " Upbeat Party " by Scott Holmes courtesy of the Free Music Archive FMA Transcript: Thanks to Jermaine Pinto at JRP Transcribing for being our Partner. Contact Jermaine via LinkedIn or via his site JRP Transcribing Services Find out more about Matt below: Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewphelan/ Happiness Index Website: https://thehappinessindex.com Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Matthewphelan Join the humans and happiness community: https://thehappinessindex.com/join-happiness-community/     Full Transcript Below     Steve Rush: Some call me Steve, dad, husband or friend. Others might call me boss, coach or mentor. Today you can call me The Leadership Hacker.   Thanks for listening in. I really appreciate it. My job as the leadership hacker is to hack into the minds, experiences, habits and learning of great leaders, C-Suite executives, authors and development experts so that I can assist you developing your understanding and awareness of leadership. I am Steve Rush and I am your host today. I am the author of Leadership Cake. I am a transformation consultant and leadership coach. I cannot wait to start sharing all things leadership with you   On the show today, we have Matt Phelan. He's the Co-Founder and CEO of The Happiness Index. And he's the author of Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness. Before we get a chance to speak with Matt, it's The Leadership Hacker News.   The Leadership Hacker News   Steve Rush: On today's show, we explore the notion of, “is crisis caused by communication?” And the reason we're focusing on this today is there are a number of different things happening globally, where because of communication; situations have arisen that might not have existed in the first place. Here's a few examples. There was a chip shortage around the world. Now, not a potato crisp or a bag of chips if you're in the UK, but the electronic chip come under great shortage due to supply and demand issues. And the reason that's happened is due to supply and demand due to supply chains, and of course, the COVID pandemic has massively impacted on it. But because of the hype that's been caused by the communication, It has caused manufacturers to overbuy, also causing big motor engineering companies and electronic manufacturers to grab hold of every supply they can. Therefore, rocketing price and reducing the market flow that would ordinarily be there.   Early in the pandemic we saw the same thing happen with supermarkets, where we were told that there would be a shortage of supply. Of course, it wasn't. Yet many people still bought toilet rolls to fill spare rooms and pasta that would last a year. Most recently in the UK, we have a driver shortage for haulage firms and lorry drivers. Taking our fuel and our goods and services around the country. And as such, the media said there might be a fuel shortage. And guess what? You're right. Panic buying at the pumps, people filling up cans and cans of petrol, diesel and fuel. Supermarkets going bare, why? Because the media is driving something that perhaps wouldn't be there had we just carry on our day-to-day life and routines.   So, what's the leadership hack? Well, if we think about how people respond to communication, if we have a perceived problem or a perceived threat that may not be true, and communicate it early, we could reinforce behaviors that could actually make that problem become a reality much sooner. And it may be the problem that wouldn't have arrived. Had we rethought our communication strategy and approach. So, the leadership lesson here is, if we think there may be a problem, be sure that there is a problem before you communicate it. Have foundations, have evidence because unintentional communication can send people down a rabbit hole and lead to challenge and adversity. Thank you for those have raised this through our social media platforms with us this week, so that we could bring it to the attention of our listeners. If you also have some stories or insights that you want us to hear, let's get in touch. In the meantime, let's get on with the show. Start of Podcast   Steve Rush: Matt Phelan is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Happiness Index. He's also the author of Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness, Matt, welcome to The Leadership Hacker Podcast.   Matt Phelan: Thanks for inviting me on.   Steve Rush: Delighted you're here too. So, tell us, how did you end up running and leading The Happiness Index and what is it?   Matt Phelan: So as with most of these good stories, complete accident, so when I was twenty-five, I started a marketing agency and we used to have a saying that employees come first, not the customer. So, we were the opposite. We didn't believe the customer came first. And over a ten-year period, we delivered something like thirty-three quarters of growth. I'm a data geek, and I started to wonder whether that was true, because it sounds good, doesn't it? Your customers will be happy and the business will grow. But as a geek, I've got a very inquisitive mind that I wanted to find out if it was true. So, we built a piece of code to correlate at the beginning. Just to understand the correlation. Is there a correlation between employee happiness and customer happiness? And then our customers of our marketing agency started asking for the code. And we said, you can't have it. It's a rubbish, rubbish piece of code. We'd be ashamed to show at twenty-one, but like most entrepreneurs we saw more and more phone calls came in. So eventually we realized that there was probably a business here called The Happiness Index. And it went from being an internal tool to being a business entity in its own rights.   Steve Rush: So as an organization, how might I use it?   Matt Phelan: So, you would use it, I would say to start off with, to visualize your culture, to figure out where you are. And once you know where you are, you can start to plot where you want to go. So, we say, it's an upgrade on employee engagement. It does measure employee engagement, but also includes employee happiness, which we think is subtly and importantly different.   Steve Rush: So, how would you describe happiness, Matt? Somebody asked you over a beer, what is happiness? How do you response?   Matt Phelan: Yeah, there's technical scientific answer, isn't there? I love your question, Steve. And this is why I'm sort of filling to try and answer, which is, I would say, it's your happiness of how you experience it is just a window into everything else. Like your wellbeing, how you are in life? I see it as a data point. I know that's a very geeky way of seeing happiness, but I think your own happiness can be a way of understanding how the rest of your life is. That could be in your personal life. That could be in your career. That could be in your relationship.   Steve Rush: And your hesitance was because you were going down that kind of geeky data space, right?   Matt Phelan: Yeah.   Steve Rush: Tell us a bit about what's the flip side of that kind of emotional response then? Matt Phelan: Yeah, so the reason I hesitated is because we collect this information in over a hundred countries. So, I'm in the spreadsheets every day, but what I can share with you is like, everyone's different, right? So, my happiness is different to your happiness and so on and so on. But there are huge trends that we have that are similar and also different. But if I give you the top four which is, we define happiness as what the heart needs. So, to give the analogy, if you were thinking of a car, we say engagement is the sat nav. So, it's like the direction. So, it's the clear direction where you're going, what the route is going to be. Whereas happiness is that energy that you need to get there. I used to say, it's the petrol in the car, but it's, I think it's electric vehicle week Steve.   Steve Rush: It is indeed, yeah.   Matt Phelan: I have moved to electric. So, I'm trying to find a new, so let's say it's the electric in the car. The sat nav is the engagement and the happiness is the electric, is that energy, but the top four are psychological safety, positive relationships, freedom to take opportunities and feelings of acknowledgement.   Steve Rush: And are they consistent in all of the teams that you work with and the organizations you work with? Do you see that those manifest themselves in positive score?   Matt Phelan: So, relationships is always number one. But what is number two, changes per person, per company, per country or region?   Steve Rush: Interesting, yeah.   Matt Phelan: I know you have a lot of North American listeners, Steve. I pulled out an example from the data for you. So, European companies often lumped together. The United States of America and Canada, which we shouldn't for many reasons, but in our head, we see this kind of like geographical mass. If you take all the American data and all the Canada data. In America that the second most important thing, and I'm going to add engagement now and happiness together. The second most important thing in America is actually an engagement metric, which is a clear direction. In Canada, it's acknowledgement. So, you could look from over from Europe, you could look over the pond and think they're very similar in terms of their culture and so on and so on, but there's a clear difference every time we run that data, I've got some views and why I think that is and feel free to jump in Steve and why you think that might be, but that's what we see in the data, very clear different. So, if you're an HR Director that indicates that you need a different strategy for the different locations.   Steve Rush: I think it's probably a few things that kick around there, isn't there? You have some cultural differences between Canada and the rest of the U.S.   Matt Phelan: Yeah.   Steve Rush: Which could present itself in the results you get. But also, I would imagine that even within Inter-country and inter-regions, there are nuances that are also different, right?   Matt Phelan: Yeah, absolutely. And I don't want to get political, but I think in America, in the United States of America, your employment is very much tied to also things like your healthcare.   Steve Rush: Of course, yeah.   Matt Phelan: If you think about that, if you think about, I'm in London, if the happiness index failed and I lost my job and my family would still retain their health care. So, acknowledgement can be higher. It's a bit like the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. But if you know that if you were to lose your job and you would lose your health care. Clear clarity on what your role is, is hyper important, Isn't it?   Steve Rush: Absolutely.   Matt Phelan: So, you think it would be the same for everyone, but we're human beings and those underlining elements change how we are in the workforce.   Steve Rush: That's really fascinating. And I guess also organizations make assumptions about what makes people happy, right?   Matt Phelan: Yes, every single day. And we all do it consciously and subconsciously.   Steve Rush: So, what would be some of those assumptions and how right or wrong are they?   Matt Phelan: So, let me run a live case study for you in a real life. There European pan wide retailer, they were focused. The HR team said to us when they briefed us before they did their cultural assessment, that the number one priority is staff retention. Which is a normal thing to hear.   Steve Rush: Yep.   Matt Phelan: When we ran their first cultural assessment. And we cross-reference that with their financial performance data, we found that the managers of the stores that had the highest performing stores financially had been in the business the shortest amount of time.   Steve Rush: Fascinating, yeah.   Matt Phelan: So, the reason that is an important assumption is, the assumption is, retain staff things will be better if we retain our staff. What they found is, the newer managers had happier teams and were performing financially better. So, this is where it's important to not make an assumption again, the second assumption. So, the first assumption was staff retention was the most important thing. The second assumption, and then the next bit is where you can easily lump into assumptions again, which is, for example, you could think, okay, after five years, the employees get bored or lazy, or you could make an assumption actually after five years, we've we just left people alone and actually they need training. So maybe they need to call Steve Rush and think about how they can develop people over the entire employee experience. So that's where data just gets rid of the assumptions, because you could make so many assumptions on those two things, we've discussed there Steve.   Steve Rush: I'd love to get into that whole notion of how you take all of these data points and map that into something that is typically been described as something pink and fluffy. Happiness, it's an emotion, right? So, how do you shift from taking an emotion and turning into a business metric?   Matt Phelan: Yeah, it's really hard for me to answer that because I'm so converted the other way, and I deal with this every day, but I'm going to go out and try and take a step back. So, I think the first stumbling block and the first change in people's mind is a business term called, if you can measure it, you can manage it.   Steve Rush: You hear it a lot, don't you?   Matt Phelan: You hear it a lot. I believe that to be wildly untrue. And what I would change it for is, and I say this as a measurement company, if you can measure it, you can better understand it, which is a subtle change, right, Steve. But I think we've gone down this road where we almost view people as robots. And we think, oh, if we can measure it, we can manage it. But I think, and this is quite a big concept to put out there. But I think the entire idea of management is flawed.   Steve Rush: It's Ironically made up too. We created management in the last hundred years, it didn't happen before that.   Matt Phelan: Exactly, and it goes back, this is sort of taylorism and the factory floor stuff, isn't it?   Steve Rush: Right.   Matt Phelan: So, I think trying to see data as better understand, lead you to seeing data is helping you make better decisions. If we go back to your original question, how is this helping? And this is the second change that I would like to leave people. So, the first is not to use data to manage, but to better understand. The second one is, if we take a piece of data like revenue, generally, if revenue goes up, it's good, and if it goes down, it's bad. Emotions are supposed to fluctuate. It's normal for you to feel happier at one stage in the day and feel unhappy at the other, that's normal, right? So, trying to artificially get people to be happy all the time is actually not a good strategy. So, the second thing I want to leave your listeners with is to see emotional data, more like a weather report.   Steve Rush: Yeah, and can you forecast it?   Matt Phelan: You can certainly start to, we say, today's emotions are an indicator of tomorrow's performance, and that's why we call it the happiness index, right? So, the reason I think this is useful is that if you're a board and you're looking at this data is giving you an indicator of what your future performance may look like. There are subtle shifts, but I think once you start to do that, you start to realize that actually these are important business metrics. They're not the only business metric. They all have to work together. Just like you have revenue in your P&L. We now have companies as big as half a million employees that are measuring happiness in their board report.   Steve Rush: Yeah.   Matt Phelan: Times are changing, but it takes time to take people on that journey from the sort of taylorism that you say, like we've made up in the last a hundred years through to seeing happiness is a really important business metric.   Steve Rush: I totally agree, and productivity is a sidekick for happiness. Happy people are more productive than less happy people. You don't need data to see that, you can see that around you in any store, in any factory, in any office location, happy people are more productive.   Matt Phelan: Yeah, and one of the things that we plot. We're doing this on the modern version of radio. So, I'm going to try and draw it in your head for you. Happiness without engagement is unfocused. So, we see this in a lot of charities where they have happy staff, but not engaged.   Steve Rush: Yeah   Matt Phelan: But we also see the flip, which is highly engaged and unhappy, which is, you get this in a lot of organizations where they think they have a thriving culture when really what they have is a competitive culture which can show up some good metrics. But under the surface, lots of nasty little things are happening. It's going to eventually hold back the growth. So yeah, if you imagine it as a full box quadrant, we want the top right box to be where people are happy and engage is what we're trying to work towards.   Steve Rush: And you also, I know from the time that we've met before, you apply a lot of neurosciences, so this isn't just about data, we're talking about data and science and the people skills coming to this. So, what role does neuroscience play when we look at happiness?   Matt Phelan: Neuroscience is massive for us because if we think again, we've sort of looked at the history or business and taylorism, and so on and so on. If we look at the history of psychology, a lot of psychology is based on observation. Sorry if people eating their breakfast, but also dead brains. That's where we got a lot of our understanding of the body and how we work, observing people in the workplace and also dissecting their bodies, which, sorry, if you are eating a breakfast that I've really offended you.   Steve Rush: Or any of the meal at any of the time, of course, being a globally diverse podcast.   Matt Phelan: Really good point, isn't it? You should be allowed to be upset while eating your dinner as well. But I think what neuroscience just from a technical perspective is, it allows us to go under the hood and see what's happening in a body in real time. So that a huge leap forward, but before everyone turns off the podcast. The reason I love it so much, let's say you're, let's keep with a car, let's say you in a car later, there's a road rage incident, what neuroscience does is it helps you question why you acted in that way? Like, why did that person make me feel angry? Or when I had my meeting with my boss, why did I feel unsafe? Neuroscience is really just helping us understand the emotions. We divide it into four, how you instinctively feel, how you emotionally feel, how you actually feel and how you feel in a reflective basis. Which we think is really important. Businesses tend to be bad, understanding emotions and the instinctive behavior and focus on rational and reflective. But I think it goes back to that. If you can measure it, you can manage it quiet. It's easier to measure and manage rational and reflective beings, but guess what, Steve, there's no human beings out there that are holy. We're all emotional and we're all instinctive. And personally, that's what I think makes us beautiful.   Steve Rush: Well, the emotion reaction comes first anyway from a neuroscience perspective, we'll have an emotional reaction, which we either then can rationalize or not rationalize. And that's where we hit that kind of fight, flight, freeze or appease moment.   Matt Phelan: Yeah, and that's why we say from a neuroscience perspective, there's no such thing as too emotional. So, if your boss made you angry, your emotional responses is how that makes you feel. Anger is just something you're feeling. What you do with that anger is like the good or the bad thing. Because if you feel angry at your boss and then you punch them in the face, that's illegal, right? In most countries. If there is country where it's not, please tell me, Steve, that's bad behavior, right? Punching your boss in the face is bad behavior, but it doesn't change the fact that you instinctively and emotionally felt like that. And that's why we see emotions like happiness as a data point. Because if your boss makes you feel unsafe, it's important to step back and think, why does my boss make me feel unsafe? Maybe this is time to get out of here or speak to someone else or change role. But from a neuroscience perspective, telling someone they're too emotional is like telling a parent that they love their children too much.   Steve Rush: That a great analogy. Yeah, love it. So, here's the thing. Can you ever be Too happy?   Matt Phelan: Yes, the answer Steve.   Steve Rush: Oh Okay!   Matt Phelan: To be happy all the time is a mental health issue as severe, as being unhappy all the time, which people are often shocked when they hear that. But our emotions are supposed to fluctuate and the fluctuation is what is important. This is kind of why I wrote my book. Self-help books, good to a certain degree, right? But if you have a chemical imbalance, which means you're unhappy all the time. You need to go and get help to get out of that. And it would be the same if you were happy all the time, that would be a condition there that you would need help with. We took a lot at the moment about incongruous, did I said it right?   Steve Rush: Yeah, yeah, you nailed it.   Matt Phelan: Incongruous emotion. So, and incongruous emotion could be your mother dies, but you feel happy. So, you feel happy because she was in pain for five years. And you feel that she has had a release, but you feel guilty that you feel happy. The emotion that you feel happy, you can't help how you are feeling in that moment. But what happens is, you can then end up feeling bad. Your rational brain can tell you to feel bad because you think you should be unhappy because your mother just died. So, these are all complex subjects, but it's important to know that it will fluctuate. And the reason I bring up the incongruous bit, sometimes people end up on a downward spiral because they feel unhappy and they get annoyed that they're not happy.   Steve Rush: And it makes it worse.   Matt Phelan: Yeah, certain event. The other way can happen as well. So, to answer your question. Yes, you can be too happy, which I think does surprise a few people when they hear that. Steve Rush: Yeah, it does. And, I guess the reason that might surprise people is, because it's easy to notice when people are less happy than when they are happy, right?   Matt Phelan: Yeah, and I think we need to bring up an elephant in the room on this one, Steve.   Steve Rush: Let's do it.   Matt Phelan: Which is toxic positivity.   Steve Rush: Oh, go on…   Matt Phelan: We made this mistake when we first started The Happiness Index, which is, as soon as we built that software in our old company, we made happiness a target. As in, we said, we want our staff to be on average eight out of ten or above happiness. What I learned from doing that is, it's a terrible idea and don't do it. And the reasons it's terrible idea, and don't do it, is that if you saw someone in the office or down the pub, and they looked unhappy, it's the equivalent of telling them to cheer up. If you tell somebody who's unhappy to cheer up, the only thing that's ever going to happen is, they're going to get unhappy.   Steve Rush: That's true, isn't it? Very true.   Matt Phelan: Yeah, and it goes back to that, seeing it like a weather report, you can't tell the rain not to rain and the sun not to shine. It's just natural, this is what's happening. So, all you can do, if you see someone unhappy is to be there and try and understand what's driving that emotion. And if you can help then great. But if you can't, your job, like we've all learned is to be there to listen. And actually, just the process of listening could actually really help people. But you need to get permission before you go into fixed mode because I think it's an entrepreneurship thing and there's also gender differences in this element, but I'm definitely somebody who likes to jump into fixing.   Steve Rush: Yeah.   Matt Phelan: Before I've been given permission that this person actually wants me to help. That's definitely one of my own developments as leader that I've had to work on. Steve Rush: And in terms of getting balance over the last eight months, two years, where we've gone through this crazy world, that we've been all experiencing, how has that kind of presented itself in terms of people's happiness during and through the pandemic?   Matt Phelan: So, I'm going to use a word from the island in geography back in the day, which it's been a kaleidoscope. I've just been waiting to get that word in really.     Steve Rush: Yeah, I think it's the first time anybody use that word on our podcast. So, congratulations, well done.   Matt Phelan: Thanks Steve, I'm going to send it to my mom. So, she's proud of me, but I think in reality, it's just been different. It's been different for everyone, but there's huge themes again. So, similar to what I was saying about global emotions, some people are happier. For example, introverts many introverts have preferred working from home. Because they don't have people like me walking around the office, asking them how they are.   Steve Rush: Of course, they get their energy internally. So, they don't need to be surrounded by other people to get their energy and focus.   Matt Phelan: Absolutely, some people have really struggled. I've really missed human connection myself. The relationships bit is definitely key, really important for me. The top level, the world was way unhappier in the last two years than it's ever been recognized of unhappiness, just to get that on record. But where we've seen is, we've seen people want to communicate times for the normal amount.   Steve Rush: Wow, that's a lot, isn't it?   Matt Phelan: Yeah, which shows that the digital world is great. But it leaves you with what we call an emotional deficit. So, I think the digital world, I don't want to get too much into hormones today, but I think the digital world really drives your dopamine. Like that reward signal thing that you get from all the social.   Steve Rush: Instant gratification.   Matt Phelan: Yeah, I think we get that a lot from tech and that's not by accident. The Mark Zuckerberg of the world know how to design platforms to do that for us. But there's a huge piece missing on connection there that sitting around the fire, having a chat, all that sort of stuff, you can get bits of it from the digital world. But ultimately, I do think there's a real-world stuff that we need.   Steve Rush: Yeah, I agree. And given all the research and data points, you get, you've gathered data from all over the world. Has there been any pockets of happiness or sadness that spikes, or where's the kind of happiest place to live right now and where would be the place that we might want to avoid?   Matt Phelan: So, this comes up a lot because the nordics always come out as the happiest place. But actually, I think if I'm really brutal with the analysis, I think all human beings, I don't think there's a happier country and a less happy country. There are facts that do come into it that we can't ignore like war and famine.   Steve Rush: Of course, yeah.   Matt Phelan: There is no doubt that if you're in Afghanistan at the moment; that it's going to be impacting how you feel. But if we just take a normal situation, I think in reality, there's measurement differences on it. So, I really encourage everyone to go back to what is important to you and your environment and what's around you because. Denmark and so on, always come out really high, but guess what, Steve, I have to deal with the situation that I have in front of me, which is what I always encourage people to do. So, it's great to be inspired by other countries and other locations, but I think it's more important to look internally and look around you in your own facility. Otherwise, if you heard of that Roosevelt quote, it's like comparison is the thief of joy.   Steve Rush: Yeah.   Matt Phelan: And you can easily do that. Like when I went out to Copenhagen, I loved going for a swim in the harvest that they have there. But I can't do that.   Steve Rush: And here's the other thing that was really interesting bit of a data point overlay on that. Denmark the highest taxed country in Europe, you pay more tax out of your earned income than in any other country in Europe. And in fact, I think in the Northern hemisphere.   Matt Phelan: And I think we talk about that a lot. I talk about that with Jens Nelson. Who's our representative in Denmark and there's a mindset shift. They don't see tax as the thing that's being stolen out of your back pocket after you've done your work.   Steve Rush: Interesting, yeah.   Matt Phelan: There is something that is contributing to society and good. They see it as good; we would need a podcast just to get into the cultural.   Steve Rush: Oh gosh, that's a whole other show, right?   Matt Phelan: Yeah, we'd be back to King John and the Magna Carta to understand that from a UK perspective, maybe that's the follow-up Steve would do King John and the Magna Carta and happiness.   Steve Rush: And then we'll have to of course involve the Romans who started all the thing.   Matt Phelan: Totally.   Steve Rush: Yeah, so you created a fantastic community by the way, called happiness and humans community.   Matt Phelan: Yeah.   Steve Rush: And you always have this question that you'd like to pose and it's what makes you happy. So, I'm going to ask you the same question. So, what makes you happy Matt?   Matt Phelan: Oh, thanks for asking me, Steve. It's where I got the title for my book, which is Freedom To Be Happy. So, freedom was in those top four that I mentioned earlier on happiness, but for me, it's by far the number one thing. like for me, I see life as an adventure. I didn't come from a wealthy family or anything. So, I do have to earn money to pay the mortgage and stuff like that. I do have that side to me, but I can't work anywhere for a second if I don't have freedom to be myself. And it's really higher in that perspective. So, that's all parts of life. That's in my relationships with friends, with my family, with my work colleagues, like I need to know that I can leave at any point. If I was told to come on this podcast, it's very childish. I wouldn't have come on, but because you invited me, I came on. I know it's a very subtle difference.   Steve Rush: It is.   Matt Phelan: I probably need some therapy to work through it, but for me, it's freedom.   Steve Rush: Lovely, awesome.   Matt Phelan: And you, I have to ask?   Steve Rush: Oh, I knew you would do that. So, I'm trying to just articulate this because I've not thought about it and I should have done so it's kind of schoolboy error. I think it's around environment for me. So having happy and calm people around me makes me happy. When there is anger and disruption and chaos, that makes me really unhappy. And I react emotionally in those environments differently.   Matt Phelan: Can you feel that, Steve?   Steve Rush: Oh, hugely. I can feel it even before it happens, so I can sense in a room or in an environment, mood shift and change very, very quickly before it presents itself in the either physical or verbal way.   Matt Phelan: I think that's one of the most important aspects of the COO role. I think a lot of people, when I think about the COO in an organization, I think that person is one of the most organized people in the business, which is also true. But I don't think you can have a COO that can't sense that because the COO has so many interactions with all the different teams.   Steve Rush: Well, actually, I coined the phrase, my Leadership Barometer, right? So that's kind of how it feels for me. You've made the correlation with weather earlier with happiness, didn't you?   Matt Phelan: Yeah.   Steve Rush: So, it's ironic that even without having this conversation before or even connecting the dots, that's exactly what happens with me. I get a sense, a barometer of mood shift, energy shift, culture shift, and I migrate towards it and can energize it and make it better. And I avoid it when it's not or tackle it to re-engineer it, so that it is.   Matt Phelan: And I'm just going to get a bit of free consultancy from you for all your listeners quickly, Steve, with one more question, and then I will stop questioning. I get the sense that you intuitively do that, right?   Steve Rush: It is an intuitively.   Matt Phelan: But if you get people that are not as natural at doing that, right. If you went into an organization and they were low on that skill, do you think you can coach and help people improve that? Or do you think you're just born with it?   Steve Rush: No, I totally believe you can coach it and have done because it's around awareness. So, starts with yourself, and are you paying attention? Are you noticing? And then secondly, it's around, how do you notice? So, what are the clues, the cues, the things that happening around us that make us open to those coincidences. Open to observing those behaviors. So, it's definitely a learned behavior. It might be an intuition for me now, but it probably wasn't twenty-five years ago.   Matt Phelan: That's brilliant Steve and I'm thinking about lots of clients and stuff now where I know that's a challenge they've got.   Steve Rush: Anyway, back to me, it's my show, [laughter] I'm going to spin the lens now and we're going to hack into your leadership mind. So, you've led some really successful businesses and still do, and therefore want to get your leadership spin on how you might do that and what's going to set you and others apart. So, first thing I want to ask you is, if you think about all of the experiences you had, what would be your top three leadership hacks Matt?   Matt Phelan: I think the number one is, I love from my granddad who I never met. So, I learned something from my granddad that I never met, but I learned it through stories passed on to me. This leadership lesson sounds a little bit outdated, because we're probably talking about it from like the forties and fifties. But the thing that I learned from my granddad is that as a leader, your job is to help someone. I'm trying to think of the exact phrase, but it's help someone improve. And I think when you look at it, forties and fifties, it was more like, like my family were immigrants. So, it's about like working your way up and all that kind of stuff. But in a modern world, I see it as personal development. I think if you look at all your employees and think, how do you help them improve? Ultimately that's going to help your organization improve as well. But the massive caveat that I would add to it. For it to really work, you have to be able to have an honest conversation with someone when you think that improvement will be better served outside your current organization.   Steve Rush: Yeah.   Matt Phelan: Which is tough, and you have to park your ego to do that and you to have open lines of communication. But if you've worked with someone for example, five years and you both think, you know, what the best thing this person could do is go and work at this other organization. You have to have a relationship where you could have that conversation with that person. So, I think it's focusing on their improvement, but the caveat that you would be aware that sometimes that improvement might not come from in your organization.   Steve Rush: Yeah.   Matt Phelan: So, we've got number one. And number two, I think is, we've mentioned it before Steve, which is listen. And again, the caveat is not jumping into problem solving. So, it's really listening to your team. But waiting to be invited on the fixed part. And I've learned that the hard way.   Steve Rush: Yeah, easy done though.   Matt Phelan: Yeah, and I think the third point, and this is why I think this is why your podcast has done so amazing Steve is, the power of storytelling. Because I'm a geek, right? And ideal in data, but unless you can turn that data into a story, it just sits in a spreadsheet, isn't it?   Steve Rush: It does, yeah. Matt Phelan: They're just numbers, aren't they? But until you start looking at trends and then once you turn them into trends, you start saying the stories, that's how other human beings learn. So, when you're looking at your cultural data, then taking out those little nuggets and stories, that's how we share it. And we learn and we improve as an organization. So, to recap that I would say self-improvement for the team, really proper listening. And the third point which I just mentioned.   Steve Rush: Love it, really great advice. So, the next part of the show, we call it Hack to Attack. So, this is typically where something in your life or work has not worked out at all well. Could have even been quite catastrophic, but it created a learning experience for you that you now use as a positive in your life and work. What would be your Hack to Attack Matt?   Matt Phelan: I think my Hack to Attack was where you were going to Steve, a bit with like listening to your own body. So, I learned through coaching, my coaches is a neuroscience coach that the most important thing I could do is listen to my body. And the reason that was important was when I first started, I was twenty-five and, you know, what's it like, we took an off the record about how tough the last year has been for both our businesses. But like, you can hit these big moments, can't you? People resign, you lose clients, cashflow is tough. What I used to do to deal with tough experiences. Like when I came home, I found it hard to switch off. So, I would drink red wine to sort of like, get that nice hazy feel.   Steve Rush: Yeah.   Matt Phelan: But what I learned from listening to my body is that it would give me that hazy feel and it would push back the negative thoughts, like, oh my God, we've lost this client or this has happened. But then those thoughts would come back to me at three o'clock in the morning which was a downward cycle because then I couldn't sleep. And then I was getting less sleep, which was negatively impacting my wellbeing. So, Hack to Attack, now I look at my wellbeing as I know that if I'm going to turn up for a meeting or a podcast, my wellbeing and foundation to be myself, needs to be there. So, I've learned that I just need to keep feeding that in. So that led me to doing a year off alcohol. I came back drinking for my brother stag do which I felt like I obliged to him because he drank on my stag do and so on and so on.   And I want it to be part of that, but actually, I don't know if I'll drink again. Now, I've came back for that social event. And I definitely think that I'm a better leader. And the other thing I've learned from it is that there are non-drinkers within the happiness index that have gravitated to me towards me socially.   Steve Rush: It's very interesting.   Matt Phelan: Because in the media world, drinking is part of the world. And that was my old world.   Steve Rush: Yeah.   Matt Phelan: Actually, it's like a diversity thing, isn't it? Which is, drinkers socially gravitated towards me. And my co-founders drink, but actually as a diversity perspective, the fact that I'm a non-drink is actually quite useful. So other people would come to me and say, Matt, we're doing this event, it's got drinking involved. Maybe we could do a different type of activity. Whereas I don't think they would've come to me if I hadn't like explained why it cut down on drinking.   Steve Rush: And we avoid the rabbit hole that says also there's a chemical reaction that gives you an instant high when you drink alcohol, but then it also impacts you negatively after the event.   Matt Phelan: I would recommend to read Alcohol Explained. And for any level of drinker, I wouldn't say I was someone who was a huge drinker, but I was someone who became aware that, I looked at it like a loan in the end, which is, I reckon I had one day up for two days down. And I thought, you know what? This is like a high interest loan that I don't want to keep paying off with interest.   Steve Rush: Like you currently can.   Matt Phelan: But that book alcohol explained, especially if you're into neuroscience and stuff, it explains why that high comes and so on. And I don't want to preach because I've many years of actually really enjoying drinking and lots of friends and families do drink, but I would recommend people to read Alcohol Explained whatever your level of drinking from. Problem drinker to one a month.   Steve Rush: Great stuff. Now, the very last thing we get to do is we get to give you a chance to do some time travel, bump into Matt at twenty-one. And you can get to give him some advice Matt, what would it be?   Matt Phelan: You don't realize how much opportunity you've got. And I would say, go and work in other countries. Like right now, obviously we're in the middle of the pandemic, well, we're not hopefully we're at the beginning of the end, but again, like maybe I'm saying this because our freedoms been locked down and stuff, but I think you can learn a lot from travel, right. But imagine how much you can learn by going and working in another country.   Steve Rush: Yeah.   Matt Phelan: It's been good for me because I've become very ingrained in London. So, anything I need or speak too, like my network in London is huge and London's a global city. So, I've benefited from that perspective. But actually, if I were speaking to twenty-one-year-old Matt, I'd probably say, go and work in Shanghai for a couple of years.   Steve Rush: Yeah, I didn't start working my professional career abroad until in my late twenties and then only really in the last kind of ten or fifteen years, if I had the opportunity to travel the world and see and experience those, and you do get much of a richer experience and diversity of thinking and behaviors, is really powerful, isn't it?   Matt Phelan: Yeah, it would be as simple as that.   Steve Rush: So beyond today, if folk wanted to continue the conversation with you, stay connected with you, where's the best place for us to send them?   Matt Phelan: Yeah, at the moment we realized that moving from engagement to happiness for some can be scary. So, any company in the world of any size can go to the happinessindex.com and they can do a free trial for three months of our entire platform. So that's it on a product perspective. From a keeping in touch perspective, the happiness and humans community, you can find that on the happinessindex.com as well, the test is, do you want to positively shape the future of work. If you are thinking, yes, that's what I want to do, Matt and Steve, then please join that community is people from all around the world. People pose questions, challenges. But most importantly, people connect up and there's been people that have become friends, business partners, they've hired on there. So, yeah, please join the happiness in humans community if you want to positively shape the future of work.   Steve Rush: And we but a little join here button on our show notes as well. So, people can do that as soon as they started listening with us.   Matt Phelan: Thanks Steve.   Steve Rush: Matt, I love chatting with you. You bring a really great perspective to something that is an emotional subject, and you have given us that business case. So, thanks for being part of our community and thanks for being on the podcast.   Matt Phelan: Thanks for having me, Steve.   Steve Rush: Thanks, Matt.     Closing   Steve Rush: I genuinely want to say heartfelt thanks for taking time out of your day to listen in too. We do this in the service of helping others, and spreading the word of leadership. Without you listening in, there would be no show. So please subscribe now if you have not done so already. Share this podcast with your communities, network, and help us develop a community and a tribe of leadership hackers.   Finally, if you would like me to work with your senior team, your leadership community, keynote an event, or you would like to sponsor an episode. Please connect with us, by our social media. And you can do that by following and liking our pages on Twitter and Facebook our handler there: @leadershiphacker. Instagram you can find us there @the_leadership_hacker and at YouTube, we are just Leadership Hacker, so that is me signing off. I am Steve Rush and I have been the leadership hacker.