What’s the best measurement for success? Happiness

How happy are you?

How much has your company grossed this quarter?

Which question is more important to you? If you are more concerned about the latter, then one suspects the answer to the former is not going to be very positive.

With this in mind, I was delighted to hear the Bhutanese have introduced a Minister for Happiness.

This Himalayan kingdom has a new measurement of national prosperity too – “gross national happiness”. By focussing on people’s well-being rather than economic productivity, there is likely to be a knock-on effect for business too. After all, a happy workforce makes for a more successful and productive team.

Success and money can contribute to happiness, but happiness itself is another thing altogether. Words like ‘family’, ‘friends’, ‘love’ and ‘laughter’ have a lot more to do with happiness than words like ‘gross’, ‘capital’ and ‘revenue’.

Money is a by-product of bigger, more meaningful goals such as passion, fun and wisdom. As I’ve said before, have fun, do good, and the money will come.

Perhaps we could learn a thing or two from the Bhutanese and their Minister for Happiness. What other measurements for success are important to you?