Building a Unicorn Through Happiness

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work” , Aristotle?

What Aristotle said centuries ago still stands true in the current business world. While I do believe that there are multiple contributing factors to what accounts for ‘perfection in the work’ - Happiness tops the chart for me. As someone who is helping create happy organizations, I take responsibility in ensuring that workplaces understand the pivotal role that Happiness plays in building successful organizations.?

My network already knows that I am on a journey to help build unicorns and companies which are looking to scale by 30-50% yearly through my Happiness Playbook. To create and grow a happy and successful unicorn there are four primary pillars that core leadership should focus on. These pillars have a profound impact on employee happiness, customer satisfaction, and overall organizational success.

1. Alignment -?

Being aligned with your vision/purpose, values, 100-day rotating goals and your Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) can make a significant difference. The 4 guiding principles listed below help shape a company's culture, strategy and decision-making processes. They align the employees and leaders to the end goal -?

1. Your vision or purpose serve as a guiding star that directs your organization's efforts and provides a sense of purpose. Communicating your vision effectively to your team members helps align their actions and motivates them to work towards a common goal.
2. When your values are well-defined and ingrained in the organization's DNA, they create a cohesive and aligned workforce. It's important to consistently reinforce and live by these values to build trust and credibility.
3. The concept of setting a 100-day rotating goal is a powerful tool for driving focus and accountability. By breaking down large goals into smaller, actionable tasks, you can maintain momentum, track progress, and adapt to changing circumstances more effectively.
4. BHAGs or Big Hairy Audacious Goals can galvanize the organization and drive innovation, attracting top talent and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

What many organizations seem to miss (and I cannot give enough importance to) is measuring the alignment of these 4 pillars month on month. A set of 9 questions in my happiness playbook helps me assess the effectiveness of each pillar. Once this is done the gaps become evident and hence implementing simple corrective? measures becomes easy. Feel free to inbox me to know what these questions are or the direction you should take in your organization.?

2. People

Are the people you’re working with happy? Do they believe that they are appreciated? Have they created connections and friendships at the workplace? Surprisingly, these are questions very few leaders ask! Measuring employee happiness once they have imbibed the company values can be an effective approach to assess the team’s alignment with the company's core principles.?

We also help companies define ‘habits around the SMART Goals’ for their employees which can be implemented to meet performance standards and contribute to overall success and alignment of the organization. Doing the above fosters a positive work environment where team members share company values, feel appreciated and give back with quality work output. The habits get built around what they love to do rather than a set of tasks.

3.? Customer Happiness

A lesson that I learnt early on from my father is “No customer is good or bad, too small or big. You have to take care of all your customers to build a large and successful business”. Many companies take the satisfaction of faithful clients/customers for granted and become complacent about them (not asking them if they are happy) only to regret it once they have left.?

Measuring customer happiness is extremely important to retain and grow your customer base. By assessing customer happiness through surveys, feedback, and other metrics, you can identify areas for improvement, retain valuable customers, and gain a competitive advantage.?

4. Community Engagement?

The fourth pillar to focus on in your journey to becoming a unicorn is Community Engagement. Engaging with the community creates a symbiotic relationship that brings immense value to an organization. By actively involving the community in the growth journey, a unicorn can gain valuable insights, establish brand advocates, drive user adoption, and foster loyalty. Community engagement allows growing companies to build a loyal customer base, who become ambassadors and champions of the brand by helping to amplify its reach and credibility.

When an organization prioritizes community engagement, they tap into the collective wisdom, support, and resources that the community brings, propelling it towards becoming a unicorn. I believe, community is what will be the big game changer for organizations in these times of generative AI.

The above is a summary of the 4 Pillars that I believe lead to organizational happiness. They may seem like a lot but once you are on this journey and start seeing the results, it is difficult to retreat from this path. Reach out to me to know more on how you can measure these 4 pillars and develop healthy habits and simple hacks to create happiness for your employees, customers and all stakeholders.