happy people

Henry Stewart, Founder and Chief Happiness Officer

Henry is founder and Chief Happiness Officer of Happy Ltd, originally set up as Happy Computers in 1987. Inspired by Ricardo Semler’s book Maverick, he has built a company which has won multiple awards for some of the best customer service in the country and being one of the UK’s best places to work.

Henry was listed in the Guru Radar of the Thinkers 50 list of the most influential management thinkers in the world. "He is one of the thinkers who we believe will shape the future of business," explained list compiler Stuart Crainer.

His first book, Relax, was published in 2009. His second book, the Happy Manifesto, was published in 2013 and was short-listed for Business Book of the Year.

You can find Henry on LinkedIn and follow @happyhenry on Twitter.

Get in touch

020 7375 7300

Send us a message

hello@happy.co.uk

The Happy Conference Methodology: Let’s Get Interactive
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartRead length: 5 min read
Why do you attend conferences, and what makes a great conference?
10 Ideas for Taking Time at Work to Reflect
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartRead length: 5 min read
If you take 15 minutes to reflect at the end of the day, you can improve your productivity by 22.8%. That’s the conclusion of a study at Harvard Business School. Participants spent 15 minutes writing in a journal to embed their learning from the day, and produced these dramatic results.
The Gender Pay Gap at Happy
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartRead length: 5 min read
Would the gender pay gap be less if salaries were transparent? The average woman at Happy is paid 1.1% more than the average man. I think that’s close enough to count as one of the 9% of companies that pay women and men roughly the same.
Great Leaders Aren’t Always Great Managers
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartRead length: 5 min read
People management is a crucial role, and it is different from leadership.
Happy Workplaces Save Lives
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartWatch: 2 min watch
In this two-minute video, Henry Stewart explains the financial evidence and academic research behind happy workplaces. The Best Workplaces have a Four Factor Alpha of 3.5% on the stock market, compared to ordinary workplaces. Plus, happy workplaces save lives – for every 96 deaths in a happy and engaged hospital, 103 people die in a hospital where staff are disengaged and unhappy.
30 Years of Happiness
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartRead length: 10 min read
In the summer of 1987 I wrote in my diary that I could never imagine being happy again. The newspaper I had helped set up, News on Sunday, was on the verge of collapse. Our 200 employees would lose their jobs and the backers would lose their investment. I felt totally crushed, and close to a breakdown. 30 years on, life feels rather different. Happy is a thriving business. We help people become more productive with their software and we help organisations to create happy, productive workplaces. It gives me a lift every time I walk into our colourful, friendly training centre.
The Best Business Books of 2017
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartRead length: 5 min read
Last month, I asked in my newsletter and on LinkedIn for your favourite business reads of 2017. Here is a selection from the responses I received.
What If the Boss Makes No Decisions?
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartRead length: 5 min read
As a manager, do you see your role as the expert, with responsibility for making key decisions? Do you find your people coming to you for those decisions, even when they know what to do?
Dear CEO: Let Your People Choose Their Managers
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartRead length: 5 min read
I was honoured to be asked by Thinkers50 to contribute a letter to their Dear CEO book, published in July 2017. Here is my contribution.
Are You Wasting Your Time?
In: BlogsBy: Henry StewartWatch: 5 min watch
Are your people doing things which produce no benefit to your organisation? How much time could your people save by ditching those pointless tasks or meetings that they only do ‘because they have to’?