Category: Collected articles

How Money Actually Buys Happiness?

The problem with this approach is that a decade of research — conducted by us and our colleagues — demonstrates that our intuitions about how to turn money into happiness are misguided at best and dead-wrong at worst. Those televisions, cars, and houses? They have almost no impact on our happiness. The good news is that we now know what kind of spending does enhance our happiness — insight that’s valuable to consumers and companies alike.

Catch people doing things right?

Ken Blanchard probably did more in his book ‘The One Minute Manager’ then anyone to bring forth the concept of “catch people doing things right”. For some reason many leaders have the mentality that it is their role and duty to catch people doing things wrong. Once this kind of mentality permeates the culture of an organization, the employees become fearful. A swordwieling leader will never get the best from his employees. People may respond short term to this approach, but in the long term they will move on to another job. I ‘m amazed at how many leaders still think they have to be Attila the Hun. It is interesting to note, however, that those individuals who manage by fear are usually the most insecure.

Why Failure Is Good for Success

“To achieve any worthy goal, you must take risks,” says writer and speaker John C. Maxwell. In his book Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success, he points to the example of legendary aviator Amelia Earhart, who set several records and achieved many firsts in her lifetime, including being the first female pilot to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean. Although her final flight proved fateful, Maxwell believes she knew the risk—and that the potential reward was worth it. “[Earhart’s] advice when it came to risk was simple and direct: ‘Decide whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying.’ ”