Henry Stewart

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. His latest book, Creating Joy at Work: 501+ ideas for a happy workplace was released in 2025 and is filled with ways that people around the world have implemented workplaces based on empowerment and working to strengths.

Unhappy Customer? Let Them Decide What to Pay

Being CEO of Happy means I get to deal with anybody who we have upset and who my colleagues haven’t...

Henry Stewart

27 May 2011

How to Increase Your Procurement Costs: Use Economies of Scale Rather Than Competition

For best value in buying products there are two different approaches: Use the forces of competition, or use economies of...

Henry Stewart

25 May 2011

Yes to Fairer Voting

Almost thirty years ago I stood for election for President of the Student Union and came top. But the election...

Henry Stewart

02 May 2011

Happiness is a Political Issue

I was delighted to be involved in the launch of Action for Happiness last week, giving a short speech on...

Henry Stewart

21 Apr 2011

Following Socrates and Creating Empowerment

It’s funny when I find myself quoted and it’s a better summary than I’d do myself....

Henry Stewart

21 Apr 2011

Is Your Company an Ostrich or a Fox?

Last year my daughter went to a special American Apparel sale which was overrun with eager shoppers. They had to...

Henry Stewart

31 Mar 2011

Learning: It’s Personal

What makes a great training course? We’ve done a lot of research on this, and worked with some great trainers...

Henry Stewart

14 Feb 2011

Don’t Tell When You Can Ask

'Don’t tell when you can ask' has been the core training principle at Happy since I founded it 20 years...

Henry Stewart

11 Feb 2011

Why Economies of Scale Can Lead to Higher Prices

Once again we have a government talking about saving money through shared services and combined procurement....

Henry Stewart

01 Feb 2011