6 Years With No Decisions at Happy
It is now six years since I stopped, as a Founder, making decisions at Happy. And, no, I haven’t passed it onto anybody else. Decisions are made by those responsible or, if across the whole company, by everybody.
Read more about the thinking behind his decision in this blog by Happy's Chief Happiness Officer, Henry Stewart.
Hi, we are Happy
We are leading a movement to create happy, empowered and productive workplaces.
How can we help you and your people to find joy in at least 80% of your work?
In 2017 I spoke on a conference panel in Copenhagen alongside David Marquet, the author of Turn the Ship Around. He explained how, when he took over as Commander of the nuclear submarine Sante Fe, he didn’t know how it worked as he had been trained for a different submarine.
So instead of telling 135 crew what to do, he decided to let 135 crew members tell him what to do, based on competence and clarity. There was one decision he would make, if the missiles were fired that was his responsibility.
The submarine became the best performing submarine in US Navy history, with 11 of the crew going on to be Commanders of other submarines.
I decided there and then to stop making decisions at Happy. My equivalent of the missiles is if we need to let somebody go, as I feel that is my responsibility.
Before 2017 Happy sales had been flatlining. After 2017 they rose by 25% a year, up to the pandemic.
I thought that we already had a good culture at Happy, but this made a real difference with people taking real accountability and responsibility.
People are basically pre-approved to do whatever they want within their own area. Pre-approval is the idea that managers approve a solution before the person has come up with the solution, within guidelines.
That used to be the case at Happy, but as we now don’t have managers people are able to be preapproved for anything as long as it fits our values. As I often say "if you have great values, anybody can make a decision."
John explains: "When I started at Happy, I would email Henry — the founder — with every bit of expenditure. He soon wrote back: 'John, if it’s under £400 and you think we need it, buy it. If it’s over £400, check with someone, but no need to check with me.'"
What happens when it is across the whole company? Well, one example was pricing. John and Ben decided that we needed to raise our prices. They used the Advice Process, where they are responsible but they take advice from others. I gave my advice, which was for a lesser price increase.
They ignored it!
I realised afterwards that my pricing is based more in the 90s or 00s, whereas they are in close contact and more attuned to current market and customer dynamics. Front-line employees often have a deeper understanding of client needs than senior leadership.
I feel now that we would probably not have survived the pandemic under the old pricing.
If you are a CEO (or even a senior leader), could you stop making decisions? What would be the one decision you might be responsible for?
Related Blogs
- What If the Boss Makes No Decisions? — This blog explores more about the concept of managers making less or even no decisions.
- The Happy Challenge: Make no Decisions for 3 Months — Henry explains what happened when he took our 'no decisions' challenge and why you should do it too.
- Pre-Approval in Practice at TLC: Talk, Listen, Change — Michelle Hill talks about how the charity TLC: Talk, Listen, Change has used Pre-Approval in practice in this two-minute video.
Keep informed about happy workplaces
Sign up to Henry's monthly Happy Manifesto newsletter, full of tips and inspiration to help you to create a happy, engaged workplace.
Learn the 10 core principles to create a happy and productive workplace in Henry Stewart's book, The Happy Manifesto.
Henry's Most Popular Blogs
- 8 Companies That Celebrate Mistakes
- 9 Benefits of Having Happy Employees
- 321Zero: How I Solved my Email Overload
- 16 Companies That Don't Have Managers
- 5 Big Companies Who Swear by Mindfulness
- 49 Steps to a Happy Workplace
- A Four Day Week? Let's Start With a Four Day August
- Google: Hire Great People and Give Them Lots of Autonomy
- Buurtzorg: No Managers, Just Great Care From a Nurse-Led Service
- 30 Steps to Joy at Work: Get More Done by Being Less Busy
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.
Next Conference: 2025 Happy Workplaces Conference
Our Happy Workplaces Conference is our biggest event of the year, and we'd love for you to join us on Wednesday 25th June!
Our 2024 event was our first ever hybrid event, and so we hope to run next year's in the same way. We will host up to 50 people face-to-face at Happy's HQ in Aldgate, London, and we can host up to 200 people online via Zoom. However you choose to join, there will be interaction, discussion, space for reflection and opportunities to network with others.
Stay tuned for full details of our speakers for next year's event. As always, our speakers share practical, hands-on ideas that you can implement to create happy and engaged workplaces.
Related courses
The Happy Leadership Programme
Brave Leadership: One-Year Leadership Development Programme for Women
Level 7 Senior Leadership Apprenticeship Programme
Not what you need? Take a look at all of our off-the-shelf Leadership and Management programmes.