The Happy Manifesto: 10 Steps to a Great Workplace

1. Trust Your People

Step out of approval. Instead pre-approve and focus on supporting your people.

2. Make Your People Feel Good

Make this the focus of management

3. Give Freedom within Clear Guidelines

People want to know what is expected of them. But they want freedom to find the best way to achieve their goals.

4. Be Open and Transparent

More information means people can take responsibility and ownership.

5. Recruit for Attitude, Train for Skill

Instead of qualifications and experience, recruit on attitude and potential ability.

6. Celebrate Mistakes

Create a truly no-blame culture, to enable people to innovate without fear

7. Community: Create Mutual Benefit

Have a positive impact on the world and build your organisation too

8. Love Work, Get a Life

The world, and your job, needs you well rested, well nourished and well supported.

9. Select Managers Who are Good at Managing

Make sure your people are supported by somebody who is good at doing that, and find other routes for those whose strengths are elsewhere. Even better, allow people to choose their managers.

10. Play to Your Strengths

Make sure your people spend most of their time doing what they are best at.

When I first published this list I had just 9 points. But my good friend Clive Hutchinson, of Cougar Automation, complained that I had missed out the most important thing we taught them – to make sure you’ve got your people doing what they are best at. So now there are ten points. (Which also explains, in case you wonder when you read the book, why all the other points have a chapter on them but this one doesn’t!)