35+ years as Chief Happiness Officer and Founder of Happy, now helping small-medium business owners create a happy and productive workplace by granting freedom whilst growing 25% a year. (Henry Stewart)

In this week’s Quick Fire Friday episode, Michael interviews Henry Stewart, Founder and Chief Happiness Officer of Happy. He’s based in London, UK. Happy was rated the top 2 best workplaces in the UK last year and the top 15 in Europe. Happy, originally established as Happy Computers, is now focused on helping other organizations achieve what they’ve done; create great workplaces.

Happy helps small-medium business owners with its values that equate to a happy, productive workplace; but the most important is believing in the best in your staff. People work best when they’re trusted and given the creative freedom to make excellent decisions for the business, minimizing micromanagement, and focusing more on empowerment. This, paired with the implementation of the four-day workweek, Happy gained a 40% increase in sales last year and grew 25% each year.

Happy workplaces are far more productive than unhappy workplaces, Henry said, “Trust your people, trust your people to step out into decision-making.” Implying that small-medium business owners should promote empowerment and autonomy, which can lead to greater creativity and innovation within their business.

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Quotes:

“People like freedom within guidelines.” — Henry Stewart.

“As the owner of the business, you're not always the best person to know what to do, you need to trust your people.” — Henry Stewart.

“Don't tell people what to do. Instead, build confidence, ask questions, and help people find their solutions.” — Henry Stewart.

“Stop making decisions if you're the business owner.” — Henry Stewart.

“Get people to play to their strengths.” — Henry Stewart.