The Happy Manifesto: Make Your Organization a Great Workplace

by Henry Stewart

Imagine a workplace where people are energized and motivated by being in control of the work they do. Imagine they are trusted and given freedom, within clear guidelines, to decide how to achieve their results. Imagine they are able to get the life balance they want. Imagine they are valued according to the work they do, rather than the number of hours they spend at their desk.Wouldn't you want to work there? Wouldn't it also be the place that would enable you to work at your best and most productive?
The Happy Manifesto is a guide to anyone wanting to improve their workplace. Learn how you too could change your work environment for the better.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Management, Leadership, Cultural

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2011

Reviews

[Michael Ries · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Happy Manifesto is a short book written by Henry Stewart on how to manage people in business. This is a very enjoyable read with lots of examples of his principles being applied. The author argues that as a manager of people you should want your staff to do well, and for them to do well they need to be happy. They need to enjoy their work, feel trusted, have freedom to excel and this needs the organisation to be open and transparent. In his business they even publish the salaries of each and every member of staff. And when a staff member chooses to leave the firm, they help them find a new job and give them good strong references. The author understands that his staff have a life outside of work, and even if they really love their jobs, they might still be working to live, and not living to work. So, he has created a flexible workspace, where people can be trusted and understand their place in the business. There were so many lovely ideas in this book, and I’m now wondering how many of them can I implement in my own workspace. And it makes me wonder why nearly every manager you meet, seems to do the polar opposite of what is set out in this Happy Manifesto.

[Andreas Konstantinou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Stewart is an accidental micromanager that turned into a brilliant servant leader, and created a world-class culture in his UK-based, IT consulting company, Happy. The Happy Manifesto is a very human account of the principles behind his leadership style, and a blueprint of how to build a culture of trust, accountability, freedom and transparency, that many companies would look up to, and even envy. The Happy Manifesto explains how to create a culture of trust by pre-approving most staff decisions, being transparent down to the salaries level, recruiting for attitide rather than skill, celebrating mistakes and selecting managers based on their coaching skills, The book is sprinkled with example after example of companies that have applied these principles with amazing results. Great food for thought for all leaders who care about their people.

[elisa dovio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice and useful books for managers and anyone interested in managing people and create an environment based on trust and happiness.

The book is organized around the 10 pinciples in the Happy Manifesto in Stewart's company.
For each principle there is :
- an explanation of because it is important
- an example of application
- some questions for the managers to understand the current situation in their company

the 10 principles are:
1. trust your people
2. make people feel ggod
3. give people freedom with guidelines
4. be open and transparent
5. recruit for attitude, train for skills
6. celebrate mistakes
7. community: create mutual benefit
8. love work, but get a life
9. select managers who are good at people
10. play to your strenghts

[Rachel Brower · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better management books I've ever read. It makes you think about your relationship with your management, along with your relationship with those you manage. If my team could choose their own manager, would they choose me? If we could choose our manager above me, would we choose the person currently in place?

There are definitely a few things I'll be taking with me from this book, and implementing within my own management style. I'm glad to have read this book and would recommend it to others.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone in a workplace should be aware of the concepts discussed in this book, and anyone considering taking on a management role should read it carefully cover to cover. If only all companies trusted their staff to do a great job as default. Fab read!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book abandoned on a brick wall so I gave it a read. I don't have any experience in business or managing, but really enjoyed this book. Simple concepts but massively positive consequences. I wish this was the norm for work places!

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A guide to creating a happier and more productive workplace.

I thought there were quite a few good points in this book, bit it did feel dated.

Reading time around ninety minutes.

[E-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

사람 중심 경영을 실현하는데 유용한 팁과 경험을 공유한다.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the theory and positive examples within. A lot of it makes a lot of sense and seems obvious when you think about it. Very keen to do more pre-approval going forward.

[Daniel Lambauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is basically a compilation of modern management techniques, but put together in a radical and provocative way. it definitely made me think - in particular the view that for recruitment what counts is giving people trial periods rather than relying on interviews; and letting staff vote for their manager...

[Leanne Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

well gosh this is just great. not just for managers and business owners - anyone who works or wants to create something meaningful with other people anywhere can learn something from this book.