The UN’s International Day of Happiness is a coordinated effort in 160 countries to shift attitudes around the world. Creating a happier world is certainly important. In my experience, leaders who are the most effective happiness drivers make every day happiness day.
On a recent trip to Dubai as a visiting author, I was invited to tour universities to learn how the United Arab Emirates is educating a new generation of students to lead in a “post-oil” world. I also spoke with members of Dubai’s ruling family. In one meeting I was introduced to the State Minister of Happiness. That’s right. The UAE is one of the few (perhaps the only) country in the world with a government appointed position to promote happiness.
Suddenly it all made sense. A happiness bug seemed to have been spreading across the Emirates. On the week of my trip, a “happiness festival” was being held with parades and family activities. Construction was taking place on Dubai South, the first planned city in the world centered around “happiness and purpose.” Finally, I had been handed a new book by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai. It’s title: Reflections on Happiness & Positivity. Dubai takes its happiness seriously.
Happiness is the government’s top priority.
“Happiness is the main focus of government,” Mohammed bin Rashid explains in his book. “Happy people produce more, live longer and are better drivers of economic development. Happiness it not a cost, but a wealth for the people.”
In February 2016, Ohood Al Roumi was given a cabinet appointment as the Minister of State for Happiness. She says a government cannot force its citizen to choose happiness, but it can “empower” people to choose happiness. “If your kids are well educated, you have good hospitals to go to if you’re sick, you can get government services easily with respect and dignity, you have a job to go to every morning, you have security—these give you hope and make you positive about future.”
Happiness might even be a defense against extremist ideologies, breaking the cycle of violence and tension. According to Mohammed bin Rashid, “The weapon to fight terrorism cannot be found in armies, materials, tanks or planes, but in hope. We have 200 million Arabs who have two choices: to lose hope in a better future, falling prey to the extremist mindset…or to have real hope in the future and positive energy to build better nations.”
On March 20, designated as the United Nations International Day of Happiness, social media will be full of tips to achieve happiness. Books on the subject will be promoted and countless blog articles will be written. In my career as a student of inspirational leadership, I’ve found that those countries with the happiest citizens or corporate leaders with the most engaged employees celebrate happiness each and every day. If happiness is priority number one, everything else—including profits—fall into place.
Zappos sells shoes, but it delivers happiness.
A lot of ink has been dedicated to Zappos as a positive work culture. The online shoe and clothing company is often held up as a gold standard for employee engagement and happiness. People tend to forget that Zappos started with a simple vision—to make people happy.
Zappos started in a San Francisco apartment before moving its headquarters to Nevada. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh once told me he didn’t care about shoes as much as he cared about building a culture where he and his employees would be happy to come to work. “If you just think about what makes your customers and employees happy, it ends up being good for business.”
What does a “happy” e-commerce company look like? Free shipping and free returns policies, employees who are empowered to make customers happy, employees who have permission—and are encouraged—to be themselves. Zappos sell shoes, but it delivers happiness, and that’s why it’s successful.
Numerous studies have been done on happiness and mood contagion. One of the largest studies of Facebook users examined the emotional content of one billion posts over two years. “Our study suggests that people are not just choosing other people like themselves to associate with but actually causing their friends’ emotional expressions to change,” the study concluded. Simply put, when you’re around happy, positive people, you tend to be happier and more positive.
Inspiring leaders don’t believe in limits. They see challenges as opportunities. They draw a positive vision of the future because they are—at their core—optimistic, happy and positive. Best of all, their happiness rubs off.