Trying to Find the Happiness Equation for Others

“= Happiness” is my mission.

Last month, I called a quick meeting at our agency with our emerging team—the up-and-comers of the agency. My agenda was simple: Try to gain a glimpse into their minds to try to define what “X” and “Y” was in the equation of “= Happiness.”

“= Happiness” was the mission. What did they need to continue to be happy at my company and how could I help provide this to them?

The reality, I told them, is that they will have to work until they don’t. Meaning, they will work until they either have the financial wealth to not have to or decide with a future partner that they don’t have to work. We are all going to have to work for a while, so you might as well love it.

Understanding that they would need to continue working, now came my positioning. We have the fancy office; share amenities with the biggest agency in the world; have increased our average salary by 45 percent each of the last three years; and are constantly adding more and more talent to hopefully (fingers crossed) positively impact the stress levels. What else can we do to make this company better and be a part of the equation for “= Happiness?”

What I learned in this short meeting was that each person has a different take on happiness. I could see this on their faces and hear it in their voices. Many reflected on leadership and the tasks they were responsible for. A common theme for “= Happiness” was team collaboration. Great, I can give them those things.

I told them that in the ideal scenario, no one ever leaves No Limit (I know, unrealistic, but one can hope), as long as I can give them the “X + Y = Happiness.”

As a CEO, happiness is critical to our success. I will continue to look at the numbers and KPIs, but if we can come to an understanding and agreement on what should be expected, then, it’s up to me to equip my leadership team with the tools to deliver “= Happiness.”

I feel that if you start with “= Happiness," process can start to take care of itself. We will see if this is true in 2016.