Why Marketing Growth Is No “Happy Accident”
Modern research into a 40-year study (started back to 1971) concludes that “happiness is contageous” (the full story is in Yahoo News).
The same U.K. research team that recently reported how obesity and smoking spreads in networks, now also concludes that the more happy people you know, the more likely you yourself will be happy.
Duh … right?
But please continue reading because I think you’ll discover that finding and focusing on the happy people on your marketing team will create more growth for your business in 2009.
Marci Shimoff reported a similar conclusion during our 65-minute Virtual Book Tour for her runaway best-selling book, Happy For No Reason
(If you want free instant access to that VBT, just type-in ”Happy For No Reason” in the Search this site box on the upper right side of this blog … and then click “Go”).
The contagiousness of happiness is relevant to Entrepreneurial CEOs because attitude (of each of your marketing Team members) has more impact on your business growth, than the implementation of skills.
“Hire for attitude. Teach for skill,” says Howard Putnam. He is the former CEO of Southwest Airlines (the world’s most profitable airline) and probably agrees with Jim Collins’ famous business growth dictum: “First WHO, then HOW.”
The WHOs – not the WHATs, HOWs or WHYs – are your best business growth accelerators.
Support those WHOs in your organization and you may find yourself experiencing geometric growth during the next 3 years or less!
What To Do Now: Identify and make a list – even if you’re the only one on that list - WHO the happy people are in your business network.
It pays to spend more time with them, more often because doing so automatically amplifies their impact on your other strategic alliance partners, vendors, affiliates and marketing growth.
One of the things I’m certain of is that the happy people on your Team represent the most cost-effective, marketing leverage you can instantly tap into to maximize your business growth … even if you’re starting from scratch!
Whenever you focus more of your time and energy on your happy people, you get two additional benefit:
(1) You automatically become a happier person during your work hours which leads to a happier life at home, and
(2) The new happy contagion in your company boosts the morale and the producitivty of your other Team members
I could go on and on why it’s so critically important to find and focus on the happy people in your business network, but what I want you to do right now is make a list and identify WHO they are.
Again, it’s OK if you list is a short one, or if YOU are the only one on it.
Just do it!
When you’re done please remember to type-in your candid feedback in Reply Box below because I want to read what you have to say.
Tags: alex mandossian, business growth, change, google news, happiness, happy for no reason, Marci Shimoff, southwest airlines, yahoo news
Alex
Great blog post. Positive people bring a completely different dynamic to the business and are in my experience a great source of motivation, great role models and people you will go that extra mile for.
Duncan Brodie
Goals and Achievements
http://goalsandachievements.com/
Alex,
I can’t agree with you more!
In Real Estate these days most of the people are contagiously gloomy. You walk into any office and likely by the coffee corner or the water cooler you will find 2 or more realtors talking about how bad things are out there, how bad their seller is, how crazy the buyer is. Before long a few other agents are joining in. It is contagious!
I keep telling them GET OUT OF THE OFFICE and find some happy clients they are there.
HAPPYpeople have HAPPY friends to refer.
Thanks for reminding us to CHOOSE to be HAPPY
Racheli
http://www.loans-4-u.com
http://www.YourMortgageCafe.com
Hi Alex!
It all boils down to the saying,
“TELL ME AND I WILL FORGET. SHOW ME AND I MAY REMEMBER. INVOLVE ME AND I WILL UNDERSTAND.”
It’s my life and I’m loving it. Joy, happiness, internal and external, it’s real and alive. Thanks for sending, but more than that, thank you for ALL you are sharing.
Thanks again Alex for such a “happy ” blog post this AM! As I plan for 2009, what a great idea to add the core task of attracting and choosing “happy” people to our team. Simple but not always as obvious when you’re in the middle of it all. THANK YOU SO MUCH for y our brilliance!
Smiling is so incredibly powerful. There was a study done involving newspapers and a pencil. Those who read teh paper with the pencil held so they were smiling remembered teh positive news. This also influences the body chemistry in a positive way.
Thanks for sharing a smile!
Ronda Del Boccio,
The Story Lady
Hey Alex,
You are ringing my inner bell this morning! It is just plain fun to hang out with happy people!
I went through a bit of a health challenge last year and my strategy was to watch comedies. Liar, Liar and The Birdcage were two of my favorites!
I laughed and giggled myself right back to wellness!
I also realized that one minute of happiness in every five minutes was way more fun than just hoping….”When ______________happens, THEN I will be happy!
How critical it is that we all take care of our OWN happiness barometer. No one knows what makes me happy but me and I owe it to myself to find it within me before I start expecting others to make it happen for me!
I have only happy people in my organization and I love that!!
Thanks for everything! I LOVE module 1 and look forward to learning more!
Cheers!
Catherine
Great story, true, simple. The story exposes the really dumb-kind of simplicity that nobody practices at a great loss.
Alex, Your humanity makes you a brilliant marketer…
Thank you.
You become what you think about and you also become like the people you hang around. Like attracts like.
Choose your associations and surroundings consciously and intentionally.
Everything affects Everything.
Live Your Dreams,
Jill Koenig
Internet is for the fastest tool giving information and getting them, against of it transactions can be slipped easy. Actually my problem is that I have too much emails and I would need a constant help to arrenge things, I rarely delete and that is why my computer can be slower because it has not enough high capacity. So technical problems and unorganised methods can make obstackles, though I hope the bests and sending my best greetings for you. Thank you.
This article gave me much food for thought. I remembered the great managers and the abusive/bully managers I have worked for. The great ones are a joy to work for because they put the employee first–they were invested in ensuring their employees succeeded on the job. Employee success always engendered desire to go beyond 100% of what what required. The same goes for team/dept. members. I remember one passive-aggressive in a dept. I dreaded coming to work because I never knew what she would hit me with at any moment in the work day. She made it painful to be at work. She pulled down everyone. So yes, surrounding yourself with happy, positive people is the best environment to be productive and grow.
This is great, powerful stuff!!
Speechless really. What other Marketers write about this on their blog?
I met Marci not too long ago at a Raymond Aaron event and her presentation was profound. This VBT that you refer to Alex is well worth the 65 minutes.
It brought a whole new perspective to my life that I am very grateful for.
Thanks again Alex “The Man”dossian!
ITS A REAL PLEASURE TO DEAL AND BE IN COMPANY WITH HAPPY PEOPLE.
IT WOULD BE A REAL PLEASURE TO HAVE MORE HAPPY,POSITIVE PEOPLE
AROUND IN OUR SOCIETY.
CHEERS HERBERT
Positive, happy people are a force of nature! Choose to be around them and watch what happens!
Thanks as always Alex for reminding us of such a simple thing that we too often forget. You aren’t called ‘The Master Trainer’ for no reason.
Cathy
Great SignPost!
So often we do not manage our energy well and don’t even realize how other people’s energy patterns sap us or feed us.
Not only is it useful to surround ourselves with happy people but we can learn how to be ’self fulfilled’ or at a minimum, have abundant energy.
I enjoy your posts. Keep them up!
Your Ideal Day
Stress Management For Exceptional People
Hi,
It is a pleasure to be in the company of a truly happy person. Pollyanna types, on the other hand, can be irksome.
However, there is also a chicken or the egg aspect. People with a positive attitude are drawn to the company of other happy people.
Where as angry, depressed or hopeless individuals are frequently uncomfortable in their presence. So they tend to avoid the happy folks.
But a basically positive person that is just in a down mood, will most likely benefit from the company of happy people.
It is important to remember that not all unhappy people have made negativity a conscious choice. And to change from a sense of hopelessness to genuine joy, is rarely as simple as waking up and making the decision to be happy.
One can make the choice to wake up and act happy, day after day. But that alone won’t resolve the hopelessness inside. It just makes one more acceptable.
That said, there are people who are seem to delight in pointing out the negative, who like to find fault and imperfections, make problems a crisis and then criticize the actions of the people who try to resolve them.
They are definitely a downer to be around for anyone. A positive attitude is crucial for growth in business, in relationships or in ourselves.
And out attitude is the one thing that we can control.
Lauren
Thanks for sharing the info about
the research,
I do believe that you definitely can
create great dynamic and a ‘positive
energy’ that can be contageous in
a good way.
But aren’t you affraid that such
an approach can also create a culture
of so called ‘Managers’ that don’t know
anything about ‘Where the Rubber
meets the Road’, a culture of ‘Blind Managers?’
Because that way there might be ‘less
demand’ for ‘Bringers of Bad News’ and
everybody becomes afraid to get to be
associated with ‘Bad News’. Possibly
creating an unhealthy ‘Hyper Reality’
cut of from reality.
Maybe I am talking to the wrong people,
but when I hear (all kinds of) people talking
about the companies they work at it seems
that a lot of companies nowadays seem to
be lead by ‘Blind Managers’, and you are
right they seem to be contageous and
seem to multiply like rabbits.
Governments seem to ‘reward’ them!
Since a lot of companies or institutions
seem to be driven by ‘Leaner and Meaner’,
Might their not be a ‘Hidden Agenda’ just to
use this approach to choke ‘Freedom of Speech’
in a somewhat manipulative sneaky
‘Fear Based’ way?
Or am I just being negative? or ‘Unreasonable’
And how about how all progress only can
come from ‘Unreasonable People?’
Conclusion: I believe that there has to be
a ballance. Life isn’t only positive just as it isn’t only negative.
You have a choice to approach a situation in a positive way. But I don’t think it’s good to denie difficult situations. I do think that we have feelings and emotions for a purpose.
We are human beings and not robots.
All the Best,
To your Happy Inspiration,
HP
Highly happy people all share happy habits.
As happiness is a choice and it’s free and the best things in life are free.
Alex created a great video called Happy Life Suggestions that we watch regularly;
http://www.happylifesuggestions.com
Thanks for the reminder,
– Pat & Lorna Shanks
http://www.PatAndLorna.com
Alex,
You couldn’t be more right. Things are so much more productive and profitable when I am working with happy team members (and that goes for employees too).
I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about 2009 on this years Prediction call.
( http://www.predictioncall.com )
I have worked with too many owners who wonder why they have such terrible staff turnover. I have had them check their attitude.
Great employees don’t, and won’t, work for grouch employers. If you are wondering why your company has a revolving door of people, check the attitude that is coming out of your “door” first.
Thanks for your holiday reminder that happiness is contagious, Alex
Spiritual leaders say happiness is our natural state. We like to be around kindhearted, enthusiastic, optimistic, happy people because they bring out the best in us.
These happy qualities inspired the title of my novel, Tribe Of Blondes. Let us all feel blonde and happy during this season of good cheer!
Thanks again for the timely reminder.
Hadley
http://www.tribeofblondes.com
I feel that I’m a happy person and I love being around other happy people. There is no bigger downer than being around people who are complaining and finding fault with most things.
I’m certain that my own happiness will be contagious for 2009 and will contribute to my success. Other moms will be attracted to my happiness, wnat some of it and this will grow my business. I’m about to hire a new VA and will make certain that that person is happy! :-)
Thank you again Alex for more great thoughts
Julie Van De Wyngaerde
http://www.SelfCenteredMoms.com
Thank you for sharing your happiness Alex!
Happy, Happy, Happy!
Happiness is critical to the success of any relationship from romantic love to business partnerships.
The Key to Happiness is about K_ _ _ _ _ _ _ to S_ _ _ _ and O _ _ _ _ _.
Hi Alex,
Here in Detroit, Back in the day, Neighborhood Moms used to hunt for chicken pox in a family and gather up all us kids, so we could “Go Viral” and build our own Immunities quickly. It must have driven some Infectious disease sub-specialists absolutely crazy!
Now, we Hunt and Gather together Teams of “Happy People” because we, The Network Marketing Industry, have learned that they also “Go Viral” in the presence of our guests.
Happy people have habits we love. They smile from the Inside out. Happy People are JOY Spreaders. That’s why being in their presence is like being Inoculated against the “doom & gloom” of that devil in the Media. Happy People are Immune against the dreaded homemade bomb: warm market Rejection! Happy People are the most incredible asset on a Network Team because they spread JOY all over the new business partners who have not had their skin thickened yet or learned where their Power Points are: The Product Line or Service. We agree 100% with you, Alex. Having Happy People in your group is the quickest, most long acting, most stabilizing, most cost effective (in Time and Money) way to maximize group growth and profits.
And isn’t the Pursuit of Happiness in the form of Profits via best business models the reason we’re here chatting? Oh, yeah..preachin’ to the choir now…
Isn’t it better to climb the mountain with Happy People in tow, on ropes with knots tied in’em Happily by you. Happy People will be grateful for the Help for that Long Climb. Just Like how you felt when Happy People up the mountain built you some chain link steps hammered and nailed into the Bedrock. Oh, and when you get near that Mountain top and you see that crowd of Happy People happily pouring Concrete over re-bar for that Stairway to the Tip, Tip TOP! Why? Because you’ve already been trained on the concept: “ When you Help Happy People get what They Want, Happily, YOU get what YOU want!”
Peace & Blessings to you Alex Mandossian, Much love to the Family,
Your Travel Buddy, Greg Snead of http://www.SneadsTravel.com and http://www.FreedomYourWay.net
Alex, I want to thank you for the awesome info you are sharing in the teleseminar Secrets training- right now! Talk about “happy marketing”- you are great to copy! First thing I did after “falling in love” with your opt-in box was copy it- OK, not exactly but I had a flash created. It is soooo worth it to spend a little on your website and what could be more important than your opt-in box? Thanks for the great example, Alex. When you make your opt-in bonus look scrumptdelicious who can resist?
Alex-
Right on. How we choose to approach life and our businesses is so influenced by our thoughts and attitudes. Having a happy, and, for me grounded, team creates the space for creativity, camaraderie and productivity.
There’s also a phenomenon called limbic resonance, whereby our brains literally begin to “relate” neurochemically to those closest to us. So, hanging out with and/or creating a team that exudes happiness can literally shape one’s neurochemistry.
Happiness is a gift of the heart. Let’s spread the wealth of the heart!
Thanks for being who you are.
http://www.coaching4value.com
Hi Alex
What a great article on happiness.
I’ve found that the happiest people are the most grateful. A sure fire way for me to be happy is
to keep a daily journal of 10 things I’m grateful for every day!
I am a true believer of hapiness as being a profound state of being. It brings out the ingenius in all human beings. Furthermore, life is to short to walk around with a chip on your shoulder. I am always happy through concerns and challenges. There’s no other way to create inroads without hapiness.
Dear Noble Alex,
May YOUR each day shine as the brightest Holyday lights* Your wisdom pricless* create the PEACE
on all continents*
I amdire all YOUR teleclasses specilay with the
drCanfield,Muhamed Yunus,Bill Bartmann*
with MY work endless to blessed all children*
GLORY to GOD and blessings infinily*
for ONLY PEACE & LOVE GLOBALY*
Go for 3. I’ll read most and reply frequently. I’ve always appreciated your work and your focus. Love that uninhibited little actress at your house. Reminds me of my Lisa at that age–coauthor of three of my novels and two of my six children’s picture books–but had a stroke at age 46 and now has short-term memory challenges. Keep loving those experiences with the kids–you’re good at it–that’s another strength to enhance!
–GrandpaDale
Wow, I can hardly believe all that I just read I love it, this morning I wrote my first blog at 77 I did not think I would do it, but I did and it was all about smiling and seeing the silver lining behind the clouds. Now my next step is to find out what to do with it. I am happy and love being with happy people. So I know I will go to the next step, because I appreciate what the rest of you have to say. This internet blogging etc is al so new to me, but I am going to learn more.
Irene Burwash
I agree 100%. I’ve often been asked in the workplace why I always seem happy. Simple, being happy makes the time go faster and is much more fun than being unhappy. Now that I have my own business, it is even more important to feel happy. Who would want to buy products from someone who is obviously unhappy and grumpy?
Monique
A Happy Handmade Soapmaker!