Kjerulf - Happy hour is 9 to 5: how to love your job, love your life, and kick butt at work

Happy Hour is 9 to 5

How to Love your Job, Love your Life, and Kick Butt at Work

Alexander Kjerulf

Alexander Kjerulf & Pine Tribe 2013

Illustrations: Palle Scmidt

Cover design: Klahr | Graphic Design

Editors: Julia Hilliard and Kalimaya Krabbe

1. edition 2014

ISBN: 978-0-9912609-0-4

www.pinetribe.com/alexander

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Alexander Kjerulf

How to Love your Job, Love your Life and Kick Butt at Work

Pine Tribe

www.pinetribe.com/alexander

This book will be at my desk, completely highlighted, soI can remember to create the happy workplace we allneed.

- Phil Gerbyshak, author of Make it Great

Only you are responsible for your happiness, so its up toyou to read Alexander Kjerulfs Happy Hour is 9 to 5 and find outwhat steps you can take to make yourself, your colleagues, and yourstaff happier at work. The books knowledge, tips, and real-lifecase studies will equip and inspire you to change your working lifefor the better.

- Angela Beesley, co-founder of Wikia

This book is an excellent addition to a management library.The concepts and suggestions are persuasive and logical, and shouldbe taken to heart by anyone looking to make their workplace abetter place to work.

- Mary Beth Sancomb-Moran, Impromptu Librarian

By far one of the most refreshing books on work culture thatIve ever seen.

- Sheldon Cooke, customer service professional,California

I did not feel like putting it down and wanted to read itone shot.

- Nirmala Palaniappan, Knowledge Management Consultant,India

To my mother Alexandra
with my love.

During the writing of this book, I was very gratefulfor:

My wonderful wife Patricia, for making me happy everysingle day!

My playmates in Copenhagen and all over the world for theirenthusiasm, support and generosity: Arlette Bentzen, Steve Shapiro,Traci Fenton, Roosevelt Finlayson, Rowan Manahan, Thomas Mygdal,Carsten Ohm, Will McInnes, Tom Nixon, Max St. John, Kareem Mayan,Bernie deKoven, Mike Wagner, and more people than I canmention here. I am proud and happy to belong to a global tribe ofsuch cool, committed individuals.

My ex-colleagues at Enterprise Systems, for their commitmentto creating a great company together, their willingness to explorenew paths to do so and the enthusiasm that came out of it. Oh, andthe foosball games of course.

This book was written entirely in various cafs inCopenhagen, especially Laundromat Caf, and Bodega. Thanks for thecaffeine and the Wi-Fi :o)

And finally, the readers of my blog. Without you guys, thisbook probably wouldnt exist, and it certainly wouldnt be half asgood. Your generosity, feedback, ideas and stories are anever-ending source of energy and inspiration. Thankyou!

By Lars Kolind

When I first saw Alexanders title on his businesscardChief Happiness OfficerI must confess I didnt take itseriously. Whatever next?!

But later I realised that Alexander has a point: happyemployees, managers, customers and suppliers make the best team.They get more work done, they come up with more new ideas, and theycreate more value.

Happiness can be part of a companys competitive edge. Itshapes corporate culture, helps attract the most talented people,and it makes them stay longer.

I have spent quite a few years researching andexperimenting in order to find a new formula for running a businessin the 21st century. My goal is to find a substitute foryesterdays rigid, hierarchical, financially-driven business andorganisational models. I arrived at four key elements:

1. A meaning that comes before profit.
2. A partnership between the company and itsemployees.
3. A collaborative organisation.
4. Value-based leadership.

Reading this book, it struck me that happiness across theboard promotes all four of these elements. Companies are seldomhappy if they are only about money. It is much more fun to work fora worthy cause.

If companies and employees are opposites or enemiesinstead of partners, nobody will be happy. If there are barriersbetween employees that prevent collaboration, energy will be wastedon internal friction rather than spent on customer satisfaction. Anopen and collaborative organisation has fun.

It is that simple.

Therefore I dare say that happiness is not a joke inmanagement. It is damn serious: happy companies will win. Happycompanies will grow and happy companies will innovate.

The company of the future is happy.

Lars Kolind

Lars Kolind is the internationally renowned CEO responsiblefor the dramatic turnaround of troubled hearing aid manufacturerOticon. Lars led Oticon from near collapse to world leadershipduring his ten years as CEO from 1988 to 1998. The story of histurnaround which included introducing the spaghetti organisation,mobile workplaces and the paperless office is required reading atmost business schools.

Lars is the author of The Second Cycle Winning the War AgainstBureaucracy.

Happy at work.

Happy? At work?

Happy at work?

I want you to imagine waking up early on a Monday morning.Picture yourself as you turn off the alarm clock, and lie in bedfor a moment before getting up. Your bed is comfortable and warmand you really want to enjoy that feeling just a little bit longer,but just thinking about the working week ahead of you is making yousmile and get ready to jump out of bed.

You just know its going to be a wonderful week. You will get todo great work you can be proud of. You will get to make adifference, as you did last week and every week before that.