Helping
Happy Along:
AN EXECUTIVE’S VIEW
When Todd Patkin joined his father’s business, Autopart Inter- national, he asked himself, “How ould I want to be treated?” His answers shaped his management phi- losophy and helped grow the Massachusetts-
based company. Patkin was president in 2005 when
Advance Auto Parts bought the 1,100-employee family
business for $100 million. He left the executive suite to
lecture on happiness and write a book called Finding
Happiness. Here’s how he tried to keep his employees
engaged, motivated—and happy:
Connect: An unabashed fan of hugs, Patkin at first
got the cold shoulder from salespeople who shunned
his touchy-feely approach. But eventually they wel-
comed those thumps on the back. “Everyone wants to
be loved,” Patkin says.
Appreciate: People are more receptive to praise than
criticism, but finding fault is easier than showcasing mer-
its. Patkin sent handwritten notes to stellar salespeople,
gave them bonuses and featured them in the company
newsletter. He left messages on their home phones, tell-
ing their families how valuable their hardworking spouse
and parent was to the company’s success.
Respect: Patkin didn’t say “He works for me” when
describing an employee. He preferred: “I work with him.”
And before making big decisions, he solicited feedback
and advice from his managers.
Let Go: Despite Patkin’s reservations about switching
to a different brand of brake pad, he OK’d an employ-
ee’s enthusiastic request to make the change. The pads
didn’t make the grade, and they couldn’t be returned.
Patkin could have exploded. Instead, he asked the
employee: “What did you learn from the experience?”
Make It Personal: Patkin never turned down an invi-
tation to an employee’s wedding or bar mitzvah. What
happens outside the office is far more important to work-
ers than what happens on the job. “It’s total B.S. that
business isn’t personal,” he says. “It’s all personal.”
What Makes You Happy?
Visit authentichappiness.org, the website of positive psychology
founder Martin Seligman, to take surveys and questionnaires that
measure your level of gratitude, strength of character and persever-
ance. You can also participate in positive psychology studies.
Mazur, who holds an MBA and spent
20 years in the corporate world, asks
questions that help clients pinpoint their
definition of well-being: What makes
you come alive? What’s fulfilling about
your job? Why are you doing what you’re
doing? What is a vision of your workday
that you’d be excited about? Most people
already have the answers, she says. They
just need a neutral, receptive person to
ask the right questions.
Mazur has coached entrepreneurs
who have realized they’re happier work-
ing for someone else. She’s advised
corporate refugees who discover they
thrive as entrepreneurs. And she’s
counseled workers who have left their
field for something else, only to return.
“There is no one answer for everyone,”
she says, “and sometimes, just making a
t weak in your own job can enable you to
be happy.”
She may suggest that her clients take
seminars or classes to broaden their
skills. She might recommend informa-
tional interviews with people in a field
that looks appealing. Adding pro bono
work can satisfy a need for meaningful
work. And a chat with a manager about
shifting unwanted duties to someone
else can revive flagging enthusiasm.
Rejiggering responsibilities is a
fundamental way to boost happiness,
Lyubomirsky says. Humans are wired
to become bored with even the most
rewarding tasks or relationships, a
phenomenon known as hedonic adap-
tation. Quitting your job or breaking up
is a common response. It’s a poor solu-
tion, though, because tedium will even-
tually set in again. Instead, “appreciate
what’s great” about your job or your
partner, Lyubomirksy says. “Try to
instill novelty, adventure and challenge
in any way you can.”
That’s the approach scientist Mark
Kaplan takes. He savors the intellectual
thrill of helping to create lifesaving
medications. His current project, a
drug to treat cardiovascular disease,
won’t be available to patients for at
least a decade. Kaplan admits with
a laugh that immediate gratification
isn’t essential to his job happiness.
Instead, the senior principal scien-
tist for Pfizer Inc. says he is enthused
