The Science of Happiness | Dr. Acacia Parks, Chief Science Officer at Happify

It’s one thing to survive a life-threatening illness, it’s another to thrive thereafter. Tom Nash had both his legs and arms amputated at the age of 19, the result of contracting the deadly Meningococcal Septicemia. Not that he let that stop him from achieving his goals for life. Today, he is a successful Australian DJ, a business entrepreneur, and an in demand speaker who has engaged audiences worldwide including nearly 3 million people who have viewed his TEDx Talk: The Perks of Being a Pirate. In this episode, Tom shares his story of perseverance and how he learned to manufacture his own state of wellbeing and happiness as he relearned how to walk, play music, and pursue his dreams. Tom tells us why breaking his rehabilitation into steps and celebrating those small wins along the way was key to maintaining a sense of progress and control. He also shares humorous stories about differences between how young boys, girls, and adults interact with him in public.  Ultimately, Tom doesn't wish to be pitied or solely provide fleeting inspiration, but rather strategies others can use to enhance their own wellbeing.  For more information about Tom Nash, go to tomnash.com or check out his Life Under the Lens video education series. 

On this episode we talk to David Nour, one of the world's leading experts on strategic business relationships. David introduces us to the concept of "Curve Benders" which are business relationships that dramatically influence our growth and development from a linear path to an accelerated "J" curve.David discusses a 7 step process on how to meet your own "curve benders" as well as how to cultivate those relationships. We discuss the future of work and how adaptability and strategic business relationships are key to maintaining relevancy. David also helps us identify ways to quantify our current relationships in order measure how beneficial they are in taking our next best step as well as how to politely decline invitations to collaborate or meet. Born in Iran, David Nour immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager with $100, limited family ties and no fluency in English. He found that in Iran, as well as in other parts of the world, it's customary to build relationships before doing business, but in the U.S., the opposite is true. This led him to become fascinated with building strategic business relationships, and became the foundation of his first book. Nour is internationally recognized as the leading expert on strategic business relationships. The author of ten books, including best-sellers CO-CREATE (St. Martin’s Press) and Relationship Economics® (Wiley), as well as his newest book, Curve Benders (Wiley, April 27, 2021), Nour serves as a trusted advisor to global clients and coaches corporate leaders and rising entrepreneurs. He is an adjunct professor at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, was named to the Thinkers50 Radar Class 2021, and Global Gurus Top 30 Leadership Professionals lists.To connect with David Nour, check out his Nour Forum!

In this episode we talk with Peter Bregman and Howie Jacobson, Ph.D. about their new book "You Can Change Other People: The Four Steps to Help Your Colleagues, Employees - Even Family - Up their Game".  Peter and Howie discuss how to disarm others' defensiveness and increase their confidence to act, how to shift people from complaining to problem solving, and what to do when there are slip ups in the change process.Peter and Howie take us through their four steps to helping others change: Shifting from Critic to AllyIdentifying an Energizing OutcomeFinding the Hidden OpportunitiesCreating a PlanWe also discussed how to help people move on from feelings of shame or being demoralized by their inability to change.Peter Bregman is the CEO of Bregman Partners. He coaches, writes, teaches, and speaks, mostly about leadership and about life. His sweet spot is as a strategic thought partner to successful people who care about being exceptional leaders and stellar human beings. Peter is recognized as the #1 executive coach in the world by Leading Global Coaches. He coaches C-level executives in many of the world’s premier organizations, including Citi, CBS, Mars, Showtime, AMC Networks, Allianz, Electronic Arts, Pearson, and Twilio, to name a few. He is also a ski coach on the weekends in the winter (but not the #1 ski coach in the world). Peter is the bestselling author of five books including Leading with Emotional Courage and 18 Minutes. His work appears frequently in Harvard Business Review, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Psychology Today, Forbes, CNN, and NPR. Peter created and leads the #1 leadership development program in the world, the Bregman Leadership Intensive, and trains leaders and managers on the Four Steps through the Bregman Leadership Coach Training program. Peter is the host of the Bregman Leadership Podcast, with over 1.5 million downloads. He has given four TEDx talks and regularly delivers keynotes for associations like SHRM and companies, including Coca-Cola, the Discovery Network, L’Oréal, Deloitte, and Fidelity, among others. Peter earned his M.B.A. from Columbia University and his B.A. from Princeton University. Peter lives in New York City with his wife, three kids, and new puppy, Maeve (his first dog ever). He reads, runs, skis, bikes, hikes, and tries to follow his own advice. More information can be found here: www.bregmanpartners.com. Howie Jacobson, PhD, is an executive coach to clients ranging from startup founders to established and rising Fortune 100 leaders. He is Director of Coaching at Bregman Partners, and Head Coach at the Healthy Minds Initiative. Howie is the author of AdWords For Dummies; co-author of Sick to Fit and Use the Weight to Lose the Weight, with Josh LaJaunie; contributing author to Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition and The Low Carb Fraud, both by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.; and Proteinaholic by Garth Davis, M.D. Howie’s writings have also appeared in Fast Company and Harvard Business Review. He hosts the Plant Yourself Podcast, where he interviews remarkable people engaged in healing at the individual, institutional, and planetary level. Howie earned his M.P.H. and Ph.D. in Health Studies from Temple University and his B.A. from Princeton University. He lives in rural North Carolina with his wife, where he writes, gardens, plays Ultimate Frisbee, runs, fiddles, and loads the dishwasher correctly.

In this episode,  we  talk to Juliet Funt, author of the new  book "A Minute to Think: Reclaim Creativity, Conquer Business, and Do  Your Best Work." After learning about Juliet's hilarious obsession with befriending a neighborhood cow, we get right into the good stuff! Juliet talks about what "whitespace" is in our day and  how it differs from  mindfulness, meditation, or zoning out. She also shares tips on learning how to train ourselves to use whitespace effectively to enhance creativity and performance. Juliet also describes 4 thieves of our time which are  actually assets run amuck:  drive, excellence, information, activity. These assets when in overdrive  can  lead to burnout and  a major lack of productivity so she shares strategic questions we can ask ourselves to redirect our efforts depending on the thief of time in order to get to the crux of the work day.Juliet Funt is the author of A Minute to Think, nominated for the Next Big Idea Club curated by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Dan Pink. She is an evangelist for freeing the potential of companies by unburdening their talent from busywork, and she has brought her powerful concepts to Spotify, National Geographic, Anthem, Vans, Abbott, Costco, Pepsi, Nike, Wells Fargo, Sephora, Sysco, and ESPN.Also, don't forget about our new book "Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact" by Jenn Lim

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 89% of people said their work life was getting worse and only 2% rated their own well-being as “excellent”. In this episode Jennifer Moss takes us through her new book "The Burnout Epidemic" and shares what leaders can do to remedy chronic stress and burnout Spoiler alert: it’s the responsibility of the organization, not just the individual! Jennifer explains the six root causes of burnout and what employers can do to address them. She also emphasizes that while self-care (like yoga, meditation, etc) are important to help individuals optimize performance, those things are not the solution to burnout. Moss tells us why burnout isn't a problem that should be left for the individual to solve, but rather most of the causes and solutions are the responsibility of organizations.  Interested in  reading "The Burnout Epidemic?" Order here! Jennifer Moss is an award-winning journalist, author, and international public speaker. She is a nationally syndicated radio columnist, reporting on topics related to happiness and workplace well-being. She is also a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in HuffPost, Forbes, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), Fortune, and Harvard Business Review. Her book, Unlocking Happiness at Work, received the distinguished UK Business Book of the Year Award. Moss also sits on the Global Happiness Council. To acknowledge her contributions to business and public service, Moss was named a Canadian Innovator of the Year, an International Female Entrepreneur of the Year, and recipient of the Public Service Award from the Office of President Obama.Also, don't forget about our new book "Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact" by Jenn Lim

It's fitting that Shep Hyken came back to our podcast since the name of his new book is "I'll Be Back. How to Get Customers to Return Again and Again." In this episode, Shep talks about the relationship between a good customer experience and a good employee experience and cites the golden rule as "Do unto employees as you would want them to do unto customers." Shep also gives reasons why he believes we should be measuring behaviors above happiness and examples of ways in which managers were able to fit employee customer services training into small windows of time. We also discuss how both nothing and a lot of things have changed in the area of customer service and how companies can provide the best service by training customers to navigate the experience themselves while being there to solve problems if they exist.  Shep also gives his reasons why you would want to terminate a customer if the relationship is not working out. Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert and the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession. Shep works with companies and organizations who want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees.

In this episode, DH co-founder and CEO Jenn Lim joins us to discuss her new book "Beyond Happiness".  Jenn shares insights from the new book which picks up where Delivering Happiness left off and provides examples and models of how we can go beyond our own internal happiness and have a greater "ROI" (Ripple of Impact). Jenn recalls the process of writing the book and how the death of Tony Hsieh impacted that process and the book. She also shares why it's important to not only highlight our strengths and high points in life but also our lows and our shadow sides so we can learn from the difficult moments. Jenn also discusses the difference between companies that view people as an expense vs. an investment and provides examples of companies who invested in their people during the pandemic. We talk about some of the activities provided in her book, specifically one where she compares living a life where you're writing a resume vs. writing a eulogy. Finally, Jenn explains the "Greenhouse" model and what elements are necessary for leaders to effectively tend to their own greenhouses while growing others. Click to pre-order "Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact"Jenn Lim is the CEO and co-founder of Delivering Happiness, a company she and Tony Hsieh (the late CEO of Zappos.com) co-founded to create happier company cultures for a more profitable and sustainable approach to business. She successfully launched Delivering Happiness as a book (New York Times and WSJ Bestseller) that sold over a million copies, then evolved it into a business consultancy and global movement that has impacted and inspired over 400 companies and organizations around the world. Jenn's mission is both simple and profound: to teach businesses how to create workplaces that generate profit, prioritize people and growth at every level of the organization, and make an impact by being true to the core of ourselves.

Pre-order the follow-up book to Delivering Happiness by DH Co-Founder/CEO Jenn Lim!  Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact   ..................................In this episode we talk with Dr. Acacia Parks who's the Chief Science Officer at Happify Health which is a digital therapeutics company that brings the cutting edge in research based behavior change strategies to businesses, health plans, and consumers.Dr. Parks talks about beginning her pursuit of happiness by first being concerned about unhappiness & focusing on the prevention of depression. She also provides us with a scientific definition of happiness and ways we can we learn to deliberately promote positive emotional states because the brain remembers the negative parts of our day 2-5x more than the positive! Dr. Parks also shares a six part framework of happiness habits based on the common themes & research from positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness. As Chief Scientist at Happify Health, Dr. Park’s research focuses on digital methods for managing and treating depression and anxiety, as well as chronic health conditions.Her passion lies at the intersection of research and regulatory strategy for digital therapeutics. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Reed College, and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where her graduate research helped build the foundation for research on bringing mental health interventions to the general public. Prior to joining Happify Health, Acacia was an Associate Professor of Psychology at Hiram College. Dr. Parks was also instrumental in launching Happify Health's newest Rx digital therapeutic product for depression & anxiety called Ensemble. 

In this episode we spoke with Michelle Wax, Founder of the American Happiness Project. In 2019, entrepreneur Michelle Wax left Boston and crossed the country in her Jeep, visiting all 50 states and talking to more than 500 people in the (literal) pursuit of happiness. She chronicled her journey in American Happiness, an independent documentary film.We talked with Michelle about what she learned from her interviews with people from across the U.S. Michelle shared some of the things that surprised her as well as common themes that emerged from talking with a diverse array of "Happy People." Michelle also shared some best practices and habits on how to rewire our brains from the negativity bias we're born with to being able to notice and appreciate the positive aspects of our day to day lives. Michelle Wax is the founder of American Happiness Project, a movement across 50 states focused on creating more joy, energy, and connection in the everyday. Wax works with top companies, organizations, and schools across the USA to help teams move beyond burnout, create more calm and focus, and build positive mindsets through workshops + accountability programs. In 2019, she produced the 50 state American Happiness documentary, and leads the American Happiness CONNECTION community. Prior to founding American Happiness Project — Wax founded two companies in the food industry, which she sold in 2019. She has been praised to be "incredibly knowledgeable, relate-able, and approachable" and she "brings great energy that very few are able to bring to the online world".

In this episode, we talk with DH Culture Chief, Sunny Grosso who shares her updated list of the Top 10 People F#%! Ups in Organizational Change. Sunny describes the need for change in a post pandemic world, as many people have now seen what is most important to them. With an opportunity for a big reset, organizations are scrambling to meet the changing needs of their teams.Before beginning the list, Sunny explains that the overall #1 reason for F#%! ups in organizational change is that the people fail to commit. Since "not committing" is so broad, she expands on that idea giving 10 examples of how that happens.Some of her list includes leaders not starting with intrinsic motivation for change, people failing to celebrate small accomplishments along the way, leader misalignment, and the need for people to live the behaviors of change by being consistent, insistent, and persistent.If you'd like to read Grosso's article on the same topic, click here. Sunny Grosso is a founding member of the DH coach|sulting® team, a master coach, and a global speaker. For over a decade, she's been inspiring and impacting organizations around the world, bringing her expertise to 20 countries and hundreds of teams. She is leading the charge for more purposeful organizations that create better human experiences, leading to greater business results.