‘Mr Timpson is a role model as an employer. Other businesses could learn from his approach.’ The Guardian

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The Happy Index: a tool designed to measure and enhance workplace satisfaction, boost morale and empower teams.

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James Timpson is renowned for leading with empathy and understanding, often by example. His acclaimed people-first approach to management empowers colleagues, putting measurable job satisfaction at the heart of corporate strategy.

The Happy Index invites readers into a world where employee happiness isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a powerful catalyst for success that should be at the core of any successful organisation. Drawing on his decades of experience leading one of Britain’s best-loved high-street brands, Timpson shares the secrets behind his unique approach to ‘upside-down’ management. His infectious passion for people shines through every page and in the very real measures he has introduced – from days off for birthdays to free-to-use luxury holiday homes. And with a workforce comprised of at least 10 per cent ex-offenders at any one time, Timpson shows the value of an imaginative approach to hiring, with a staff retention rate to be proud of.

From a leader who knows what it takes to build thriving organisations, The Happy Index gives companies, start-ups and leaders the tools they need to bring Timpson’s revolutionary approach to their working lives.

While it doesn’t always make headlines, there is a growing recognition that kindness is vital to strong performance at work. In the broad range of leadership skills, kindness is inherently quieter, more personal and harder to see – and yes, less interesting or cinematic than controversial tweets and ‘bullying boss’ behaviour. But kindness builds empathy and trust, which ultimately creates a sense of psychological safety – and that safety leads to more creativity; a better quality of decision-making; safer critical thinking; higher levels of staff loyalty, flexibility and retention; a heightened sense of engagement; and, ultimately, higher productivity and profitability.

In KIND, Graham Allcott explores how we can create work cultures that encourage kindness. He argues that, far from being a ‘fluffy’ or nebulous idea, kindness and empathy are 21st century superpowers, which can transform any organization into a dynamic environment where people want to work. The author aims to convince the doubters, as well as helping already ‘kindful’ people, to articulate the power of kindness and make a stronger case for its greater profile in their working environments.

Drawing on psychology and neuroscience as well as management theory and business research, he shows how kindness helps encourage productive and positive work cultures. From busting three important myths that need to be addressed to engage the more cynical reader – or the reader’s more cynical colleagues – to covering ‘The Eight Principles of Kindfulness at Work’, Graham Allcott offers practical advice on how to make kindfulness part of the fabric of your working life so both you and your team can thrive.

‘Important, timely, instructive and entertaining’ – Daniel Kahneman, bestselling author of Thinking, Fast and Slow

World expert Bent Flyvbjerg and bestselling author Dan Gardner reveal the secrets to successfully planning and delivering ambitious projects on any scale.

Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant new reality. Think of how Apple’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to an enormously successful product launch in eleven months. But such successes are the exception. Consider how London’s Crossrail project delivered five years late and billions over budget. More modest endeavours, whether launching a small business, organizing a conference, or just finishing a work project on time, also commonly fail. Why?

Understanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life’s work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg. In How Big Things Get Done, he identifies the errors that lead projects to fail, and the research-based principles that will make yours succeed:

• Understand your odds. If you don’t know them, you won’t win.
• Plan slow, act fast. Getting to the action quick feels right. But it’s wrong.
• Think right to left. Start with your goal, then identify the steps to get there.
• Find your Lego. Big is best built from small.
• Master the unknown unknowns. Most think they can’t, so they fail. Flyvbjerg shows how you can.

Full of vivid examples ranging from the building of the Sydney Opera House to the making of the latest Pixar blockbusters, How Big Things Get Done reveals how to get any ambitious project done – on time and on budget.

‘Entertaining . . . compelling . . . there are lessons here for managers of all stripes’ – The Economist

‘If you’re looking for fresh ways to energize your work, you’ve come to the right place’ – Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Think Again

Doing something for its inherent satisfaction – rather than external rewards – is the key to success and satisfaction in any endeavour. Motivation is your essential and comprehensive guide to achieving this. Filled with practical methods and techniques Stefan Falk developed at McKinsey & Company, and through twenty-five years as a senior executive and performance coach working with elite athletes, top executives, special operators in the armed forces and leaders from all walks of life.

To satisfy our psychological needs in today’s professional world, we must pursue them consciously and purposefully – but unfortunately, most of us don’t know how to do so effectively. The true solution to becoming happier, healthier and more productive is to become intrinsically motivated: to stop wasting time on activities that don’t really contribute to our careers or our company’s success, eschew the dog-eat-dog culture of modern business, and find ways to take pleasure in what we do – and to do it well. This groundbreaking book will revolutionize your approach to success at work and beyond.

‘The very best insights, tools and tips for managing yourself and your goals in high-pressure situations’ – Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of Drive

Published as Intrinsic Motivation in the United States.

With over 2,000 locations across the UK and overseeing multiple operations daily for the past two decades, it’s fair to say that the CEO of the family-owned Timpson business knows a thing or two about running a successful company.

What makes James Timpson’s approach to collaboration, profit and success is simple: let the people you hire run your business.

That might seem like a simple concept to a CEO, manager or director but if you think about the hundreds of meetings, hours lost from your day by responding to emails, signing off on projects and more, you will notice that you are still working in a traditional, top-down mindset. Doing this means the team you work with only see themselves as a cog in the machine instead of the trusted, valued colleagues that they are.

The Happy Index is structured into lessons that will equip you and the people you work with, with the tools and tactics to re-evaluate the ways you manage your business. Offering insight into the ways in which James has overseen the family business, he firmly believes that you will see the benefits of working with an upside-down mindset, not only for financial success but also your team’s wellbeing and happiness.

Really, though, it’s easy. Turn up on time. Trust your team. Do your work.

Professor Alex Hill has conducted thirteen years of groundbreaking research into a clutch of organisations that have outperformed their peers for over 100 years – from NASA to the New Zealand All Blacks, from Eton College and the Royal College of Art to the Royal Marines and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Here, Professor Hill shares the twelve traits that have set these organisations apart for over a century, from the way they analyse success and failure to their approach to finding the best people and the brightest new ideas.

In so doing, he identifies the strategies and habits that you can employ in your company to create a strong, stable core and ensure the same long-term prosperity while remaining dynamic. In short, he shows you how to build a promising enterprise into an enduring, great organisation.
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‘An instant classic.’ Charles Handy, author of ‘The Empty Raincoat’ and ‘The Second Curve’

‘Every CEO should be given a copy with their morning coffee.’ Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford

Bestselling author of The Four and NYU Business School professor delivers an insightful, urgent analysis of who stands to win and who’s at risk to lose in a post-pandemic world.

‘Thought-provoking… As good an analysis as you could wish to read.’ FINANCIAL TIMES
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The Covid-19 outbreak has turned bedrooms into offices, pitted young against old and widened the gaps between rich and poor, red and blue, the mask-wearers and the mask-haters. Some businesses, like Amazon and video conference software maker Zoom, woke up to find themselves crushed under an avalanche of consumer demand. Others, like the restaurant, travel, hospitality and live entertainment industries, scrambled to not become instantly obsolete. But the pandemic has not been a change agent so much as an accelerant of trends that were already well underway.

In Post Corona, Galloway outlines the contours of both crisis and opportunity that lie ahead. While the powerful tech monopolies will thrive in the disruption other businesses, like higher education, will struggle to maintain a value proposition that no longer makes sense when we can’t stand shoulder to shoulder.

Combining his signature humour and brash style with razor-sharp business insights, Galloway offers both warning and hope in equal measure.
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‘Entertaining and informative.’ THE ECONOMIST

Most managers spend over half their time working with a team, and the One Minute Manager’s practical advice shows how any team can work better and more effectively. The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams explains the four stages on the way to building a high performing team: Orientation, Dissatisfaction, Resolution and Production and reveals how to tap the creativity and potential of people at all levels in order to become an effective group leader.