𝘉𝘺 𝘙𝘢𝘮𝘬𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘶, 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘪𝘯 – 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘩𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘥 𝘎𝘪𝘵𝘢

Write to me at ramseshu@borntowin.co.in. I’d love to talk to you.

In my 43 years of walking into boardrooms, shop floors, and team meetings across India, I’ve learned one truth that never changes: happiness is the most powerful performance multiplier in any workplace.

It’s not just about perks or bonuses. Happiness is the spark that turns routine tasks into meaningful contributions. When joy is present, teams don’t just deliver—they thrive.

𝗔 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹

Let me share about ANANTH R B and Sreenivas Prasad, who led the sales team at Zoomol, a lubricant brand, We worked with. Their sales team was consistently meeting targets, but there was potential for something even greater—a deeper sense of connection and inspiration.

During our 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 sessions, We started every session with a simple question:

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵?”

At first, there was thoughtful silence. Then, one salesperson spoke about the satisfaction of solving a customer’s problem on the spot. Another shared the joy of closing a deal after months of nurturing a relationship. Soon, the room was alive with stories.

RB Ananth and Srinivas began weaving these joyful moments into their sales huddles. They introduced a practice called “𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲”—not just celebrating deals signed, but also the meaningful human moments behind those successes.

Within months, Zoomol’s Southern Regions sales team went beyond achieving targets—they were radiating enthusiasm, inspiring colleagues, and becoming one of the most admired teams to work with. As one seasoned sales executive told me, “Sir, this doesn’t feel like just a job anymore. It feels like a place where I grow.”

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀

Research tells us happy employees are more engaged, more innovative, and stay longer. But what I’ve seen goes even deeper.

• 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 — people are drawn to where the energy is high.

• 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 — they respond to challenges with creativity and confidence.

• 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 — not through authority, but through trust and genuine connection.

The Bhagavad Gita says: “𝘠𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘶 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪” — anchored in balance, act. Happiness is that balance. It allows people to perform not out of pressure, but out of purpose.

𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀, 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁

Creating joy at work doesn’t need complex frameworks. Sometimes, the smallest shifts create the biggest impact:

• 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 – Start meetings with one appreciation from the past week.

• 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 – Allow a few minutes for people to share life updates. It reminds everyone that work is about people first.

• 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 – Recognize the journey, not just the destination. This builds confidence and joy along the way.

At Born to Win, we call this the “𝗜 𝗖𝗮𝗻, 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻, 𝗪𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻” cycle. Happiness fuels self-belief, encourages support, and builds collective strength.

𝗔𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

This month, try asking your sales team this question:

“What made you smile at work this week?”

Then pause, listen, and celebrate the answers. You’ll be surprised at how quickly energy shifts when people feel seen and valued.

Because joy at work doesn’t come from big policies—it comes from small, consistent choices leaders make every day.

At Born to Win, our belief is simple: 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀.

If you’d like to explore how to bring more joy into your organization, write to me at 𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀𝗲𝘀𝗵𝘂@𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻.𝗰𝗼.𝗶𝗻. I’d love to hear your story.

Let’s create workplaces where happiness is not an afterthought—it’s the strategy.

What’s one simple practice that makes your workplace happier?

#𝗝𝗼𝘆𝗔𝘁𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 #𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 #𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁