Nic Marks 15:35 - 16:05 Plenary keynote Englisch spoken

Happiness is a Serious Business - why happy teams are successful and how to build them

Happiness is one of the most powerful predictors of team performance. In this keynote, Nic Marks shares the evidence behind why happy teams are more productive, more creative, and far more resilient. Drawing on his Seven Successes of Happy Teams, he shows how small weekly habits - listening to friction, celebrating progress, creating flow - transform culture and prevent teams from getting stuck in OK. Leaders walk away with a practical, science-led framework for building happier, higher-performing teams.

Extra Gift 🎁
All participants will receive the recently published book of Nic Marks "Happiness is a Serious Business", an Amazon Best Seller.

Nic Marks

Statistician, Speaker, Author

About the keynote

Subjects that will be covered:

Why happiness is a leading indicator of team performance
The science behind the signal and the energy it provides
The Seven Successes of Happy Teams
How leaders can unlock stability, creativity, collaboration, and retention.
How small weekly rhythms (Measure–Meet–Repeat) build trust, prevent burnout, and stop teams getting “stuck in OK.”
Evidence showing how happy teams outperform — including productivity, turnover, and resilience data.
Practical steps leaders can take to create cultures where people thrive and leadership becomes easier.

Questions the participants will get answers to:

How does happiness act as a reliable signal of team health — and why does it predict performance so strongly?
What practical things can leaders do each week to reduce friction, build trust, and improve team energy?
How do the Seven Successes of Happy Teams help leaders create stability, creativity, and collaboration?
How can leaders spot when their team is “stuck in OK” — and what actions shift them back into flow?
How can small, consistent habits make leading people easier, more effective, and less stressful?

Key takeaways / promise:

Happiness is a leading indicator. It reveals whether work is flowing or friction is building — long before performance metrics shift.
Happy teams perform better. They are more productive, more resilient, and far less likely to burn out or quit.
Small rhythms matter most. Weekly check-ins and simple conversations build trust, connection, and continuous improvement.
Leaders can prevent teams getting “stuck in OK.” By noticing emotional signals and responding early, teams regain energy and momentum.
Happiness makes leadership easier. When people feel good at work, everything — collaboration, creativity, problem-solving — becomes easier.

Extra Gift 🎁
All participants will receive the recently published book of Nic Marks "Happiness is a Serious Business", an Amazon Best Seller.

About the Speaker

Nic Marks

Statistician, Speaker, Author

Nic Marks is a statistician, speaker and author who pioneered the field of workplace wellbeing. After reading Mathematics at Cambridge, he trained in organisational change and psychotherapy before founding the Centre for Well-being at the New Economics Foundation. There, he created influential frameworks including the Happy Planet Index and the Five Ways to Well-being.

A sought-after international speaker, his TED talk has been viewed millions of times, and his TEDBook A Happiness Manifesto helped put measuring national well-being on the global agenda. Today, as founder of Friday Pulse, he helps organisations improve team happiness through science-led feedback. His latest book, Happiness is a Serious Business, shows why happy teams perform better.