Happiness & Success in High School 

Does the happiness principle work outside of school? Does it work in the adult world of job and career — in the daily grind?

When Sergey Brin and Larry Page founded Google in 1998, they set a policy of hiring only the most brilliant applicants in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). 

Fifteen years later, Google decided it might be a good idea to evaluate the results of this policy.

A Washington Post article, “The surprising thing Google learned about its employees — and what it means for today’s students” (December 27, 2017), summarized what Google learned from Project Oxygen, the in-depth examination of its hiring practices.

Project Oxygen completely overturned the company’s understanding of the qualities that best predict success in a high-tech business environment.

Most notably, among the eight standout qualities of Google’s top employees, STEM expertise was dead last.

The top qualities that augured success at Google were “soft” skills. The researchers found that the most successful Google employees:

   Are good coaches

   Empower the team and do not micromanage

   Express interest in and concern for the other team members’ success and personal well-being

   Are productive and results-oriented

   Are good communicators — they listen and share information

   Help others with their career development

   Have a clear vision and strategy for the team

   Have key technical skills that help them advise the team

A follow-up study by Google, on the defining qualities of its most productive research teams (Project Aristotle, 2016), confirmed these results. In the Post article, Cathy N. Davidson, a professor in the graduate school at CUNY, described the findings:

“Project Aristotle shows that the best teams at Google exhibit a range of soft skills: equality, generosity, curiosity toward the ideas of your teammates, empathy, and emotional intelligence. And topping the list: emotional safety. No bullying. To succeed, each and every team member must feel confident speaking up and making mistakes. They must know they are being heard.”

Davidson cited a survey of 260 companies conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. The study, which included industry giants Chevron and IBM, found that recruiters ranked communication skills among the top three qualities companies look for in job applicants. “They prize both an ability to communicate with one’s fellow workers and an aptitude for conveying the company’s product and mission outside the organization.”

What conclusions can we draw from these studies about the best way to help our children be successful and happy?

A common feature of the qualities that set the top Google employees apart is that they are “expansive.” That is, they foster a work environment where the employees are encouraged to expand their awareness to include the needs of others.

The qualities that the researchers identified as furthering success at Google and other top companies are the same qualities that the teachers in the Living Wisdom Schools expend tremendous energy to cultivate in the classroom, considering them essential for creating a safe, nurturing, joyful learning environment for the children.

Oddly enough, the Google findings reflect the results of a vastly older body of studies conducted in the forest ashrams of ancient India.