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11 Years, 11 Lessons
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 7 hours ago
An honest reflection of our journey so far to inspire happier places of work around the world. We hope it helps prepare any future budding entrepreneurs for the crazy, life changing journey that lies ahead! - by Helen & Andy
11 Things 11 Years Has Taught Us
Eleven years ago, we started The Happy Consultancy Group (from a sofa, steam room and a playground) with a simple belief: Work should feel better. Not perfect. Not easy. But more human, more energising, more meaningful, and ultimately happier.
At the time, it was just two people, a few big ideas, and an ambition to inspire happier places to work around the world, a purpose fuelled by our passion for helping others thrive.
Today, we're incredibly fortunate to work with amazing clients across industries and continents, supported by a network of talented colleagues and Happy Alliance partners who help bring that mission to life every day.
But if we're honest, the last 11 years haven't been a smooth upward curve.
There have been incredible highs, proud moments, bold adventures and opportunities we'd never have imagined.
There have also been sleepless nights, difficult decisions, setbacks, mistakes, disappointments, moments of doubt and more lessons than we can count. It’s a good job we love learning!
The truth is that you never really understand what it means to build a business until you've lived it. And as we celebrate our 11th birthday, we found ourselves reflecting on the lessons that have shaped us most.
Interestingly, we both landed in very similar places.
Perhaps that's fitting because the number 11 is known as a "master number" - often associated with vision, intuition, alignment and raising standards.
So here are 11 things that 11 years of building THCG has taught us. (Well, the short version - if you want the full version, you'll have to wait for our book!)
1. Have belief, be courageous, especially when doubt shows up
There will always be moments when things don't go to plan. The proposal doesn't land. A project changes direction. A challenge appears that you never saw coming. Belief carries you through those moments. Not blind optimism, but confidence in your purpose and a willingness to keep going when the destination isn't yet visible.
2. Happiness isn't about avoiding challenges
One of the biggest misconceptions about happiness is that it's the absence of difficulty. It isn't. Happiness is choosing to face challenges with courage, optimism and perspective. It's learning to turn obstacles into opportunities and believing that growth often lives on the other side of discomfort.
Being known now as 'the happy people' - we've had to build positive intelligence more than ever to cope with the demands running a thriving business brings yet still show up with positivity and achieve 100% client happiness ratings!
3. Culture isn't what you say - it's what you repeatedly do
Every organisation has values. But culture isn't created by words on a wall.
It's created in everyday decisions, especially when you're under pressure. The small choices. The difficult conversations. The standards you uphold when no one is watching. That's where culture truly lives. It's not easy to achieve, even as a small business!
4. The standard you walk past becomes the standard you accept
This lesson has shown up countless times over the years. Whether it's client delivery, team dynamics, communication or decision making, the moment standards slip and go unchallenged, they quietly become the norm. But defining, documenting and training in standards when your busy growing and delivering the work adds a whole new layer of complexity and getting the balance of empowering the team vs safe guarding our standards and reputation is never easy and at times has held us back.
Protecting quality, reputation and customer promises requires consistency and courage. We are constantly challenging ourselves to be uncompromising and our customer promise certainly helps keep us on track.
5. Growth creates as many challenges as it solves
Growth is exciting. Sometimes scary. It's also messy.
Every step forward introduces new complexity, new problems and new decisions. The good news is you don't become challenge-free as you grow.
You simply become better equipped to handle the next level of challenge. Having a growth mindset as a founder is essential - there is something new to learn every day!
6. Listening is often the answer
Whether it's listening to clients, colleagues, partners or your own instincts, the signal is usually there.
The challenge is creating enough space to hear it.
Some of our best decisions have come not from talking more, but from listening better.
7. Trust your instinct
That feeling in your stomach rarely appears without reason. We've learnt that when the same concern keeps resurfacing, there's usually something worth paying attention to. Data matters. Experience matters. But intuition matters too.
(We also like going to Psychic Sisters ahead of our annual business planning but that's another story!)
8. Tough conversations are part of caring
The kindest thing isn't always the easiest thing.
Giving honest feedback, addressing misalignment and making difficult decisions can feel uncomfortable, but avoiding them often creates bigger problems later.
Real care sometimes looks like courage. People won’t always understand and feedback doesn’t always feel like a gift, but avoidance doesn’t help anyone.
9. Stay true to who you are
Not everyone will understand your vision.
Not everyone will agree with your approach.
And that's OK.
Building something meaningful requires the confidence to be unapologetically yourself and the discipline not to dilute what makes you different.
You get what you see with Andy and I - we threw out the corporate and consultancy rule book when we realised it was getting in the way of us using our full potential.
10. Resilience is quieter than people think
We often imagine resilience as something dramatic.
In reality, it's much less glamorous.
It's showing up again tomorrow.
It's taking the next step.
It's carrying responsibility when things feel uncertain and continuing anyway.
We've learnt that resilience is often found in consistency and humanity rather than heroics. We've bounced back more times that a tennis ball at Wimbledon and have learnt our own unique ways to refuel and bouce forward. Having each other helps as we’ve got each others backs no matter what happens - that’s rare and something we treasure.
11. In the end, it's always about people
More than the projects, the awards or the milestones, what we're most proud of are the people. The connections made.
The clients who trusted us.
The partners who believed in us and supported us (especially when holidays were redefined!)
The colleagues past and present who joined us on the journey.
The friendships, relationships and memories created along the way.
They're the reason it has all been worthwhile.
Importantly, it’s about the friendship we’ve built based on trust and genuine care for each other. Our connection remains strong even though we are now miles apart.
One final lesson...
Because neither of us could quite stop at 11.
Happiness really is a serious business. The impact of our work across the globe has matched the all the research showing the links between happiness and performance.
Creating great, happy places to work isn't soft. It isn't superficial.
It takes intention, consistency, courage and commitment. But we've seen first-hand what happens when organisations invest in their people, create meaningful cultures and help individuals thrive.
The impact reaches far beyond the workplace.
Eleven years in, we still believe what we believed on day one: Happy People create Happy Customers, which creates a Happy Business.
The world of work still needs more humanity, more courage, more connection and more happiness.
And while we don't have all the answers, we're incredibly grateful to still be on that mission together.
To everyone who has been part of our journey so far: thank you.
Here's to the next chapter, grey hairs and all!
Helen & Andy
Co-Founders, The Happy Consultancy Group
👉 If this resonates and you’re thinking about how to build a happier, high performing, thriving culture in your organisation - let’s talk.
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