Celebrating 9 good things on our 9th birthday!

By Helen Lawrence & Andy Fisher

To mark our 9th birthday, we hear from our co-founders, the H & A in HAppy, Helen & Andy who share their insights on the journey so far...

First up, we hear from Helen...

Well, who can believe it’s been 9 years since Andy and I set off on a courageous mission to inspire happier places of work around the world?

One day we will turn our crazy adventure into a book of our highs, lows and big learns - but for now, I’m taking time to reflect on the last 9 years and try the difficult task of deciding on my top 9 “good things” that I’m grateful for along the journey so far. I’m sure I’ve missed some but these are the ones that came straight to mind today!

Winning a contract with Heathrow Airport to help them transform their passenger experience. When we started the business, we came up with a list of top 10 clients we would love to work for, (whilst sitting in a steam room of all places!) and Heathrow was on the list. I remember Andy calling me with the news we had been selected - I was Xmas shopping with my Mum at the time and danced her around in her wheelchair in tears of happiness (in M&S - classic!) It was such a special project working with an incredible client team that we are proud to still call friends today! Sue, Lisa, Katie & all the amazing people we met along the way - thank you!
Working with Royal Mail and as a result, getting the opportunity to visit Mount Pleasant and see where my Grandad worked for over 35 years! I filmed the CEO of the time there on my phone and when I played back some of the footage, there was the presence of a light orb. I like to think that was my Grandad letting me know he was with me. It's more than just a job to work with Royal Mail. I feel like I was destined to play some part trying to make things better, knowing my Grandad LOVED working there so much. Another highlight of working with Royal Mail was meeting the most amazing friend and supporter of THCG - Rachael Blackett. She’s a kind, loyal, hard working and inspiring woman - I’m so grateful to have got to know her and her beautiful family 😊
Working nearly 5 years on a large scale transformation programme at Resort World Genting (RWG) Malaysia, collaborating with some amazing talent at TST. As well as reuniting me with the beauty of Malaysia and meeting some wonderful friends, I also got to work on developing the induction programme for their epic new outdoor theme park! As a big theme park fan, watching the build through to opening and getting on a “first ever ride”, was a real highlight!
The many days spent working the sofa with my partner in crime Andy and hitting our 3pm “happy hour”. Without fail we would always end up in fits of laughter around this time - without any particular reason. Laughter has always been our tonic - and when we are laughing, we always do our very best work! There has been so much laughter along our journey - I feel so lucky to go on this journey with my best friend and partner in crime :-)
First winning Personnel Today’s “L&D Supplier of the Year”. It was such an amazing surprise and recognition for all our hard work. We’ve since won another 23 awards across the globe - but every one is special and memorable in their own right. Last year’s “Business Culture Consultancy of the Year” was pretty epic!

6. Setting up business in Malaysia. Having fallen back in love with the country working with RWG, we were then encouraged to set-up locally by the

amazing CEO Charles Brewer, to help support his transformation of

Pos Malaysia, we jumped at the chance. Who knew at the time that it would lead to us growing the most amazing team of local talent. We are very lucky and whilst setting up business the other side of the world has had its

challenges - we will never look back! Thank you team MY for everything.

7. Working with Sodexo Defence - a new sector and experience for me personally but the most professionally rewarding and emotional programme yet. Once again, our clients have become friends, supporters and a big inspiration to me personally. I’ve been take aback by the passion Sodexo people have towards each other and to improving the quality of lives of the Military personnel and families they serve. Duncan, Sam, Mo, Mark - thank you trusting in us to deliver for your teams, and for opening my eyes and heart to a whole new world of work in Defence.

8. Meeting Jon and Rachel at Dream It and working together on some mind-blowingly brilliant creative and film projects. One particular project for GWR we had very little time to turn around something unique - but they jumped onboard the challenge with me with the most passion and resilience. We worked day and night to produce an award-winning film-driven service learning programme. Full of jaw dropping CGI and a first ever service leadership magazine style TV programme - it proved just what we were capable of. It was challenging due to the timescales, but we had each others backs and supported each other every step of the way. I’ll always be grateful for their talent, but most importantly their kindness, support and friendship (oh and of course laughter!)

9. Rescuing “Happy Mouse” - a tiny abandoned little kitty we saved from a busy street in KL, during a client dinner, and teaming up with Jon at Dream It to bring her safely back to the UK. It was a first to juggle exploration activities with caring for a hungry and affectionate kitten until she could go to her first foster home! That and Covid made for a memorable trip to Malaysia on that occasion! I’m happy to report Happy Mouse is enjoying a luxury lifestyle now with Jon and Rachel in Yorkshire! (She’s adapted to the weather!)

Wow, 9 good things and there’s probably a hundred more happy memories I could write about!

For now, here’s to celebrating turning 9 and to creating more happiness around the world in the process.

Be sure to take time to reflect on your journey and be grateful for all you’ve learnt along the way - it’s the fuel to keep you moving forward!

Much happiness

Helen :-)

P.S. Come join us on the journey. One thing I know for sure, is that you'll never find a more passionate, down-to-earth, supportive consultancy to help transform your opportunity into something really special!

And now from Andy...

Reflecting on and celebrating 9 years of our company has been a vey happy experience. Choosing 9 things has been a challenge, as there have been so many memorable moments, from the clients that we love and serve, to the solutions that we are proud to consult on and design.

Here are some of my faves! (A good list but not an exhaustive list!)

Heathrow Airport was a very special project for us. Being an ‘airline’ boy, I’ve always loved the buzz and excitement of the airport and being part of the team that opened terminal 5 for BA, made it even more special. Everything about the project was a dream – service transformation (a sweet spot and passion!), the Heathrow team, the collaborative spirit, the fun… and its success!. It was always on our ‘hit list’ of clients and to see that wish come true is a time we will never forget.

2. People are everything. And when you jump into setting up a business, you want someone who you can trust, love, and know has your back, through the thick and thin of everything. Helen is that person and more… inspirational, innovative, challenging???... she is everything in a business partner you could hope for. She is also the person I have laughed the most with… through the joyous madness of it all, we have never forgotten to laugh, lots, which is a top tip for all budding entrepreneurs. Never stop laughing (and learning!)

3. I remember getting the call from the incredible Rachel Blackett with an SOS for help! She had hunted us down (in a nice way), having done her investigative research on us and our background and body of work to date. To work with such an institution who has been part of all of our lives, and generations before us. My mum loves her postie and I think was just as excited as us when we heard we would be working together. A programme of activity that challenged and pushed the way we and Royal Mail did things, it was an exciting, challenging and very inspiring time.

4. Winning our first (and consequently many!) awards. Happiness is a serious business, and so when you get recognised for bringing something different to the world of work, it really is a measure of success that for us says ‘Keep going! You are doing something right!’. Every award is a ‘thank you’ for our hard work, passion, creativity and collaboration/love for our clients and the motivation to keep pushing the boundaries and doing what we love and believe in. "Don’t wait for happiness, create it" as we say!

5. Our growth in Malaysia is a really ‘big one’ for me! Winning a contract to work on a culture transformation programme with the incredible Pos Malaysia, led by the awesome Chief Energy Officer Charles Brewer was fantastic. The excitement (and fear) of leaving my beloved London, family and friends to set up office and build a team in Kuala Lumpur was next level. Pos Malaysia are now our family with the best people to work with – they challenge and push us to #BeBetter with each and every solution. Our incredible THCG team are the most supportive, talented and special group of ‘change makers’. And living in a hot and vibrant city isn’t too bad either 😉 Life changing, life challenging and life at its best!

6. For me, much of my inspiration comes from being around great people, who you learn from, learn with and are just a joy to work with! I’m very lucky to have had many people in my life to take inspiration from. A special mention has to go to Rachel and Jon from Dream It, our film partners who bring the world of work to life in unimaginable, epic and awesome ways. It’s not just the work that they do that is incredible though, it is them as people. They are kind, funny, generous, supportive and bloody brilliant to work with. The ‘dream’ alliance partners who have been there from the beginning of our journey. Thank you

7. We started life as The Happy Learning Company, which was perfect for us 9 years ago. Against much criticism (“You won’t be taken seriously!”), we stuck with our name and it has proven to be the best decision we made, as it has given us a USP and a purpose that stands out from the crowd and is very relevant in today’s world of work. On our journey, a big moment for me was when we changed our name two years ago to The Happy Consultancy Group. Feeling we were much more than just a learning company, and being told by our clients that we did so much more than learning, it felt right to shift gears and put ourselves out there in a way that reflected the services and solutions we deliver. And it’s very satisfying when we are shortlisted for awards against the ‘big 5’ of the consultancy world. We must be doing something right!

8. Mother Theresa – thank you! You are at the heart of everything that we do. At the beginning of our nine year journey, we were still finding ourselves, our story and refining our real purpose. When we defined our a strategy, purpose, values, goals etc… we wanted a customer promise that we could live by and was aligned to all we sand for as a company. ‘To not let anyone leave you, without feeling better and happier’ has become our mantra, our motivation, our raison d’etre! Choosing this as our customer (and colleague) promise keeps us grounded, it keeps us behaving and role modelling what we believe in… and it’s a good philosophy for life too!

9. Finally, I want to celebrate setting up THCG in the first place. For me, my personal journey has literally been a rollercoaster of emotions, challenges, highs, achievements, adventures, none of which would have happened if Helen and I hadn’t been brave, stepped out of our comfort zone and gone with our head, heart and gut. We make mistakes, we face challenges that I didn’t even know were a thing when you run a company, but, driven by a passion and love for what we do, and surrounded by the most incredible talent and support, we get through it, better and stronger than the time before. It’s not easy running a business, but when you do what you love, it’s worth every grey hair!

The last 9 years have been incredible, with so much to celebrate. And not achievable without the clients, the team, the family and friends and loved ones that have stood by us, supported us, believed in us and become our biggest cheerleaders.

I can’t wait for what adventures the next 9 years will bring on our journey to create and inspire happier places of work around the world.

Much happiness,

Andy

Here's to the next 9 years...