When was the last time you asked why the results you are getting were not the ones you were expecting? Maybe there was something you missed or did you not see the whole picture? I believe this often happens when we focus on measuring only facts and not the impact those facts have on our team or on us, the people who are trying to achieve a collective goal.

What if we take a people’s first approach, would the results change? Whole countries have started measuring their people’s happiness, and today we will talk about the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) as introduced by His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth King of Bhutan in the 1970s. This principle aims to find balanced development by measuring tangible and intangible aspects of well-being without leaving economic progress on the side.

The principle can also apply to a business setting, where we can take account of the impacts that economic activity has on the environment, society, and culture. The principle has four pillars and nine domains of happiness; we will briefly review the nine domains and how we can apply those domains in a business environment. The Centre for Bhutan Studies & GNH divides the nine domains into two groups, worker happiness and organizational conditions for happiness.

Worker happiness includes psychological well-being, health, time use, education, and living standards, which besides providing better conditions in the workplace, translates to life outside of work. Taking into account these features will result in an integral view of your team, including their emotional, social, and spiritual values and needs. What happens outside of work has some degree of influence on the workplace; being aware of these aspects will influence the quality of work that we do.

Now, talking about organizational conditions for happiness, four characteristics are considered: Good governance, cultural diversity, community vitality, and ecological diversity; all businesses have a relationship with the community and the environment, but how can we ensure it is a positive relationship? Although not all characteristics can be applied in full, they can form a framework to make better decisions and courses of action.

• If you want to know more details on how to apply the principle in your business, I recommend you review the full Proposed GNH of Business.

What makes Bhutan The Kingdom of Happiness? It’s people.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to get in touch with Langa Dorji, owner of Bhutan Soul Tour & Travel; being in the tourism industry for over 30 years has allowed him to see many changes in the tourism sector in Bhutan. He started his career as a cultural guide when the government handled tourism. Tourism got privatized in 1992, and after that, he decided to establish a joint travel company called Atlas Tour & Travel where he worked as a business partner for more than 21 years, and in 2018 he decided to create Bhutan Soul Tour & Travel.

It’s a challenge to be in the business for such a long time. Still, Langa Dorji has made it more manageable by applying the community vitality principle in his company to connect, interact, and network with the local community, people from the travel sector, and potential clients.

Maintaining strong relationships has helped him run the company smoothly and sustain the company in a competitive destination.

How to make his rich experience in the industry sustainable? Langa Dorji shares his joy in the industry with his daughter. With a wide variety of tours (cultural, trekking, birding, festival, adventure, and rafting tours), she is gaining exposure to support the company as a tour manager.

The current situation has made travel uncertain, but the path of travel will continue in Bhutan and Bhutan Soul will continue offering happiness to travelers.