Good Habits (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)

11

Celebrate to Win

By Whitney Johnson

As adults, we are often much better at work than we are at play. In fact, we seem to turn play into a form of work, one at which we are sadly less competent. Take, for example, office retirement and birthday parties, complete with balloons, pastries, and the requisite crudité platter. It’s usually a drop-by-between-meetings party. Say hi. Grab a plate of goodies to eat, alone, at your desk. Even the guest of honor may only do a fly-by.

At Disruption Advisors we have found that most of us don’t have a good plan to celebrate accomplishments, and the lack of celebration has only become more pronounced and consequential after pandemic isolation. This is unfortunate because, as I explain in my book, Smart Growth ...