116: Happy Customers are Loyal Customers – the Economic Value of Happiness [Wharton Case Study]

When Kembrel Jones joined the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in 2008 as the new dean of students, he was charged with "lightening things up" at the stodgy elite business school. Essentially, the campus was a dull and boring place. The students weren't showing enough school pride, and there weren't enough programs to keep them happy. Administrators were actually peering down the road into the future knowing that alumni giving looked pretty bleak. Without happiness on campus, wallets would stay closed after graduation. Then along cam Kembrel Jones to bring in the champagne, open his heart and cell phone to 1,700 MBA students and to create a big, happy family. In this episode of The Heart of Marketing, John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati launch the happiness series with this short piece on what Mr. Jones saw and did to change up the attitude on the Wharton School campus. Listen in and then take an introspective look at your own business and see if your team is happy. If not, then you're going to take away some solid tips on how to create an atmosphere built on smiles. You Might Like Bloomberg Businessweek "Dean of Happiness"