The Science of Happiness in Family and Business

The quest to discover the secret to happiness has been one which has preoccupied mankind since the dawn of recorded time. Aristotle and the ancient Greeks discussed happiness at length, and the American founding fathers included “the pursuit of happiness” as an inalienable right in the Constitution. Today, anyone has access to self-help books with various instructions for finding happiness, and yet, is mankind, in fact, happier than it was before? One woman has made the topic of happiness and how it ties into family businesses the heart of her academic and consulting pursuits. Lucia Ceja, PhD is part of the Executive Coaching team and researcher at the Family-Owned Business Chair at the IESE Business School, she is also a happiness consultant for family-owned businesses at the Families in Business Analysis Center (FIBAC) in Barcelona, Spain. Ceja’s current expertise involves Positive Leadership in family-owned businesses, the genesis and development of healthy psychological ownership, and the training of the next generation to become committed and happy owners in their family-owned businesses. Tharawat Magazine met with Lucia to discuss the science of happiness.