Happiness in the catbird seat : conversations with CEOs
Name
173845179-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
4.58 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
0e5748f745b9a568d6f34e44b6f168bc
Author(s)
Murphy Moore, Margot
Advisor(s)
John E. van Maanen.
Date Issued
2007
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Accomplished individuals should, by all modern definitions, be happy. They have achieved the power, authority, influence, and wealth that many in the American capitalist society aspire towards. But what defines happiness once you are there? When you are sitting in Thurber's proverbial "catbird seat," what is happiness? In conversations with 18 senior leaders of Fortune 1000 companies, guided by scripted questions posed by the author, the leaders responded to inquiries about their understanding of happiness, the influencers of happiness, the role of personal happiness in success, and their personal definition of happiness. The conversations, complemented by two standardized questionnaires, developed three thematic components of happiness. Social relationships, personal focus, and a sense of thresholds were revealed as the most consistent dimensions of personal happiness. These themes synthesize much of the existing literature on happiness where happiness is often divided into two definitions: eudonic: happiness derived from virtuosity, and hedonic: happiness derived from pleasure and the avoidance of pain. The conversations combined these theories and integrated life lessons from leadership to produce a theorem of sorts: Happiness exists in the enjoyment of virtuosity. Virtuous pain exists in vain.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-87).
Subjects
Sloan School of Management.
MIT Department
Sloan School of Management
Terms of Use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
Persistent DSpace Link
