Blind Spot: The Global Rise of Unhappiness and How Leaders Missed It

by Jon Clifton

The rising unhappiness that leaders didn’t see

That’s because while leaders pay close attention to measures like GDP or unemployment, almost none of them track their citizens’ wellbeing.

The implications of this blind spot are significant and far-reaching — leaders missed the citizen unhappiness that triggered events ranging from the Arab uprisings to Brexit to the election of Donald Trump.

What are they going to miss next?

Grounded in Gallup’s global research, Blind Spot makes the urgent case that leaders should measure and quantify wellbeing and happiness — how citizens’ lives are going — and shows them how. It also discusses the five key elements of a great life and where the world needs to improve in each of them to better the lives of people everywhere.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Management, Philosophy, Society, Cultural

352 pages, Hardcover

Published September 13, 2022

Reviews

[William Aicher]

Some interesting and important data in here, but not a lot as of an deep analysis of it as I would have preferred. At many times it felt like an explanation of how polls and statistical significance work.

[Heidi]

The first book I've EVER seen written dealing with the well-being of humans. This was a read aloud for both boys and all three of us enjoyed it. We learned a lot about Gallup polls and the various kinds of questions they ask. If you have any interest in human well-being, or statistical information, this is a book for you. Well written with up-to-date information, it was a great read.

[Jillian]

As a leader of a fair bit of people, I am always concerned about my team's overall wellbeing. This book sheds some light on what they may be experience both in and out of the office and how I, as their leader, can help bring happiness to their everyday lives. Would rate 3.5 if I could - super close to a 4 but not quite enough tips or insight to get there for me.

[Catlan Samuels]

right on to what leaders need to know. well written.

[Tanya]

I find demography fascinating, so I loved learning more about the results of the Gallup World Poll, which tracks important indicators such as food access, law and order, community detachment, employment, "thriving," and more. In this book the Gallup CEO picks apart the trends that show a global rise of unhappiness, and tries to explain why fewer people see life positively. He then proposes what could be done to improve conditions in areas with poor results (one of his major points is that we need to focus our attention on the very bottoms of the charts, where a little improvement can make a huge difference).

Unsurprisingly, Scandinavian countries consistently did well in the polling, while Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America did poorly. I'm sure glad I don't live in Afghanistan, which finished dead last on so many metrics. I enjoyed pouring over the charts.

This isn't great literature. The writing is straightforward and nothing pretty, but Blind Spot is so packed full of meaningful data about our world that I gobbled it up. 4 stars.

[Anna Spivey]

This book is in every way excellent. I had to read this for my business management course, and it was a great text to read as a learning supplement and for enjoyment. Gallup's polling theories and systems do nothing but amaze me, and it has changed my perspective on polling statistics everywhere. I hope that leaders all over the world will take this book and learn from it. I personally intend to implement the topics of this book as much as possible once I am in a leadership position that requires these measurements.

[Amy]

An interesting call to executives to create better jobs - jobs that allow people to thrive, not just be employed. With the rise of AI and the evolution of numerous jobs, I believe there is a huge opportunity for executives to head this call and make real changes that will fundamentally shift the happiness quotient for billions of people.

The author calls for governments to measure happiness just as they measure GDP and ESGs, so change can be measured and programs adjusted. I look forward to seeing what countries heed this call.

[Reagen Saragih]

Love this book...
Bagi kalian yang suka dengan buku penuh dengan data pendukung, buku ini cocok untuk kalian.

Satu kesmipulan yang saya dapatkan, tidaklah cukup bagi seorang pemimpin untuk hanya mengukur indikasi angka pengangguran, angka kematian, angka laju pertumbuhan ekonomi, melainkan juga sebaiknya kita mengukur, seberapa bahagia pekerja dan manusia.

[Leandro Coronel]

The perspective of the book is quite interesting as it suggest to move beyond pure economic indicators to track happiness or wellbeing of different societies. The analysis is quite interesting as well as the amount of data collected. The discussion is in general well presented. However, the book tends to be a bit repetitive and self-centered. Overall, it is a good book.

[Kristin]

They've packed a lot of variables into happiness, including five aspects of wellbeing. There are interesting global insights about particular countries and some requested action from corporate decision-makers. If you've seen previous Gallup books, you'll recognize the themes!

[Marcus Goncalves]

Excellent book based Gallup researches and surveys showing how the rise of unhappiness across the globe impacts all of us; not to mention an eye-opener on the importance of non-traditional indicators.

[Tieno]

It's a good book on measuring happiness and what makes people happy. It is self-explanatory in a lot of ways. A good scientific book if you're hoping to learn more about the study of happiness. Reputable. Well-written and easy to read (straight forward)

[Bryan Noreen]

A nice aggregation of gallup surveys and data points around the world.

[Robert Carter]

Great points for growing new perspectives.

[Gary Shea]

Definitely global in perspective. A provocative read.

[Mia Boyd]

The book was heavy on statistics and explanations of how polling works, but lighter on analysis than I would have preferred for such an interesting topic.

[Paul Cunningham]

superb book - i wish our political leaders and company ceo's would read and then implement many of the recommendations.

[Rachel]

The content and trends explored in this book were really interesting. But I also felt like it rapidly got repetitive. Worth a read but a bit dry.

[Sandy Mora]

A book everyone interested in Wellbeing and how to measure it should read!

[Sarah-Leah Pimentel]

Excellent assessment of why people are unhappier, but also how organizations cna help to increase happiness of communities.