Praise
I’ve worked with Caroline as a coach for the last 8 years, but I first worked alongside Caroline when we were both business consultants at McKinsey over 20 years ago. It was Caroline’s somewhat unique combination of business, economic and human insight that distinguished her experience, first led me to ask her to be my coach, and from which I’ve happily benefited over most of the last decade.
Over that period, at times I’ve needed someone to coach me on how to show up as the best leader I can be in difficult situations and in challenging conversations. At other times I’ve needed someone who can problem solve organization and business issues with me. I’ve needed someone who can help me articulate my leadership intention at high stakes moments, with my team, or with the entire company. And I’ve also needed someone who can capture rich and deep feedback from my team to create concrete areas for my own development as a leader.
Caroline has been my trusted partner in all of these areas. Given her background at McKinsey she is smart, and nuanced, enough to understand the complexities of my business. Her research-based approach to behavior means she gives practical advice on how to change team and organizational behavior. Her breadth of experience means she is an effective sounding board on a wide range of systemic issues, including team development, decision-making processes and organizational design. She brings writing and editorial skills that help me make sure my communications match my intent. And all of this is delivered with low ego and a style that both empathizes with my situation (she’s “in my corner”) but consistently challenges me to be a better leader.
There’s no question that as a result of my time with Caroline, I’ve become a stronger, more effective leader.
Paul T, CEO, global services company
We really enjoyed working with Caroline! She was super professional, authentic and her session was very inspiring and engaging. We would very much recommend her to any organization that seeks to work on motivation, growth mindset, positive psychology or mental hacks for regaining energy. We very much look forward to working with her again some time in future.
Leadership development head, VW
Caroline Webb is a truly exceptional coach. She does a masterful job in helping you identify how the specific challenges you face often reflect broader patterns in your thinking and behavior. Caroline then provides you with a simple but powerful action plan to replace counterproductive habits with behaviors that lead to greater effectiveness and fullfillment. Working with her is like a gift. I couldn’t recommend her more highly!
Caroline M, CEO, EdTech
You went down a storm at our offsite. People loved the insights you brought and the way you seamlessly linked the scientific findings to everyday experiences. They also loved your style of delivery – the way you connected with the audience, your sense of humor, your authenticity and humility. And it’s obvious that what you said has stuck in people’s minds. Since you gave your speech, the phrase “how to have a good day” has been heard many times around the office and I’ve seen your book all over the place. Congratulations. I hope we get a chance to work together again in the future.
Partner and Head of Finance & Risk Practice, Oliver Wyman
I’ve produced many live events over the years with presenters ranging from Grammy winning artists, Nobel Laureates, top ten internet media site founders, and thought leaders of all stripes. Caroline Webb is as good as any of the best speakers I’ve ever seen. Her fascinating insights into workplace dynamics are the result of careful analysis of the most recent research on behavioral sciences, along with her significant experience as an executive coach, and she presents with wit, charm, and authority.
Executive Producer, LucidNYC
THANK YOU so much again for yesterday! In spite of the worst possible weather, you filled the room with people, and they all thoroughly enjoyed learning from you. The evaluations are fabulous. One of our survey questions asks about the three most important things that people have learned. Some people said: “ways to change the perception of reality,” “ways to manage stress,” or “ways to manage time.” But my absolute favorite was this comment: “all of it was very helpful.”New York Public Library
Caroline is an intelligent, dynamic speaker who is able to engage audiences with ease. Thanks to her energy, her ability to relate to her audience, and her sense of humor, she takes complex topics and makes them not only understandable but also enjoyable and riveting. She was a big hit.
Planning-ness Conference Founder
Finally, a practical book based on evidence. How to Have a Good Day is grounded in state-of-the-art research on behavior and neuroscience, and animated with vivid examples from professionals who have successfully applied Webb’s advice. It might even leave you looking forward to your next tricky conversation or challenging task as an opportunity to try out her tips.
Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals
Webb has given us a great gift: she has synthesized all the advice coming out of labs around the world, filtered it for quality, and illustrated it with well-chosen real-world examples. The appendices alone will save you dozens of hours per year — particularly on email — and help you create more great days for yourself. This is the only self-improvement book you will need in the next five years.
Jonathan Haidt, NYU-Stern School of Business, Author of The Happiness Hypothesis and The Righteous Mind
How to Have a Good Day is a smart, thorough, and eminently practical book. Just about every page offers a science-based tip to help you become better off — or, in many cases, just plain better.
Daniel H. Pink, author of To Sell is Human and Drive
Behavioral science has come of age in recent years, and it has begged for a world-class translator. Now we have one. Caroline Webb’s peerless translation of the behavioral sciences into tools for shaping the quality of our day is the book we’ve been waiting for. Play with just 2% of the ideas in this book, and you might just end up changing your life’s course. Words like ‘magisterial’ come to mind. Bravo.
Tom Peters, co-author of award-winning bestseller In Search of Excellence
How to Have a Good Day is an extraordinary book — a wonderful mix of science, practical advice, and stories based on Caroline Webb’s years of experience helping a huge range of people transform their professional lives for the better. Every chapter is studded with engaging real-world examples that ring true and illustrate how to make the most of the book’s suggestions. Whatever your personal definition of a good day, you’ll have more of them after reading this book.
Susan Cain, author of QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and co-founder of Quiet Revolution
There’s a big difference between having great, productive day and having a bland, ordinary one. Caroline Webb deftly explains how to squeeze the most out of twenty-four hours, to create more of the former. Very useful.
Sir Michael Moritz, Chairman of Sequoia Capital
Imagine what your life would be like if you could simply ‘choose’ to have a good day. Webb makes a powerful case that we can. Best of all, she shows us how. Webb gets her arms around the vast body of information coming at us from behavioral economics, psychology, and neuroscience, and distills the best of it into the kind of practical advice a wise friend might offer. It’s the book Daniel Kahneman might write if he’d been working in the business world for twenty years. Masterful.
Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, Co-Authors of the bestselling Difficult Conversations and Thanks for the Feedback
An absolute must read for the millions of people struggling to overcome the challenges and stresses of work and family life. Caroline Webb’s deep dive into ground-breaking new behavioral and neuroscience research gives us the tools to empower everyone to have a better, more fulfilling day, every day. Finally, we can say, ‘Good morning,’ and mean it!
Linda Kaplan Thaler, author of Grit to Great
A powerful toolkit to improve both work and wellbeing. From email and meetings to making the most out of every day, Webb shows us not just how to be more productive, but how to be more fulfilled along the way.
Jonah Berger, Wharton professor and bestselling author of Contagious and Invisible Influence
Years ago I was a rower, and in sport everyone knows you need to pay attention to yourself, your intent and your mindset, to be at your best. This book reminded me of all I learned from those days about the importance of having the right attitude. I found it a great, practical guide to applying these and other helpful psychological insights in business – something we do all too infrequently. Built solidly on the latest research, brought to life with storytelling, it offers many simple ways to boost your performance and give you a better day at work – and if you’re a leader, it will show you how to make sure that your colleagues are on top form, too.
Matt Brittin, President of Google Europe, Middle East & Africa, former rowing World Championship medallist and British Olympic team member
How to Have a Good Day speaks to every area of your workday and shows how making a few critical adjustments to your everyday behavior will leave you amazed by the results. By applying the lessons in Webb’s book, all based on science, you’ll maximize your performance and be more energized than ever.
Marshall Goldsmith, bestselling author of Triggers, MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
The quest for self-improvement usually takes place on a well-trodden path, with many different gurus offering guidance. But the advice, in addition to being contradictory, often lacks solid foundations. Fortunately, How to Have a Good Day is the breakout exception to this category. The evidence and examples packed inside its pages leave the reader in no doubt that Webb’s advice will make a real difference. Better days lead to better lives, and this extraordinary book will lead to both.
Chris Guillebeau, New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup and The Happiness of Pursuit
In How to Have a Good Day, Caroline Webb offers practical advice rooted in the latest science and psychology for anyone who wants to take a more intentional approach to life and enjoy the greater productivity and success that comes from doing so. If you want to stop reacting to your life and start living it, this book will get you moving in the right direction.
Bryce G. Hoffman, author of American Icon
One of my biggest challenges in my new position was to have my direct reports work as a team, and not just work as a collective group of professionals. As well as coaching me, Caroline came up with unique, creative and outside the box methods to help me with the team, which was the hardest issue I inherited. She played a key role over a couple of days of a very unique session with my directs – and we ended the meeting with an whole-hearted endorsement of the team-concept, ground rules and definite game plan. Almost a year later, I can say that it is not only working very well, but has set a great example for the rest of the company too.
Nayan, CFO, global bank
I came to coaching with a degree of cynicism, but Caroline’s strong analytical and intellectual approach gave real meaning to our discussions. That is, Caroline would never approach an issue without a deep understanding of the actual science behind it, which she combines with her excellent sector based knowledge. She also has an innate ability to ask the right question – she manages to peel back the layers of perceived complexity around an issue by simply asking very, very good questions. As a result, the answers reveal themselves in a way that is authentic and meaningful for the person being coached. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Caroline.
Senior Lawyer
This is a short note to say thank you for delivering such an inspirational talk to us today. In a short amount of time you covered three really fascinating topics, distilling scientific research into clear, entertaining, insightful and practical information. The whole audience was totally engaged and left the room buzzing with energy and interest. On a personal level I took away several actions which I know will make me more effective at work.
Finance Director
An amazing talk that had everyone talking after the event. Delegates were delighted and inspired by the clear and practical advice on how to work smarter and understand the latest thinking on how our brains work.
Marketing Consultant
She did a great job of steering the program and using non-aggressive crowd control techniques. Very inspiring too.
Attorney
A quick word of thanks for your truly inspiring, insightful, personal, entertaining and impactful performance. Content and delivery were just outstanding. The participants were blown out of the room. It was superb.
Technology company executive
Caroline commands a room, not only with her own presence but also through the atmosphere she creates among everyone in the room. She is deeply perceptive about people, highly skilled in facilitating conversations, and courageous in asking difficult questions.
Manufacturing Company CEO
I started working with Caroline after realizing that my business needed to change some of our fundamental ways of working and our approach to client relationships. Caroline worked through all of the challenges and issues I was having to deal with in a very structured and thoughtful way. Caroline took the time to explain some of the methods behind her approach and provided me with my own tools to deal with similar situations going forward. During our sessions Caroline gave me a fascinating insight into the world of behavioral science and how it relates to my day to day interactions in business, which have become significantly more enjoyable and successful as a result. It was a pleasure to work with Caroline – she is a wonderful executive coach and a wonderful person in general. I cannot recommend her highly enough to anyone who needs her expertise and her deeply caring style of interaction and delivery.
Peter, Managing Partner, technology consultancy
One of my biggest challenges in my new position was to have my direct reports work as a team, and not just work as a collective group of professionals. As well as coaching me, Caroline came up with unique, creative and outside the box methods to help me with the team, which was the hardest issue I inherited. She played a key role over a couple of days of a very unique session with my directs – and we ended the meeting with an whole-hearted endorsement of the team-concept, ground rules and definite game plan. Almost a year later, I can say that it is not only working very well, but has set a great example for the rest of the company too.
Nayan, CFO, global bank
I came to coaching with a degree of cynicism, but Caroline’s strong analytical and intellectual approach gave real meaning to our discussions. That is, Caroline would never approach an issue without a deep understanding of the actual science behind it, which she combines with her excellent sector based knowledge. She also has an innate ability to ask the right question – she manages to peel back the layers of perceived complexity around an issue by simply asking very, very good questions. As a result, the answers reveal themselves in a way that is authentic and meaningful for the person being coached. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Caroline.
Angela, Chair, law firm
Caroline Webb has the ability to literally create a paradigm shift in your thinking and approach to life. I have experienced that personally and I’m still not entirely sure how she does it. Her coaching style is one of the most effective I’ve ever seen in action. Just three days in a leadership course that she ran set me on an entirely new direction. Both in terms of the way I manage my people and manage myself. I will sincerely be eternally grateful for the opportunity to have learnt from her.
Ndidi, CEO, non-profit
This is a brilliantly useful book. Caroline Webb has a quite exceptional range of organisational experience. She uses it to review a vast span of the latest academic ‘thinking about thinking’ in the clearest possible way. And then she applies this wisdom to help us all sort out the frazzle of our own working day. Her approach is utterly straightforward but based in deep insights into how human beings really behave. And she chases away the time-honoured follies that many business people still insist on living their lives by (even though they no longer work, and never did).
Peter Day, BBC Business Correspondent, former Presenter of In Business and Global Business