Happy Grow Lucky by Despierre, Arnaud;

Short description:

Happy Grow Lucky’s insights are built on in-depth interviews of 45 global Chief Human Resources Officers of some of the biggest companies in the planet. It showcases thier life-tested career stories as they candidly share their mistakes, learnings, and best practices, giving readers an unprecedented look into their career journeys.

Long description:

Careers are like relationships; they are complex, critical, and you don’t often get a second chance to get it right. Happy Grow Lucky will give you that chance.

Happy Grow Lucky’s insights are built on in-depth interviews with 45 global Chief Human Resources Officers from some of the biggest companies on the planet, from adidas to Vodafone, totalling over $1 trillion in revenues. It showcases these senior leaders’ life-tested career stories as they candidly share their mistakes, learnings, and best practices, giving readers an unprecedented look into their career journeys.

Along the way, this book’s research busts conventional career management myths and lays out best practices that will drive your long-term professional success. It introduces the concept of Career Health and provides a practical and actionable method to help you (re)build a successful and fulfilling career at any stage of your life.

Happy Grow Lucky is for readers who want to play the long game and build a Thriving Career over years and decades. It is a book that you come back to every couple of years for a lifetime, even as you get into your legacy years. It is also a book you gift to your junior colleagues to set them on the right path and to your friends to help inspire them.

Happy Grow Lucky is a Masterclass in career-building. It will give you value immediately and continue to grow on you throughout your life.

Career journeys often make more sense when we look back. As you reach critical decision points in your own career journey, wouldn’t it be helpful to tap into the experiences of leaders who have built successful international careers? Happy Grow Lucky is the book for you – full of very personal individual stories expertly woven together to create valuable insights. Read it, reflect on it, and it will help you along your own way in life.
Lucien Alziari, EVP, former Chief Human Resources Officer, Prudential Financial

Happy Grow Lucky is a refreshing reminder that growth doesn’t have to come at the cost of joy – in fact, the two are deeply connected. Arnaud invites us to rethink how we lead, live, and learn in a world that often prioritizes speed over substance. With clarity and heart, this work encourages us to embrace curiosity, cultivate resilience, and lead with intention – not just in our organizations, but in our lives. A thoughtful and timely read for anyone passionate about people, purpose, and progress.
Morten Enggaard Rasmussen, Executive Vice President of People & Stakeholder Relations, Novonesis

Happy Grow Lucky offers a very practical roadmap for people who have the ambition to reach the Chief HR Officer level. The "fil rouge" from the 45 CHROs interviewed is extremely valid and backed by concrete examples. It gives a sense of the elements the next generation of aspiring CHROs should look at to get there. In this book, you have an invaluable compass to guide your steps toward your dream job. I wish I had it for myself a few years back!
Roberto Di Bernardini, Former Chief HR Officer, Danone and Banco Santander

Happy Grow Lucky is a thought-provoking read that stays with you. It is filled with insights that linger and models that challenge you to think – about success, fulfilment, and the kind of career and life worth building. It reminds us that playing the long game is essential: true career satisfaction comes not from short-term wins but from nurturing long-term career health. It’s a book that I will be gifting my young adult children as they embark upon their careers in the hope that it serves as a helpful, smart, soulful guide to building a career that’s not just impressive on paper, but deeply meaningful in life. Margins of the book will be covered with your thoughts, quotes will be circled and sentences underlined. Get your pens ready!
Salima Shariff, Chief People Officer, Infineum

An important book full of career best practices and actionable insights on how to become ‘intentionally lucky’. A fun and practical read. I strongly recommend this book to current and future HR leaders.
Tony Verbraeken, International HR Director, and Senior Advisor (former EVP HR, Shell)

Human Resources professionals spend much of their time providing career advice to others outside the function while failing to apply their expertise to themselves. In Happy Grow Lucky, Arnaud Despierre reminds us of best practices in what we profess to others while offering a comprehensive and practical framework for advancing our careers as HR professionals.
Alan R. May, Affiliate Professor Foster, School of Business, University of Washington, and former Chief People Officer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Happy Grow Lucky is the career playbook I wish I’d had years ago. With remarkable access to some of the world’s most influential HR leaders, it offers a behind-the-scenes look at their triumphs, failures, and the lessons they learned along the way. The book’s unique Career Health framework makes it a practical manual and a source of long-term inspiration. I will be recommending Happy Grow Lucky to colleagues, friends, and anyone serious about building a resilient, fulfilling career that stands the test of time.
Danielle Pallin, Chief People Officer, Hakluyt & Company

In today’s fast-evolving business landscape, Happy Grow Lucky offers a timely and insightful guide to navigating your career with intention and resilience. Candid reflections, combined with practical tools, make this book a powerful asset for professionals at any stage seeking to future-proof their careers.
Allison Pinkham, Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Committee Member, Galderma

Happy Grow Lucky offers invaluable career insights that truly resonate. Through inspiring CHRO stories and practical frameworks like the ABCD traits (Awareness, Bravery, Connectivity, Delivery), it shows how to build success without sacrificing authenticity. More than climbing the ladder, this book teaches how to construct a career aligned with your values. A powerful toolkit for purposeful professionals at any stage.
Wendy Ng, Former Group Chief HR Officer

Happy Grow Lucky is an amazing guide for HR leaders to living the life they want, written with real inputs from CHROs themselves. It is also a powerful reminder of the need to make your own career choices, regardless of your profession. This book can literally change the trajectory of your life.
Mike James Ross, Former Chief HR Officer of La Maison Simons. Author of Intention: The Surprising Psychology of High Performers

Happy Grow Lucky is more than a career guide: it is a mindset reset, which is far more powerful. Arnaud shows that luck in careers isn’t random, but earned through awareness, bravery, connection, and delivery. A must-read for anyone who wants to thrive in their professional journey.
Daniel Strode, Culture & Innovation Strategist, Author of The Culture Advantage, The Innovator’s Edge, and From Web 1 to Web 3

Table of Contents:

1. The curious case of the lucky career  2. Activating your awareness 3. Betting on Bravery 4. Cultivating Connectivity 5. Driving Delivery 6. Managing your career flow 7. Mastering pivotal HR Career Moments 8. Your career (re)starts here 9. Conclusion