“It shifted my mindset – it wasn’t just about going digital; it was about structuring my expertise into a cohesive, multi-layered journey.”

For Gil Pennant, founder of COG Community, happiness has always been a practical tool for helping people make positive changes in their lives. Through training, coaching and consultancy, Gil had developed a wealth of knowledge and experience working directly with individuals and organisations. The challenge was finding a way to take that expertise beyond the training room.

BIG Growth allowed Gil to explore what that could look like in practice. By working towards a digital prototype for the Happy Feelings App, he began translating his face-to-face training into a format that could potentially reach people wherever they are. The experience also changed the way he thought about developing and marketing COG Community, contributing to a growing digital community, a new book and the next stage of development for the Happy Feelings platform.

Using happiness as a tool for change

“At COG Community, we use happiness as a tool for change. It’s about empowering individuals and organisations to be the best they can be.

“For individuals, we create what I call a lifetime happiness plan. Once you train with us, the aim is that you are empowered for life. For organisations, we work on areas such as staff wellbeing and happiness, showing how looking after people can contribute to productivity. We also run training around managing yourself successfully in the workplace and helping managers develop the skills they need to achieve what they want to do.

“The underlying theme is empowerment. We work with students, people who are long-term unemployed, carers, ex-offenders and people experiencing disadvantage or disenfranchisement. We have also worked with people experiencing mental health challenges and with older people. Whoever somebody is, if they are open to making a change, we want to help them find the tools to move forward.

“For me, happiness isn’t about being happy all the time. That’s not realistic. Sometimes you’re going to be happy, and sometimes you’re going to be sad. What we’re really looking for is contentment – helping people understand those different points in their lives and showing them how they can manage them.”

Growing my community and its purpose

“My work had traditionally been very much face-to-face. I’ve always preferred to work in person – it’s far more effective to build relationships and easier to understand a person’s needs when you’re in the same room. Of course, all of this changed during the pandemic. Trying to manage courses for 50 people online showed me just how chaotic the digital side of things could be, even though the positivity remained.

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, it helped me recognise that I could scale my impact. I knew the in-person training worked; it was the heart and soul of COG Community. If I could hone the digital elements of my proposition, I could reach an even wider audience.

“That is where BIG Growth’s Digital Health and Wellbeing Programme became the turning point.

“The opportunity almost fell into my lap. I was sent some information and knew the programme was what I needed. It shifted my mindset – it wasn’t just about going digital; it was about structuring my expertise into a cohesive, multi-layered journey. The programme helped me step back and articulate a clear technical brief, which was the first time I’d really put my vision into action. I also realised that I had the knowledge, content and expertise I needed. In fact, I had already started capturing my training on paper and had released my first book, How to Use Feeling Very Good as a Way into the Happiness Zone.

“Having that structure finally turned the technical noise into a clear roadmap, giving me the confidence I needed to scale my impact without ever losing the heart and soul that defines COG Community.”

Building the Happy Feelings Journey

“As I developed the different elements of COG Community, I began to see how they could work together as a connected experience. I wanted to create a clear pathway that could take people from simple wellbeing content through to more practical, sustained support –  bringing together the different ways people could engage with COG Community.

“This led me to the Happy Feelings Journey.

“It was designed as a scaffold – starting with a LinkedIn newsletter to nurture a community and provide ongoing wellbeing tips. Then came my latest book, Happy Feelings 365, a 500-page journal filled with activities, one for each day,  so you can open it at any point and find something that interests you. Think of it as an aide-mémoire; it’s a daily tool that bridges the gap between my training sessions and the digital world.

“For me, that practical element is important. When you’re feeling good, it’s easy to think about the things that make you happy. When you’re not feeling so good, it can be much harder to identify them. The journal gives you something to turn to in that moment – you can flick through the pages, find an activity, do something positive and then get on with your day.

“This isn’t a book you read once, either. It’s a 365-day happiness programme you can use every day. That’s where I began to think that the Happy Feelings Journey could go even further, taking a step into the digital world with the Happy Feelings app.”

Taking the Happy Feelings Journey digital

“The Happy Feelings app is a digital well-being tool designed to scale the coaching and happiness expertise of COG Community, enabling users to create personalised, lifetime happiness plans. This felt like the next stage of the Happy Feelings Journey, making the approach more accessible and giving people another way to focus on contentment and positive change.

“The programme supported me in building the initial prototype and facilitated direct collaboration with students at London South Bank University, who helped refine the legal and technical aspects. This was a significant step forward. Testing the app allowed me to move from concept to something real that could actually be built. I also learnt that having a good idea is only the starting point. You need collaboration, technology, user feedback, testing, adaptability and a clear understanding of what is actually needed.

“On the flip side, it’s also reminded me how special face-to-face contact really is. The Happy Feelings app is not here to replace the room-based connections, but to extend a helping hand when I can’t be there in person. There is something special about being able to talk things through, respond to what someone is saying and build a connection in the room – that remains incredibly valuable.

“For me, the two approaches complement each other. The technology allows the Happy Feelings approach to reach people wherever they are, even if they’ve never attended one of my sessions, while the in-person training retains the human connection at its heart. That balance is important to me as COG Community continues to develop.”

 

What’s next for the Happy Feelings Journey?

“The next challenge for COG Community is marketing the Happy Feelings Journey. Previously, the business was built largely through word of mouth, but building a multi-layered approach requires a different approach. I need to find ways of communicating what we offer to a much wider audience.

“I want people to understand that happiness is not something that needs to be complicated or expensive. There are simple things you can do – going for a walk in nature, spending time with friends and family, reconnecting with the things that make you feel good. Happiness is free of charge; it doesn’t cost you anything. The technology gives me a way of taking that message and the practical work behind it to more people.

“The aim is to build a wider Happy Feelings community that gives people practical ways to create happier, healthier and more positive lives.”

A BIG impact in my life

“The BIG Growth Programme was instrumental in helping me move from having an idea to taking real steps towards making it a reality. It gave me the confidence to recognise that I already had much of the knowledge and expertise I needed, but also showed me how to apply those skills in a more structured way to grow COG Community.

“Creating an end-to-end happiness proposition incorporating traditional and digital approaches has been so rewarding. The idea was that somebody, wherever they were in the world, could use it to create their own lifetime happiness plan, and that’s something that continues to inspire me.

“For businesses looking to turn an established idea into a viable, multi-layered proposition, the BIG Growth Programme can provide the practical support and expertise to help make that next step possible. For anyone considering joining the BIG Growth Programme, I’d say don’t hesitate. Grab the opportunity and don’t look back.”

About the Digital Health and Wellbeing Programme

The BIG South London Digital Health and Wellbeing Innovation Programme is an initiative led by the team at London South Bank University (LSBU), fully funded by the UK government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). Through practical workshops and direct access to academic expertise, the programme helps businesses developing digital health and wellbeing solutions explore new technologies, develop innovative products and services, test ideas and identify opportunities to improve health and wellbeing.

Academic Testimonial – Lucia Otoyo

It was a pleasure working with Gil throughout the Happy Feelings App project. His enthusiasm, positivity and commitment to improving people’s wellbeing made the collaboration both enjoyable and rewarding. The project not only helped shape the foundation of the Happy Feelings app but also provided a valuable opportunity for an LSBU student to gain hands-on experience working on a real-world digital innovation project using industry-standard tools and practices.

Gil Pennant’s Bio

Gil Pennant is an award-winning happiness and wellbeing coach, trainer and author, and the founder of COG Community and the Happy Feelings initiative.

Gil works with individuals and organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors, delivering training, workshops and one-to-one support focused on happiness, wellbeing, confidence, personal development and workplace success.