People matter and happy people matter most. Duh… This seems like common sense but sometimes it takes exhaustive studies to validate conventional wisdom. The Gallup opinion organization polled 100,000 employees at 24 large companies over 25 years. Bottom line: happy workers made successful companies. Brand U leaders also matter because they create a culture of contentment, set clear performance targets, provide resources to get the job done, hire competent workers, and select caring supervisors.