Positive Intelligence

Overview

Positive Intelligence importance

•  Research shows that when people work with a positive mind-set, performance on nearly every level—productivity, creativity, engagement—improves. Yet happiness is perhaps the most misunderstood driver of performance. (2)

Benefits

•  People who cultivate a positive mind-set perform better in the face of challenge. I call this the “happiness advantage”—every business outcome shows improvement when the brain is positive. (2)

•  Most people believe that success precedes happiness. “Once I get a promotion, I’ll be happy,” This is a trap because success is a moving target. (2)

Exercise those Positive Habits

1.  Jot down three things you were grateful for. 2.  Write a positive message to someone in

your social support network. 3.  Meditate at your desk for two minutes. 4.  Exercise for 10 minutes. 5.  Take two minutes to describe in a journal

the most meaningful experience of the past 24 hours.

Reference: Harvard Business Review Jan-Feb 2012 issue, article entitled 'Positive Intelligence by Shawn Achor

Bottom line of happy employees

•  For companies, happy employees mean better bottom-line results. Employees who score low in “life satisfaction,” a rigorously tested and widely accepted metric, stay home an average of 1.25 more days a month, a 2008 study by Gallup Healthway’s shows this, translates into a decrease in productivity of 15 days a year.

Bottom line of happy employees

•  In a study of service departments, Jennifer George and Kenneth Bettenhausen found that employees who score high in life satisfaction are significantly more likely to receive high ratings from customers.

•  In addition, researchers at Gallup found that retail stores that scored higher on employee life satisfaction generated $21 more in earnings per square foot of space than the other stores, adding $32 million in additional profits for the whole chain.

References 1  Understanding pro social behaviour, sales performance, and

turnover: A group-level analysis in a service context. George, Jennifer and Bettenhausen, Kenneth Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 75(6), Dec 1990.

2  Harvard Business Review Jan-Feb 2012 issue, article entitled 'Positive Intelligence by Shawn Achor

3  Gallup Healthway’s Well Being Index: 4  http://www.well-beingindex.com/

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