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Good Mood Impacts Creativity and Innovation, Says Research


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by Naazish YarKhan, Class of 2011

According to our readings, creativity and innovation are enhanced by a good mood. Hmmm… so does that mean a better bottom line may justify the case for Prozac in the water supply ? Jokes aside, generating good ideas impacts how one feels and how one feels impacts the quality of ideas one generates. Yup, you guessed it -it’s the virtuous cycle - twin to the vicious cycle. Given the emotional high that one’s good idea generates, it follows that having your ideas shot down would dampen your spirit. We don’t need research to tell us, but if that happens one to many times, there goes the future of ones creativity and other new ideas.

To have a corporate culture where one feels ‘safe’ to voice one’s thoughts and opinions encourages risk taking and gives people the permission to see connections, and hence solutions, between disparate knowledge groups. So next time someone has an idea ( a wild idea, according to you), give it a hearing, before closing your mind to its potential value. If that sounds easier said than done, that’s one exercise that absolutely belongs on your to-do list.

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Categorised as: class assignments, class readings, Managing Information for Innovation, Naazish YarKhan

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