The Ripple Effect
The Ripple Effect
Capitalizing on the Happiness Advantage does more than solely benefit us. Research into social networks has shown that behavior is literally contagious, good or bad. Our attitudes and behaviors infect the people we work with directly, but also spread to the people they interact with. This is called the ripple effect. (p.201)
Mirror neurons in our brains also make our emotions contagious. When we are negative, it brings down people around us, and when we are positive, we can make others positive as well. Organizational psychologists describe a "group affective tone" which can, over time, create a shared emotional norm within a group such as an office. (p.205)
Executives are in a powerful position with the ripple effect, as their positivity can trickle down and spread throughout their organization. They can create a "butterfly effect" with their positive mindset. (p.209)
Shawn Achor Biography
Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, spent over a decade at Harvard University where he won numerous distinguished teaching awards for his work. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and earned a Masters from Harvard Divinity School in Christian and Buddhist ethics.
In 2006, he was Head Teaching Fellow for "Positive Psychology," the most popular course at Harvard at the time. In 2007, Shawn founded Good Think Inc. to share his research with a wider population.
When the global economy collapsed in 2008, Shawn was immediately called in as an expert by the world's largest banks to help restart forward progress. Subsequently, Shawn has spoken in 45 countries to a wide variety of audiences: bankers on Wall Street, students in Dubai, CEOs in Zimbabwe.
Shawn's research on happiness and human potential have received attention from the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Forbes, CNN, and NPR.