“A vivid imagination compels the whole body to convey it.” –Aristotle (Cooperrider, personal communication, January 9, 2009)             Artists have never been short on imagination when applying it to their art, but more than ever before the commercial theater in New York is in need of inspiration, innovation, and imagination regarding its sustainability and future.  Broadway has an economic impact of over $2 billion dollars on New York City (retrieved from http://www.allianceforarts.org/pdfs/ArtsIndustry_2007.pdf on March 18, 2009).  With the economy is serious decline, multiple shows closing and ticket prices rising even higher, Broadway must look at its sustainability for the future – creating a new audience base and exploring the possibilities of making theater more affordable while at the same time profitable as well.  I believe that an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Summit, while ambitious, is the answer to the question:  How… …

        In order for employees to be more productive and fulfilled at work they need to know and apply their strengths and be in the flow more often. Therefore, I argue that Peterson’s ideas about strengths and Csikszentmihalyi’s ideas about flow are directly applicable to corporate training. Identifying signature strengths and using them in new ways is a positive intervention that would be extremely effective in corporate training (Peterson et al., 2005a).  This intervention is crucial in corporate settings where frequently the deficit mode of thinking dominates.  Shifting to an abundance mode of thinking could transform both performance evaluations and the entire work experience – productivity and work satisfaction.  Being in ‘flow’ during the workday has already been shown to increase productivity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).  If employers were to combine using signature strengths with creating flow during the workday,… …

We had a very successful webinar with Cathy Salit on May 10, 2016. We were disappointed when we ran out of time and didn’t get to everyone’s questions. So, as promised, here is a follow up on some of the unanswered questions.  Also, if you missed the webinar, you can see the recording here. Do you have a success story to share with us from a client using your techniques? How is this all related to presence?  The story I’m thinking about appears in my book (where there are quite a few others — hint, hint). I like this one because it’s about an everyday challenge that many of us face, and it’s not about fixing something that’s broken — it’s about making a choice to grow professionally. Here goes: Natasha had recently been promoted to report directly to the… …

Did you miss our webinar on May 10, 2016? No worries, we have it for you here. In this webinar, Author Cathy Salit will show us how leveraging our inborn ability to perform and pretend can help us grow in our work. Whether you are navigating your way on a new team, expanding your leadership role, or just trying to get heard in a meeting, you’re facing the kind of workplace challenge we all run into sooner or later: you need a new performance. And the good news, Cathy Salit says, is that even though you might not have been onstage since you played a tree in third grade, you — and all humans — have an innate ability to perform, pretend, and improvise. Tapping into this ability is key to learning and growing in new, exciting and profound ways.… …

Theories abound in the business world! I have found the “peak-end” rule to be the most applicable to my work career.  After reading Daniel Kahneman’s work, I will now design my training session so that they have a memorable peak and an impactful ending for my employers, colleagues and coachees.  The peak-end rule says that people judge their experiences almost entirely by the “peak” or most powerful moment in an experience, and how they ended.  Once we have experienced an event, our future choices are based on what we remember about these past experiences – our remembered utility.  Therefore, in order to truly get what we want, our expected utility has to align with our experienced utility, and our experienced utility has to be faithfully remembered in our remembered utility.  Unfortunately, these three utilities rarely align.  And these usual misalignments… …

            “The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”  – Benjamin Franklin.   We live in one of the only nations in the world who has a founding document (actually, it was the Declaration of Independence) that includes “the pursuit of happiness” as a stated goal of its people.  Perhaps only one country, Bhutan, is ahead of the United States with the commitment to “Gross National Happiness” in their actual constitution.  While, in America, there may be lingering sentiment from our Protestant forefathers that pleasure is an evil or sin to be avoided, ultimately all human beings want to be happy.  Because of this, I believe that not only is it appropriate and effective to actively seek to increase your own positive emotions, but there are three… …

This is the second part of an article I started quite a while ago on Positive Business DC. Click here for the first part. What are some examples of social entrepreneurs and the context which has helped cultivate those strengths? Cristóbal Colón, a Spaniard, studied psychiatry and was put in charge of a work therapy program at a hospital.  His job involved assigning the patients useless task to keep them occupied like making ceramic ashtrays.  Colón grew frustrated and knew that these people were not unintelligent and that they needed to feel worthwhile.  Colón set up a dairy business in Cataluña called La Fageda and was able to persuade a loan officer to grant him the seed money in order to do so.  Today La Fageda has the third largest market share for yogurt (behind only Dannon and Nestlé).  It… …

If you’ve completed a strengths survey to discover the things you’re good at and enjoy doing, then you must be loving your job. Right? If you’re shaking your head, there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s just that like any good tool, a little guidance on how to apply your strengths can make a world of difference. Drawing on the latest evidence-based positive psychology practices, Michelle McQuaid – one of the world’s leading strengths researchers – will teach you how to use the right strengths, in the right amount, for the right outcome so you can feel more confident, energized and happy at work. Find out more here [http://michellemcquaid.ontraport.com/t?orid=6015&opid=4].

I often get asked about more training from people who are fascinated by positive psychology but aren’t sure how to take that next step. I am reprinting this due to the overwhelming interest! The Certificate in Applied Positive Practices (CAPP) Program is a 200-hour personal and professional learning journey that will equip you with the tools and practices you need to support yourself and others in flourishing. If positive psychology teaches us that “Other people matter!” then why do so many people study PP in isolation and spend hundreds of hours creating materials that have already been created by others? Join the Flourishing Center to learn the science of human flourishing in a structured, empowering and exciting learning environment. Get access to skills and materials that will make it easy for you to apply positive psychology in your professional life,… …

See this new film for free. Fully Charged features science-backed tips and world-leading experts on decision-making (Thomas Gilovich), willpower (Roy Baumeister) and meaning in our work (Amy Wrzesniewski) and others. Science tells us that small and meaningful actions can increase our wellbeing, impacting our energy, purpose and relationships. How can you bring this to your organization? Join us for the free screening and meet like-minded people. Walk away with empirically-backed new tools to implement for 2016! Join us for the screening of the film and a lively discussion. The Details: 6 PM on February 10, 2016 at Make Offices at Tyson’s, 1751 Pinnacle Dr #600, McLean, VA 22102 Light hors d’oeuvres will be served! – See more at: http://positivebusinessdc.com/upcomingevents/fullycharged/#sthash.P3Muq26V.dpuf

I wanted to tell you about a yearlong, online program that changed thousands of lives last year—The Foundations of Well-Being. In this guided, step-by-step program, Rick Hanson, Ph. D. shows you how to use the science of positive neuroplasticity to turn ordinary experiences into powerful inner strengths, including kindness toward yourself, insight into others, grit, gratitude, and self-worth. Rick is a Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and invited speaker at Oxford, Harvard, and Stanford universities. He’s also the New York Times bestselling author of Buddha’s Brain, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture, a neuropsychologist, meditation teacher, and very down-to-earth, practical, and warm-hearted guy. Beginning in January 2016 (but you can still sign up now!), Rick will use the 12 Pillars of Well-Being to teach you practical, effective ways to see more of… …

Shhhh! Can you hear it? There’s a revolution taking place in our workplaces, and it’s being led by employees – want to join in? If you’re fed up with a job that drains your energy, a boss who undermines your confidence or simply lack the time or support to do what you do best, there’s a campaign underway and it’s aimed at restoring people’s happiness. It’s called the Strengths Challenge and it kicks off on Monday 8th February. We’ll help you to discover your strengths – those things you’re good at and enjoy doing, how to design your own 11-minute strengths habit to practice for one week giving you the support you need to put your strengths to work with access to leading strengths coaches. Participation is 100% free. Sign up here: http://michellemcquaid.ontraport.com/t?orid=6015&opid=1

(Originally published on Delivering Happiness) We often think of happiness as a state of mind, but our physical bodies have a large impact on our well-being that goes beyond our physical health. Our bodies can either help or hinder our performance and well-being, on the job or at home, in more ways than are readily obvious. Our well-being is tied to our bodies in more ways than one. Our physical fitness can affect our moods, our energy levels, and our mental performance. Consider the following: Research has shown that just 15 minutes of exercise a day can help increase energy levels. According to the American Council on Exercise, if a sedentary individual begins an exercise program it will enhance the blood flow carrying oxygen and nutrients to muscle tissue improving their ability to produce more energy [the chemical adenosine triphosphate]. Physical… …

What would it be like to have more MAPP students attend from India?  How many people’s well-being could they affect in a country with the second largest population in the world (1.271 billion)?  Or how about Africa?  With 1.111 billion people in 2013, projections show 40% of the world’s population will be in Africa by the end of the 21st century.  Coming from India or Africa, it’s a major challenge to attend MAPP.  We can help make it possible with the Christopher Peterson Memorial Fellowship Fund. At the Summit, we announced a challenge: to raise $10,000 by the end of the year to honor James Pawelski’s commitment to the MAPP program in the year of its 10th anniversary.  As Marty said, “With PERMA, there are 5 pillars of positive psychology, but there is only pillar of MAPP, and that’s James.”… …

As the old saying goes: ‘You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression’. According to one university study*, people make eleven decisions about us in the first seven seconds of contact (“The 7/11 Rule”. They are the following: 1. Education Level 2. Economic Level 3. Perceived Credibility, Believability, Competence and Honesty 4. Trustworthiness 5. Level of Sophistication 6. Sex Role Identification 7. Level of Success 8. Political Background 9. Religious Background 10. Ethnic Background 11. Social/ Professional / Sexual Desirability  (*Source: Michael Solomon, PhD, Psychologist, Chairman, Marketing Department Graduate School of Business, NYU.) And then according to this study the rest of your time is spent finding evidence to prove your original impression of that person, whether that impression is true or not. This study emphasizes the importance of creating good first impressions.  you can learn how to do that… …

While attending the IPPA World Congress this summer I learned a lot.  I took a lot of notes.  Then I promptly forgot a great deal of what I heard.  Why?  Well, I was a little distracted.  We were launching our book, Character Strengths Matter:  How to Live a Full Life, which has been doing really well.  There was a lot of excitement among all the contributors and endorsers and we had a lot of books to get out to them. And I was on the practice committee which had to review 1/2 of the 800 abstracts, so I was busy greeting my committee and thanking them.  But one of my takeaways was Barbara Fredrickson’s new research that people who aim for happiness are actually less happy than those who aim for positivity in their lives.  If you focus on those… …