Your Brain and Business: The Neuroscience of Great Leaders

Chapter 2. How Does Positive Thinking Affect the Business Brain?

Within a business context, positive psychology refers to an approach within psychology that focuses on the positive aspects of thinking and feeling that allows people and businesses to grow. Rather than a problem-based approach, positive psychology extols the virtues of a strengths-based approach, keeping a steady and disciplined eye on these strengths so that leaders can grow them and apply them wherever necessary.

The relevance of positive psychology to the business environment has been described in the literature.¹ For example, in the corporate world, studies have shown that consumers who have a positive outlook on life (e.g., people who have hope and gratitude) are more sensitive ...