In the M.O.O.D

Having a creative workforce does not mean recruiting geniuses, according to Professor Teresa Amabile of the Harvard Business School. The most critical factor in generating creative ideas is MOOD. In research spanning 26 creative-project teams in seven companies acorss three industries, Amabile found that a good mood is not only beneficial at the time, it also has flow-on effect. "There seems to be a cognitive process set up when people are feeling good that leads to more flexible, fluent and original thinking, and there's actually a carry over, an incubation effect, to the next day." she says.

GINA MCCOLL {BRW}