Reading fiction good for improving business acumen

1. “Reading stories can fine-tune your social skills by helping you better understand other human beings.

2. Entering imagined worlds builds empathy and improves your ability to take another person’s point of view.

3. A love affair with narrative may gradually alter your personality—in some cases, making you more open to new experiences and more socially aware.”

KEVIN OATLEY, Scientific American Mind (November 20, 2011)

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I have often advocated the reading of novels not just as a pastime, but as a method of making you better at running your business. This was mostly just gut-instinct, as I have always an avid lover of great fiction.
But now I have proof.

Studies done by psychologist Kevin Oatley and his associates reveal great practical benefits to be derived from reading fictional works. The reason is simple: good fiction gives you an invaluable tool - a better understanding of human beings, their emotions and motivations.

Think about it: Creating a great business these days is less about great technology, structures or processes.

Those are not the problem, nor are they scarce. The thing that sets great organisations apart from merely good ones is the ability to engage people – staff and customers –thoroughly and wholeheartedly.

It’s about inspiring others to give their best, and to feel included and integral to the work. And that’s where fiction comes in.

A lifelong habit of reading great novels exposes the mind to many more human dramas than are available in real life.

It enables a deeper understanding of the human animal and its subtle psychological nuances.

That understanding will help you deal with people much better - and in business these days, it’s the people that matter.

Oatley’s studies suggest that people who read more fiction are, amongst other things, better at perceiving emotion and reading social cues. How does this happen?

Prolonged exposure to fiction, MRI scans reveal, open up neuronal pathways in the brain that assist in the understanding of human emotion.