If you follow my column, you know I’m a huge fan of TED. Billed as the non-profit organization devoted to “ideas worth spreading”, these short presentations can teach you a lot about the current state of business and technology, where we’re heading as a society, and they also inspire continued learning and self-improvement.
Without further ado, here they are: my picks for the top 10 talks of 2015, separated by category.
Leadership, Management, and Running Your Business
1. Regina Hartley: Why the Best Hire May Not Have the Perfect Resume
When given a choice between a job applicant with a perfect resume and another which raises some questions, which will you pick for an interview? In this insightful talk, Ms. Hartley defends those workers she identifies as “scrappers”. Give her 10 minutes, and she just may change your hiring practices forever.
2. Bill Gross: The Single Biggest Reason Startups Succeed
Serial entrepreneur and incubator founder Bill Gross analyzed 200 companies, half wild successes and half complete failures. He looked specifically at the criteria of funding, business model, uniqueness of idea, timing of release, and team and execution to see if one factor stood out above the rest. You might be surprised with what he found.
3. Margaret Heffernan: Why It’s Time to Forget the Pecking Order at Work
Most organizations are run by placing a high value on high-performers. But Heffernan argues that this doesn’t drive most high-achieving teams. What does? Helpfulness.
Does this sound obvious, that helpfulness will just happen naturally? It doesn’t. Watch the talk to find out why, and how to change things for the better.
4. Yves Morieux: How Too Many Rules at Work Keep You From Getting Things Done
Yves Morieux has spent years working with hundreds of companies as a consultant with BCG. In doing so, he’s identified a major flaw: We are creating organizations that are only preparing to fail.
As business continues to become more complex, businesses must simplify. In his impassioned presentation, Morieux explains how.
5. Ricardo Semler: How to Run a Company With (Almost) No Rules
Ricardo Semlar set out to transform the company he inherited from his father into one where employees worked less and played more, set their own salaries, and gave their leaders feedback. He’s conducted this experiment for the past 30 years, with great success. Listen to Semlar’s (still) innovative philosophy in this engaging 20 minute talk.
(Note: Although originally filmed in 2014, this talk wasn’t made available to the public until this year.)
Personal Growth
6. Tony Fadell: The First Secret of Design Is…Noticing
It’s easy to simply get used to things–because that’s just “the way they are”. But good designers are always looking for ways to make things better. Can you learn from them? In this great talk, the man behind the iPod shares three tips for thinking differently.
7. Martin Pistorius: How my mind came back to life–and no one knew
At 12 years of age, Martin Pistorius contracted a brain infection and lost the ability to communicate. His parents were told that, for all intents and purposes, he had become a “vegetable” and was no longer mentally aware. But in reality, Martin’s mind had begun to knit itself back together. The problem? No one knew it.
This talk will make you cry, but it will also make you smile. Through it all, you’ll learn the value of a simple smile, the remarkable power of the mind, and why it’s important to look beyond the first impression.
8. Mandy Len Catron: Falling in Love Is the Easy Part
This title might not speak to an audience of entrepreneurs and business owners. But the insights Ms. Catron provide go much further than finding romantic love.
In exploring the differences between falling and staying in love, Ms. Catron teaches important lessons about how we get to know others on a deeper level. Even more importantly, she raises thoughtful questions that each of us would do well to ponder. When we do, we are reminded of what it takes to maintain our most important relationships.
9. Taiye Selasi: Don’t Ask Where I’m From, Ask Where I’m Local
How do you answer the question, “Where are you from?” If you’re like Taiye Selasi, you know that can be a challenging question. Selasi was born in England, grew up in the United States, and has lived and felt emotional connections to a number of other places, for various reasons.
In her search for an answer, Selasi challenges us to explore why we ask that question in the first place. In the process, she also helps us to see that we all share more in common than you might think.
The Future
10. Harald Haas: Forget Wi-Fi. Meet the New Li-Fi Internet
Earlier this month,
I wrote about Li-Fi, the breakthrough technology that’s (at least) a hundred times faster than Wi-Fi. (Imagine that every light bulb in the world could be used to transmit data at lightning speed.) Soon after, TED published this second talk by Haas.
What might the future of the internet look like? Just have a look.
Written by: Justin Bariso Source: Inc.com
