Instant Offices shares eight popular TED Talks to get you inspired for the new year – personally and professionally.
Want to hit the ground running in 2017? These TED Talks will leave you feeling energised and ready to tackle the new year head-on.
1. The Puzzle of Motivation: Dan Pink
This is a fantastic talk for managers and entrepreneurs juggling the issues that crop up while running a company, and managing people. Beginning with the “Candle Problem”, Dan Pink begins his talk challenging the audience to overcome ‘functional fixedness’, the case of seeing something only for which it traditionally stands for. He tackles the age-old question of incentivising employees – delving into intrinsic vs. extrinsic incentives, and which tasks are better performed with which incentive. He unpacks modern psychology’s view on the business setting, and how autonomy, mastery, and purpose drive motivation.
2. Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work: Jason Fried
For a business to succeed, many things need to happen – productivity is one of the most important driving forces. Think about where you go when you need to get work done – ironically, most people will mention places outside the office – trains, coffee shops or their bedrooms. Jason Fried sees a major connection between sleep and work, the way sleep happens in phases i.e. if you’re interrupted in the early phase then you need to go through all the phases again. Dealing with interruptions is key in this talk, which is helpful for managers to get their employees to start working at the office again.
3. Where Good Ideas Come From: Steven Johnson
Often people will describe their ideas and moments for success as, “Ah-ha!” moments. Steven Johnson sees things differently, and explains his philosophy on why. Johnson draws examples throughout history, from the “liquid networks” of London’s coffee houses to Charles Darwin’s long, slow hunch — Johnson powerfully opposes the eureka moment with great historical discoveries.
4. The Power of Believing That You Can Improve: Carol Dweck
Carol Dweck delivers an inspirational talk that will leave you feeling like you can accomplish anything. Dweck focuses on the childlike ability to keep going, and to learn something new without fear of failure, but rather an eagerness to develop. This growth mindset is powerful because it gives you, as Dweck puts it, a “path into the future that creates greater persistence”.
5. The Single Biggest Reason Start-ups Succeed: Bill Gross
Nine out of ten start-ups fail. Bill Gross shares amazing insight into the factors that contribute most to business success. Gross believes, “the start-up organisation is one of the greatest forms to make the world a better place. If you take a group of people with the right equity incentives and organize them in a start-up, you can unlock human potential in a way never before possible.” He analyses successes like Airbnb, Instagram, Uber, and failures like Pets.com, Kozmo, and others. The answer to success? Timing. Watch his video for more.
6. Five Ways to Lead in an Era of Constant Change: Jim Hemerling
Jim Hemerling delivers a pertinent talk on how to adapt today’s businesses, in our ever-changing world, by putting people first. He forms five imperatives: inspire through purpose; go all in; enable people with the capabilities that they need to succeed during the transformation and beyond; have a culture of continuous learning; and be direct as a leader. Watch this incredible talk on making transformation exhilarating, rather than exhausting, through inclusivity.
7. How to build a business that lasts 100 years: Martin Reeves
There’s a one in three chance that your business will fail, or be taken over, within just five years of existence. Martin Reeves, master strategist, senior partner and managing director at New York’s Boston Consulting Group, reveals how to ensure your business remains resilient and long-lived. Reeves looks to the human immune system to draw similarities with the world’s greatest institutions of all time, and shares astonishing statistics about diminishing business life cycles while sharing six principles to build a flourishing business.
8. How great leaders inspire action: Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek describes how great leaders inspire action, when they achieve things that seem to defy all the assumptions, and more. For example, what makes Apple the world-leader in consumer technology? There are plenty of well-funded, incredibly smart, and impactful companies around, but not one close to Apple’s level.
He explains a brilliant concept, “Golden Circle”, a new way of looking at how people approach what they do. This talk will leave you feeling excited about leadership as Sinek draws several enticing examples, from the Apple computer, Wright Brothers, and Martin Luther King, Jr.