5 TED Talks to Inspire Your Next Big Idea
Why Tech Needs the Humanities - Eric Berridge
I love this TED talk so much, I’ve brought it up in conversations and on podcasts in just the last couple weeks alone!
Running out of options, a software consulting firm decided they would send a bartender they met one night, to speak with their most difficult client. Today, that firm is a two hundred million dollar business that, along with engineers, employs bartenders, writers, and musicians.
The amazing conversation reminds us of the important balance between the technical and the humanities in all businesses and challenges us to introduce innovative approaches to how we normally solve problems!
Quote:
“Number two, the skills that are imperative and differentiated in a world with intuitive technology are the skills that help us to work together as humans, where the hard work is envisioning the end product and its usefulness, which requires real-world experience and judgment and historical context.”
Want to be More Creative? Go for a Walk - Marily Oppezzo
Whether you’re creating a new logo for a client, editing pictures, brainstorming a new solution, or creating an action plan, creativity is a part of each of our businesses. We need to be intentional with how we exercise that creativity.
In this TED talk, Marily Oppezzo walks us through what we can do to make our creative thinking more effective.
She highlights how science has proven that the simple act of going for a walk can drastically improve our overall thought process and effectiveness!
Yes, there are two puns in my breakdown. No, they were not intentional. Yes, they are absolutely staying.
Quote:
“One key of creativity is to not lock on that first idea. Keep going. Keep coming up with new ones, until you pick one or two to pursue.”
How I Became an Entrepreneur at 66 - Paul Tasner
If you want a shot of inspiration today, then this is the talk for you. Presenter Paul Tasner enjoyed a long, successful career as an engineer, but for him, retirement was out of the question.
Using his passions to inform his decisions, Paul took the leap to entrepreneurship at age 66 and has built an award winning business, helping to reduce pollution across the globe.
Paul’s talk reenforces the idea that, whether we are a teenager figuring things out, nearing retirement, or anywhere in between, we have the capacity to become experts on something brand new.
Quote:
“I live and work in San Francisco, and if you're looking for funding, you are typically going to compete with some very young people from the high-tech industry, and it can be very discouraging and intimidating. I have shoes older than most of these people.”
The Secret to Great Opportunities? The Person You Haven't Met Yet - Tanya Menon
Today, technology grants us the unprecedented ability to connect with likeminded people across the globe. It also allows us to filter ourselves off of things or people who are different than us.
In this TED talk, Tanya Menon explains how keeping our social doors open could be the key to our best business opportunities. She challenges us to fight our filters, be courageous, and engage. She educates on the incredible advantages of having a diversity of thought in our lives.
If you’re worried about a talk telling you to treat each interaction with a new person as a “business opportunity”, have no fear. One of her key points is to not treat people like resources!
Quote:
“It makes us comfortable to be around people who are similar. The problem is when we're on a precipice, right? When we're in trouble, when we need new ideas, when we need new jobs, when we need new resources — this is when we really pay a price for living in a clique.”
You Don't Have to be an Expert to Solve Big Problem - Tapiwa Chiwewe
This is one of my absolute favorite topics right now. In this TED talk, Tapiwa Chiwewe asks why we hold ourselves back from becoming experts on things that truly matter to us.
When a giant cloud of pollution hung over his hometown of Johannesburg, the thoroughly under-qualified Tapiwa asked what was stopping him from coming up with the solution.
Tapiwa’s talk inspires us to become students all over again, every day if we have to, about the things that inspire us. We might just change the world.
Quote:
“The next time you find that there's some natural curiosity you have that is being piqued, and it's about something you care about, and you have some crazy or bold ideas, and perhaps it's outside the realm of your expertise, ask yourself this: Why not? Why not just go ahead and tackle the problem as best as you can, in your own way? You may be pleasantly surprised.”
If these conversations are lighting the entrepreneurial fire under you, the big question is often, "Where do I begin?"
Know that you have communities of like-minded people pursuing the same thing, and willing to help, as well as resources to make your leap simple! At Dubsado, we've built the ultimate client management system designed to take care of all the scary stuff that comes with building your dreams so you can focus on your passions.
You can find out more about Dubsado, join our community, and start your free, no time limit trial here.