Have a few minutes and want to take a break with purpose? Try listening to a TED talk on your commute, after a stressful meeting, or during some downtime when you just want a spark of inspiration. TED is a world-renowned nonprofit organization that offers more than 3,000 free videos (and many articles as well) on an encyclopedia of topics presented by leaders in their fields. We selected a few below that are shorter in length and cover topics that will help get your business muscles firing, but you’ll find much, much more at ted.com/talks. After all, the organization’s motto is “Ideas worth spreading,” and there’s plenty to whet your appetite. How failure cultivates resilience
Presented by Raphael Rose
Categories: failure, embracing challenges, resilience
As the saying goes, mind over matter. One of the best lessons you can learn as a business owner is not just how to handle inevitable failure, but to embrace it, learn from it, and move on stronger. So few entrepreneurs have a smooth trajectory from startup to success, but achieving that success really does depend upon attitude and resiliency when the odds are stacked against you. It’s how you get up after being smacked down that matters.
bit.ly/2TR4jBC
Run time: 12:55
How to speak so that people want to listen
Presented by Julian Treasure
Categories: public speaking, sales, building relationships
The human voice is one of the most powerful sounds in the world. And it’s not just the words you use: How you use your voice can affect how people connect with you. This talk goes through the many ways that using your voice can build relationships, engage others, or put them on edge. It may even make you a better public speaker.
bit.ly/2iccsg6
Run time: 9:54
Why we need to treat our employees as thoughtfully as our customers
Presented by Diana Dosik
Categories: marketing, customer service, employee retention
Companies will spend countless hours and tons of money to figure out their customers’ preferences and spending habits, but how much do they know about the pain points of their employees who actually deliver the service? This quick talk focuses on the workforce, but its impact is really felt in customer retention.
bit.ly/2vGhDOj
Run time: 9:50
How diversity makes teams more innovative (hire more women)
Presented by Rocio Lorenzo
Categories: diversity, innovation, leadership
In this male-dominated industry, it’s easy to go on autopilot and just think that the status quo is good enough. But by actively promoting diversity to enhance your valuable core team—including women and people of color—and the rest of your workforce on all levels increases innovation, creativity, and can help your company to adapt and thrive more easily in a shifting transportation industry.
bit.ly/2yQGmNP
Run time: 11:06
How to be “Team Human” in the digital future
Presented by Douglass Rushkoff
Categories: technology, customer service, human touch-points
Technology, technology, technology! Our present is always focused on ways to make things faster, easier, and more automated, while we’re expected to keep an eye on the next big thing in the future. But in building a sterile world around innovation, have we lost the creativity and touch-points of working with humans? It is possible to find a way merge the best of two worlds.
bit.ly/2Dx7aGq
Run time: 12:24
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