Must Watch talks
HOW YOUR BRAIN CAN TURN ANXIETY INTO CALMNESS
As someone who has lived with high levels of anxiety most of my life, I found this talk to be riveting and hopeful. Another example of gaining deeper understanding into ourselves and how our “operating system” works and allowing ourselves a greater chance of being effective captains of our own boats in this life. Also valuable knowledge for helping others by the brilliant Nobel Prize laureate Richard Feynman about the importance of the teacher addressing their audience’s ability to understand. Indeed, when we face an audience, we must remember that we are not doing so because we are experts in the field we plan to discuss rather because we are experts in explaining the field. We should not be under the impression that we stand before them as subject matter experts but rather that we stand before them as teachers.
THE SECRET TO LIVING LONGER MAY BE YOUR SOCIAL LIFE | SUSAN PINKER
Remember the old question of “Nature vs. Nurture”? A wonderful talk about how the social conditions in which we live materially affect the longevity of our lives. How large is the gap between the insights presented in this talk and the social conditions of your own lives? What takeaways can you extract from this interesting talk?
YOU AREN'T AT THE MERCY OF YOUR EMOTIONS - YOUR BRAIN CREATES THEM | LISA FELDMAN BARRETT
I like this video because it offers another angle for understanding EQ (Emotional Intelligence), which I have long believed to be one of the most important types of intelligence for effective interpersonal interactions and happiness itself. The idea of prediction and the path offered speak to more control over how we experience the otherwise hectic and impossibly complex world around us and appeal very much to me.
THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT CHARITY IS DEAD WRONG | DAN PALLOTTA
Perhaps one of the very best talks I have heard to date. A paradigm shifting presentation that every leader of every NGO, and more importantly – every philanthropist must watch and internalize. Personally, I challenge the very phrase “non-profit” because I believe that no organization or endeavor is truly not-for-profit but that rather the difference between a commercial entity and a socially driven entity is in how they define profit. For commercial entities, profit is primarily defined in monetary terms, whereas socially and ideologically motivated organizations (and initiatives) should define their profit in terms of “the measurable scope of positive change” they are able to ensure relative to the resources expended (the risk) towards these accomplishments.
DO SCHOOLS KILL CREATIVITY? | SIR KEN ROBINS
Also in the top 3 best talks I have heard to date. While this talk clearly and compellingly addresses the shortcomings of our formal educational systems, we have frequently incorporated viewing this video into corporate workshops and executive offsite sessions that we conducted. Why? Because learning and ongoing development has long since become a critical components of large organizations and is not limited to our 12 years of easily education and later our academic education. Many of the insights in this talk are actually highly relevant to large enterprises and in fact any large organization that is naturally susceptible to dogmatic thinking, operational stagnation and the crushing creative thinking.
YOUR BODY LANGUAGE MAY SHAPE WHO YOU ARE | AMY CUDDY
A wonderfully sincere and well delivered talk about the power of our body language. Many think that how we feel is represented by our body language – but the opposite is also true: our body language can shape how we feel, and that in turn can have a material impact on the interpersonal dynamics with those around us.
JOHN CLEESE ON CREATIVITY
So much of what makes us “tick” is counter intuitive, directly opposed to our natural instinct. A wonderfully eloquent and well delivered talk about why we MUST allow for humor and play to be core components of our decision making and problem solving processes, or better yet – part of our very organizational culture.
SUGATA MITRA: BUILD A SCHOOL IN THE CLOUD
Aside from my deep passion for education (I see myself as a teacher above all else), I strongly recommend having your team (especially your management team) watch this talk because it introduces a new way of thinking. It presents a question that challenges multi-generational paradigms. This is not just brave – it’s crucial. The world around us is changing at what might as well be the speed of light as far as our natural ability to effectively handle it. We are living in, for lack of a better phrase, “The Age of Fallen Paradigms” and the sooner we learn how to embrace it by pro-actively challenging paradigms within our “local” realities (for instance: within our organizations and broader enterprises), the more likely we are to successfully adapt to the new realities. Again, and again.
8 LESSONS ON BUILDING A COMPANY PEOPLE ENJOY WORKING FOR
Patty McCord served as chief talent officer of Netflix for 14 years and helped create the Netflix Culture Deck. Since it was first posted on the web, the Culture Deck has been viewed more than 15 million times, and Sheryl Sandberg has said that it “may be the most important document ever to come out of Silicon Valley.
FEYNMAN: KNOWING VERSUS UNDERSTANDING
A beautiful explanation by the brilliant Nobel Prize laureate Richard Feynman about the importance of the teacher addressing their audience’s ability to understand. Indeed, when we face an audience, we must remember that we are not doing so because we are experts in the field we plan on discussing with them but rather because we are experts in the field of explaining that field. We should not be under the impression that we stand before them as subject matter experts but rather that we stand before them as teachers.
HOW TO START A MOVEMENT | DEREK SIVERS
Most of us see leadership as being the first. What I found so interesting about this talk is the introduction of another form of leadership – the importance of enabling and empowering leadership. After watching this video, see if you can find opportunities in your working environment for that second person.
THE NEURONS THAT SHAPED CIVILIZATION
Having taught the importance of empathy as a psychological dynamic for so many years, I was blown away to discover that we are in fact “wired” for it. Powerful.
