7 of the Best TED
Talks for Small Business
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| © Can Stock Photo Inc. / ra2studio |
One of the hardest things about running a business is finding
the resources you need – be it human resources, financial resources, or
educational resources. There's no question you know your product, service or
industry but what do you know about running a business or social media, or
marketing, or sales? And how has it changed since you last learned it all?
Finding good quality (inexpensive) learning resources to keep
you at the top of your industry can mean the difference between success and
struggle. A chamber membership is a great investment for your professional and
business development as is some time spent absorbing the innovative ideas of
others. TED talks are an amazing opportunity to learn (on your schedule) from a
few of the brightest minds in our world. Best of all, the talks are free.
Here is a list of some of the best TED talks for small business
owners:
Got a Wicked Problem? First Let Me Tell You How to Make Toast
This 10-minute video from Tom Wujec presents a basic activity
with interesting insights into business teams and processes, asking people to
visually represent how they make toast. He discusses how different teams approach
the activity from their own center – people, process or technology. The video
provides some nice insight into people’s thinking and what they consider to be
the most important part of the toast-making process.
How Great Leaders Inspire Action
If you’ve never watched this powerful 20-minute video by Simon Sinek, turn off your email, let
your calls go to voicemail, and watch. Now. In it he talks about how people
don’t buy your product, they buy the “why” behind what you do. Do you know your
why? You’ll be thinking about it
after watching this.
How to Make a Splash in Social Media
If you don’t have a lot of time, here’s a 4-minute gem from Alexis Ohanian (Reddit) on becoming a hit in
social media. Even though it’s from 2009, it’s still a funny story.
What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work?
The 20-minute talk from Dan Ariely provides good insight into
what satisfies us, and it’s not money. Knowing the secret to inspiring work is
something most small business owners understand but if you need an encouraging
boost, check this out.
3 Ways to (Usefully) Lose Control of Your Brand
If you think you own your company’s brand, think again. With
social media and public access to broad audiences, it’s the customer who
controls the brand now. This six and a half minute video by Tim Leberecht reminds us of this and
shows us how to gracefully accept it.
Looking Past Limitations
This video isn’t about business, per se, but Caroline Casey’s ability
to get past her own limitations are sure to inspire you. It’s worth a watch
just to hear about her interesting childhood.
This is Broken
Marketing genius Seth Godin talks about what works in
business and what’s broken, in his unusual, funny way. His commentary will make
you look at your business, and customer experience, from a different
lens.
Christina R. Green teaches small
businesses, chambers and associations how to connect through content. Her
articles have appeared in the Midwest Society of Association Executives’
Magazine, NTEN.org, AssociationTech, and Socialfish. She is a regular blogger
at Frankjkenny.com and Memberclicks.
She’s just a bookish
writer on a quest to bring great storytelling to organizations everywhere.
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