TED Business

When an organization is battered by critics, how does it usually respond? “Deny and push back, put out some sort of lame statement,” says Bob Langert, “and no progress is made at all.” But based on 25 years leading sustainability and corporate responsibility at McDonald’s, Bob proposes another way: To work with critics.

In this talk, he shares stories that take us from the Amazon to slaughterhouses, from tree huggers to corporate suits, all in the search for common ground with his greatest detractors.

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You might think working from home is an introvert’s fantasy. “But,” says writer Morra Aarons-Mele, “the truth is, for many introverts remote work is kind of a nightmare.” In this talk, she helps introverts understand how to protect their precious energy in a virtual work life. Lessons we can all learn from.

But how do you know if you're an introvert or not? After the talk, Modupe explains why the answer isn’t as clear cut as you might think.

For more from Morra, check out her podcast "The Anxious Achiever" from Harvard Business Review.

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What do you do when a company doesn’t act in line with your values? Boycott? Divest? In essence, stop the flow of money? That's the typical advice. But sustainability consultant (and former comedian) Vinay Shandal says we’re missing a whole set of tools more effective than walking away. He looks to the most intimidating and influential profit-chasing investors in the world for techniques on how to make real social change. 

After the talk, Modupe chats with Corey Hajim, TED’s Business Curator, to try to apply Vinay’s ideas to their own lives. Without getting exhausted.  

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Confidence. We talk about it all the time. We know it matters. And still, educator and activist Brittany Packnett thinks we underestimate it. "Confidence,” she says, “is the necessary spark before everything that follows.”

In this talk, Brittany identifies the three basic elements of this elusive force, which can be especially valuable for people whose role models don’t look like them.

After the talk, Modupe shares one more technique that has propelled her year after year at work. Spiderman makes a brief appearance.

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Today, an episode from WorkLife with Adam Grant, another TED podcast.

Many workplaces have become increasingly lonely, even before the coronavirus pandemic made more of us literally remote. It’s not just an unpleasant feeling—loneliness can hurt our health and our job performance. Find out why it's time for happy hours to finally die—and how it might take less than a minute to start building real connections.

Subscribe to WorkLife wherever you're listening to this.

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"Today we're sharing an episode from another TED podcast: ZigZag, hosted by Manoush Zomorodi.

In 2018, Backstage Capital's Arlan Hamilton was on the cover of Fast Company magazine. The headline was irresistible: homeless, gay, Black woman becomes hot-shot Silicon Valley investor. But the reality is that Black female founders still get token amounts of funding, despite being the fastest growing demographic in the startup world. On this episode, Arlan reflects on whether she's improved the plight of “underestimated and underrepresented” founders and how she explains privilege to white, male investors who don't understand the point of her investment fund. Plus, Manoush's daughter weighs in on entrepreneurship.

Subscribe to ZigZag wherever you're listening to this. "

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This year we’ve heard a lot of companies step up—or at least, say they’re stepping up—and making diversity a priority. But what does it mean to truly build an inclusive workplace?

In this interview from TED@BCG, Starbucks COO Rosalind G. Brewer lays out how to bring change to companies from the grassroots, by focusing not on metrics, but relationships. In a candid conversation, she shares Starbucks’ missteps over the years and how they addressed their own failings. The lessons aren’t just for the office, but for our own communities and families.

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Athletes train their bodies to run faster, jump higher, throw farther. So why don't they train their minds, too? Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, the highest paid player in the NFL, shares how “neutral thinking” helps him handle high pressure situations, on and off the field. After the talk, host Modupe Akinola examines how we can use stress to our advantage.

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How do you lead in times of absolute upheaval, when you can't predict what change could come tomorrow? With humility, transparency, and urgency, says leadership researcher Amy C. Edmondson, because these are the ingredients that make a workplace psychologically safe. After the talk, host Modupe Akinola breaks down how Amy’s concept can help employees build safer, more resilient workplaces — with or without support from the boss.

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Our brains create categories to make sense of the world, recognize patterns and make quick decisions. But this ability to categorize also exacts a heavy toll when it comes to unconscious bias. In this powerful talk, psychologist Jennifer L. Eberhardt explores how our biases unfairly target Black people at all levels of society — from schools and social media to policing and criminal justice — and discusses how creating points of friction can help us actively interrupt and address this troubling problem. After the talk, host Modupe Akinola gives us tools and tactics to counteract bias when it comes to giving feedback at work.

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