by
Badgley Phelps
| Apr 04, 2018
TED is a wealth of inspired ideas – but often there’s not enough time to cull through all it offers. That’s why we curated this list of five TED talks that are worth listening to right now, on topics ranging from blockchain to sustainable investing to philanthropy to the secret to living longer.
Digital strategist Don Tapscott explains blockchain and discusses why he thinks it holds vast promise for business by creating prosperity with blockchain’s “internet of value…where every kind of asset, from money to music, could be stored, moved, transacted, exchanged and managed, all without powerful intermediaries” as compared to our current “internet of information.” Tapscott calls blockchain “another opportunity to rewrite the economic power grid and the old order of things.” For anyone who wants to learn about blockchain, is an entrepreneur in any sense of the word or simply wants to learn why Tapscott compares financial services to a Rube Goldberg machine, this talk a must listen.
Sustainable investment champion Chris McKnett talks about how he believes that “sustainable investing is less complicated than you think, better-performing than you believe and more important than we can imagine.” He questions whether the investment rules of today are appropriate for investing tomorrow. He challenges investors to look at not just performance metrics like sales growth and cash flow but also metrics related to things like energy consumption, efficient use of resources and human capital – and he discusses the ways in which we’re already moving in the right direction and companies that are doing better because they’re taking sustainability into account. (Interested in socially responsible investing? Read about green bonds here.)
Social impact strategist Wendy Woods discusses how to make major philanthropic progress, “we need business, both the companies and the investors, to drive the solutions.” Instead of focusing on corporate social responsibility, which just scratches the surface, Woods maintains that we must focus on TSI – total societal impact – to make real progress. Her group studied oil and gas companies and those performing most strongly on TSI saw “a 19 percent premium on their valuation. 19 percent…And when they also add in strong employee training programs, they get a 3.4 percentage point premium on their margins.”
In this interview-style TED talk, Bill and Melinda Gates share how a walk on the beach led to the world’s biggest private foundation, how they chose where to focus first, and why it’s the most fulfilling thing they’ve ever done. As Bill Gates says, “The world is a far better place because of the philanthropists of the past, and the U.S. tradition here, which is the strongest, is the envy of the world. And part of the reason I'm so optimistic is because I do think philanthropy is going to grow and take some of these things government's just not good at working on and discovering and shine some light in the right direction.”
Psychiatrist Robert Waldinger shares data from one of the longest studies of adult life to date, The Harvard Study of Adult Development, revealing what keeps people happy and healthy. The study tracked people from the time they were teenagers into old age and ultimately showed that the secret to living longer isn’t wealth, hard work or fame. “The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.”
