“There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. And here is what science knows. One: Those 20th century rewards, those motivators we think are the natural part of business, do work, but only in a surprisingly narrow band of circumstances. Two: Those if-then rewards often destroy creativity. Three: The secret to high performance isn’t rewards and punishments, but that unseen intrinsic drive. The drive to do things for their own sake. The drive to do things cause they matter.
And here’s the best part. Here’s the best part. We already know this. The science confirms what we know in our hearts. So, if we repair this mismatch between what science knows and what business does, If we bring our motivation, notions of motivation into the 21st century, if we get past this lazy, dangerous, ideology of carrots and sticks, we can strengthen our businesses, we can solve a lot of those candle problems, and maybe, maybe, maybe we can change the world. I rest my case.”
The TED conference has transformed dramatically over the years thanks to the launching of TEDtalks which I’ve posted on several times. This past year, TED launched another brilliant event called TEDx which allows individuals to host their own local unofficial TED like events. Since March 2009 several events have taken place around the world. How awesome!
A few weeks back, I attended the TEDxBoston event which I wanted to post about, but had no videos to share. As of today, TEDx videos from around the world can be viewed and shared on the TEDx YouTube Channel as well as play lists from each location like TEDxBoston. I’ll post the TEDxBoston videos after the jump, and make sure to watch the last video with our favorite Ben Zanders conducting the Youth Orchestra of Americas.
Lemonade the movie:
“More than 70,000 advertising professionals have lost their jobs in this “Great Recession.” Lemonadeis about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives.”
Right after you watch Art&Copy covering the fun hectic creative work life in an advertising agency, it only seems fit to check out “Lemonade” which follows a few creatives who lose their jobs only to find spare time to chase after their dreams!
Can you get the best in both worlds? Yup… Guru graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister during TEDglobal 2009 encourages creatives to take 1 year sabbaticals every 7 years to recharge.
“He described a typical life timeline: The first 25 or so years are devoted to learning, the next 40 or so to working, and the final 25 to retirement.
Then he asked: Why not cut off 5 years from retirement and intersperse them into your working years?
So every seven years, Sagmeister closes his design shop, tells his clients he won’t be back for a year, and then goes off on a 365-day sabbatical.It sounds costly, I know. But he says the ideas he comes up with during the year “off” are often what provide the income for next seven years.” (daniel pink blog)
Nikon just announced the worlds first Compact Portable Camera with an integrated projector capable in blasting an image on any surface 5-40 inches! The Nikon s1000pj 12.1 MegaPixel Camera is surprisingly thin at .9 inche and will cost roughly $700 $430 when it comes out this fall in Europe! and yes, it still has a 2.7 inch screen.
I’ve played with integrated portable projectors since 2002 during some projects but only now are they coming out in real products. This will surely disrupt the portable media industry, though I’ve grown keen on sharing small screens with people lately.
What will happen… Will projectors over rule touch screens or will projected touchscreens be next. Or maybe augmented data will be projected on people your taking pictures of (watch the TEDtalk on the “6th Sense” project shown this past February embedded after the jump). I do wonder if you can project onto something your about to take a picture of… fun times in creativity and augmented reality!
Besides the crazy busy month in work and odd distractions, I’ll be catching up to many of the suggestions sent in and posting again soon. Or as I’d like to think, I leaned back briefly, just like President Obama did in this awesome picture in the White House.
“At the Taste3 conference, chef Dan Barber(Blue Hill Farm) tells the story of a small farm in Spain that has found a humane way to produce foie gras. Raising his geese in a natural environment, farmer Eduardo Sousa embodies the kind of food production Barber believes in.”
Pretty awesome story. Makes me think about sustainability, agriculture, quality, and just doing things naturally, how things are meant to be.
My long time buddy Mike Block (cellist guru) sent his latest side project Kreol, which turns any laptop keyboard into a musical instrument. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen keyboard instruments, but there are a few unique elements that set him apart using the mouse and collaborative group jams. Check the Kreol video above.
” I wish you would use all means at your disposal — films! expeditions! the web! more! — to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet.”
- Sylvia Earle
This is the TEDwish that made me promise to cut back on seafood (and sushi consumption) this year, though I’ve learned it’s better to eat smaller fish that reproduce faster from a previous lecture on ocean life as well. Also helping out will be the free release in the astonishing documentary OCEANS (youtube) by Jacques Perrin (Winged Migration) to help educate people about the ocean sometime this year.
via TEDprize
Unbelievable story! Multiple standing ovations occurred during Jose’s story and performance at TED. I’ll be helping out with this TED wish with my time this year and I just might be picking back up my violin of 15+ years experience for a bit. Come join the wish! Watch the above performance with your sound blasting!
“Jose Antonio Abreu is the charismatic founder of a youth orchestra system that has transformed thousands of kids’ lives in Venezuela. Here he shares his amazing story and unveils a TED Prize wish that could have a big impact in the US and beyond.” via TED
“Barry Schwartz makes a passionate call for “practical wisdom” as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy. He argues powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world.” via TED
Bill Gates gives a rather compelling lecture while releasing a jar of mosquito’s into the TED audience!
“Bill Gates hopes to solve some of the world’s biggest problems using a new kind of philanthropy. In a passionate and, yes, funny 18 minutes, he asks us to consider two big questions and how we might answer them.”
