5 must-watch TED talks for entrepreneurs (TED TALKS 2017)

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Ted talk is an introspectional entertainment. Yes, this is how I define it. “Ted talks; Ideas Worth Spreading”, do not only leave you with an idea, they spark a deep introspection within you, leaving you with tons of questions, opinions, curiosity and an ultimate motivation to do something different.

Many a times, small things that you need to change, go unnoticed. These Ted talks stir our subconscious mind and we think “Gosh! Why couldn’t I discover this before?”. You begin to think about ideas that were earlier far beyond your imagination. Ted talk enlightens another latent beautiful part of you and provokes a unique vision within you.

As an entrepreneur, you give a major portion of your time growing and shaping your business. But, investing 15 minutes of your busy schedule for a Ted talk can reshape the face of your tomorrow. It not only propels you to be a successful entrepreneur, but also teaches you the life values that are unmatchable and makes you a better human being.

Given below are five must watch Ted talks for entrepreneurs.

Ray Dalio: How to build companies where best ideas win?

"Rather than thinking I’m right, I started asking myself how do I know I am right?”

Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater associates, started his business from a two bedroom apartment and now his company is the fifth most largest company in US. The most important insight from his book ‘Principles’ has been shared in this Ted Talk, and is said to be one of the most curious and controversial topics.

In this Ted Talk, Dalio speaks about radical truthfulness, radical transparency, the idea of meritocracy and algorithmic decision making.

But, before you watch this Ted Talk, ask yourself two things.

1. How do you take major decisions for your organization? And how do you know that the decisions that you’ve taken are right?

2. How do you incorporate the learnings from your unpleasant past experiences in your future decisions?

Message to the entrepreneur: Even if you’re a founder of a multinational organization, your opinions might not be right at times. Find the smartest people who would disagree with your opinions. This will help you make right decisions for your organization and hence achieve the objective.

Adam Grant: Are you a giver or taker?

“Effective hiring, screening and team building is not about bringing in the givers, it’s about weeding out the takers.”

Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and Wharton’s top rated professor, and author of three novels, ‘Give and take’, ‘Originals’ and ‘Option B’ talks about the ‘power of giving’ inside an organization. The ideology ‘helping others would make you succeed’, discussed in his book ‘Give and Take’ has been presented in this Ted talk.

This is the most introspective and interactive Ted talk that will bring a smile on your face, and at the same time, give you a chance to introspect your personality and make you think about how you can change yourself for the best.

Other aspects discussed in this Ted talk are hiring the right person for your organization and building a team, where the organization and its people grow while helping each other. This Ted talk will ignite an introspection within you about yourself as well as the culture of your organization.

Message to an entrepreneur: Building a right team with right people and maintaining a good work culture are the most important aspects for the success of your business.

Alexander Wagner: What really motivated people to be honest in business?

“It will payoff to put people first.”

Alexander Wagner is an economist and swiss finance institute professor with research interests in behavioral finance, communication, experimental economics, political economy, etc. He also loves to seek knowledge about fundamentals of human behavior.

In this Ted talk, taking two distinct visions of economists ‘Adam Smith’ and ‘Immanuel Kant’, he explains how people are actually motivated to do the things they do. Giving interesting examples and using experiments based on human behavior, he finally arrives at the conclusion that intrinsic values drive human behavior.

With the perfect mix of psychology, ethics and economics, this Ted talk motivates you to make right decisions for your business, especially those that would affect people, or would be affected by the people.

Message to an entrepreneur: Getting the right people, with right set of intrinsic values highly affects the working of your organization. So, next time when you hire a new employee, make sure that the set of values he/she owns is in sync with the values you follow in your organization.

Curtis “Wall Street” Carroll: How I learned to read and trade stocks in prison?

“Financial literacy is a lifestyle and financial stability is a byproduct of proper lifestyle.”

Curtis “Wall Street” Carroll is a stock investor, creator and teacher of his own financial literacy philosophy. But his journey of becoming a stock investor is unparalleled and inspirational. At the age of 20, he was an illiterate poor prisoner who finally turned into a leading stock market investor. Yes, this is what his journey is all about.

This Ted talk is an inspirational heart touching life story of an incarcerated individual that will leave you perplexed with curiosity, inspiration and power of education. Also, it introduces us to a unique concept F.E.E.L, that all of us as individuals need to understand and implement in our personal life.

Message to an entrepreneur: Never think ‘it’s impossible’. If you have an idea, implement it. If you’re curious about something, know it. Don’t just sit and think about launching a new startup, go ahead and check its feasibility. And the most important of all, if you’re a literate, spread literacy. Let everybody know the power of education. Make it a point to give back to your community.

Casey Brown: Know your worth and then ask for it?

“No one will ever pay you what you’re worth, they’ll pay you what they think you’re worth. And you control their thinking.”

Casey Brown is a pricing consultant and a professional speaker who strongly believes that one should be paid for his/her excellence.This is how she helps companies improve their profit through better pricing.

How often has it happened that you knew you should be paid more for your product or service but you couldn’t ask for it?

This Ted talk answers two very simple and significant questions:

1. How to know and communicate your real worth?

2. How to set the right price for your value and ask for it?

Message to an entrepreneur: Never be afraid to ask for a higher price from your customers. If you’re actually better than your competitors and provide superior quality services, they’ll pay you what you’re worth for.

P.S. Which Ted talk did you like the most? And what was your learning? Leave your views in the comments section below.

(These Ted talks were published on official Ted website in 2017)