Margaret Heffernan: The dangers of willful blindness
Gayla Benefield was just doing her job -- until she uncovered an awful secret about her hometown that meant its mortality rate was 80 times higher than anywhere else in the US. But when she tried to tell people about it, she learned an even more shocking truth: People didn't want to know. In a talk that's part history lesson, part call-to-action...
Margaret Heffernan: Forget the pecking order at work
Organizations are often run according to "the superchicken model," where the value is placed on star employees who outperform others. And yet, this isn't what drives the most high-achieving teams. Business leader Margaret Heffernan observes that it is social cohesion — built every coffee break, every time one team member asks another for help — ...
Margaret Heffernan: Dare to disagree
Most people instinctively avoid conflict, but as Margaret Heffernan shows us, good disagreement is central to progress. She illustrates (sometimes counterintuitively) how the best partners aren’t echo chambers -- and how great research teams, relationships and businesses allow people to deeply disagree.
Margaret Heffernan: The human skills we need in an unpredictable world
The more we rely on technology to make us efficient, the fewer skills we have to confront the unexpected, says writer and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan. She shares why we need less tech and more messy human skills -- imagination, humility, bravery -- to solve problems in business, government and life in an unpredictable age. "We are brave enou...
Emma Bridgewater: How an entrepreneurial potter helped restore beauty to a city
At 23-years-old, Emma Bridgewater boldly launched her new ceramic company in Stoke-on-Trent, a city with rich ceramic traditions but a present that resembled Detroit. She tapped into the dwindling yet still vibrant reservoir of skills and traditions still residing in the city and is now at the center of an economic and cultural renaissance. Emma...
Sandrine Thuret: You can grow new brain cells. Here's how