Watched a good TED Talk lately? Same! In fact, several of our top executives were lucky enough to do so live at this week’s annual TED Conference in Vancouver, Canada, where Target was a corporate partner. As part of the live theater audience, our team got to watch dozens of TED’s signature 18-minutes-or-less talks on everything from virtual reality and machine learning, to a post-border world and space archaeology. Target’s partnership with TED also allowed us to make the simulcast available for team members to view throughout the week at Target HQ.
Which ideas shared at TED 2016 left our leaders awestruck, inspired and curious to learn more? We asked them to report their most thought-provoking moments here:
Photo Credit: TED Conference
“Ishita Katyal, a 10-year-old girl from Pune, India, won over TED with the first talk of the week. She told the crowd: 'The problem is our world has many forces working against the dreams of children.' Then she challenged us to empower dreamers and to encourage people like Ishita to be bold in pursuit of their dreams of making the world a better place."
- Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO, Target
Photo Credit: TED Conference
“The beauty and magic of TED, like many creative endeavors, happens when you step away from the realities of the day-to-day and remain open to new possibilities. From understanding how human trust impacts Airbnb, to how experience is driving the way Google is bringing art to the world, to the progress we are making on climate change, to entirely new perspectives on data visualization; TED 2016 has once again been full of gems for the body, mind and soul.”
- Jeff Jones, chief marketing officer, Target
Photo Credit: TED Conference
“Author and Wharton professor Adam Grant's talk on the importance of "recognizing originals" was particularly profound to me, revealing some unexpected truths: Originals are those who are most often late to the party. To be original, you don't have to be first, just different and better. Originals manage doubt. They achieve better and more creative solutions by doubting the idea, instead of doubting themselves. Originals also doubt the default in their choices and experiences. One example: They tend to use browsers Firefox and Chrome, instead of Explorer or Safari—as the latter two are pre-loaded on PCs and Macs. And finally, originals are more afraid of failing not to try, than they are afraid of failing.”
- Todd Waterbury, chief creative officer, Target
Photo Credit: TED Conference
“Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia spoke to the power of reputation. He has proven that reputation and trust are built through positive experiences and reviews – and that this will override social bias. I was also inspired by the way technology is making the world more accessible to all: Google Cultural Institute’s Art Project is bringing the world's greatest museums and art into a virtual library for the world to see; Sarah Parcak, a TED Fellow, is using satellite images to locate new archaeological sites and is creating a platform to encourage curious minds and global explorers to discover and help protect future excavation sites.”
- Julie Guggemos, SVP product design and development, Target
Photo Credit: TED Conference
“TED is brain candy. It’s a sugary hit of inspiration that jolts your intellectual, emotional and spiritual metabolism. And like any good candy, you can’t have just one! A couple of my favorites: Tim Urban and Adam Grant talked about how procrastination can be a necessary enabler of creativity, and that pausing can create the mental breathing room to make new connections and drive breakthroughs; the Google Art Project talk blew my mind – it’s incredible that we can not only visit museums around the globe, but also search and curate millions of pieces of humanity’s creations instantaneously.”
- Jamil Ghani, SVP enterprise strategy and innovation, Target
Don’t miss out on the latest Target news and behind-the-scenes happenings! Subscribe to our newsletter and get the top stories from A Bullseye View delivered straight to your inbox!