You could fake it, sure, but here are our top 5 reasons guaranteed to start the conversation about taking the afternoon off :
# 1 It’s not actually taking the afternoon off in the traditional sense. There will be no lying on beaches, or sipping cocktails (not until 7pm anyway). This is intellectual debate and stimulation at its best. You will meet articulate people who challenge you. You will encounter questions like “So how are you changing the world?” (I kid you not – I was asked that by an attendee at the last TEDx event I attended in Hong Kong and it still haunts me.) You may have your perceptions shattered or your views endorsed. You may come as one person and leave as another. You will definitely meet a lot of very interesting strangers who may change the way you think. You will definitely want to change the world. The lessons learned can only be good for how you conduct yourself in your next sales meeting or pitch.
# 2 Diversity is a business imperative. It is not simply a gender thing. It is an age, experience, cultural, socio-economic, educational thing. Ultimately, it is about workforce intelligence and harmonizing the strength and thinking of a diverse set of employees. In any organization or business that wants to thrive, diversity and inclusion are no longer ‘nice to haves’ and there is no better way to explore this all important concept by doing so live, in the room, in real time, at TEDxTinHauWomen. Thereafter, you’ll be someone on the forefront of change in your company, either helping furthering the diversity agenda of your organization or getting one onto the table.
# 3 “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.” Many a Fortune 500 CEO and hedge fund founder knows this to be true. You have to be out there, with your boots on the ground, doing the work at hand. You have to continually learn in order to be a better leader, stay in touch with customers, know how things operate in the real world. This gives you insight, and insight leads to having an edge; and in this hyper-competitive world in which we operate, having an edge can be the fine line between success and failure. By attending, you will be removing yourself (for at least one afternoon) from a dangerous place and broadening your horizons.
# 4 Doing a TED Talk is not a pitch-up-and-chat-to-strangers. It is a carefully crafted and rehearsed 18 minutes of excellence in front of a live audience. There is no better environment in which to hone your own communication skills than by watching others do it well – others who have practiced and practiced to say something important, leaving the audience with an ‘idea worth spreading’. No matter what your role, grade or job title, everyone can benefit from hearing great public speakers. In fact, it should be part of your company’s mandatory skills training programme …
# 5 Lean in! You are taking your learning and development into your own hands which demonstrates passion and initiative. At a time of deep divide when the world needs people to come together and debate sensibly and with dignity on the issues that matter most, a single Friday afternoon out of the office could be the spark that changes our world.
There should be no manager on earth who can provide a sensible counter argument to any of the above; and if there is, we would like you to invite them to join you at TEDxTinHauWomen to experience it for themselves.
Did I hear someone say ‘teambuilding activity’ …?
Tickets on Sale here.
Written by: Nicola Apostolis
TEDxTinHauWomen 