The way we're working isn't working: Tony Schwartz at TEDxMidwest

Time is finite. Tony Schwarz debunks the myth that "We are meant to run like computers; at high speeds for long periods of time". He eloquently outlines how the reality of renewing our personal energy is just as important as expending it. This discipline grants value to rest which ultimately allows us to manage more skillful lives. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[@nonelost1]

"Honesty without compassion is cruelty" (aka "brutal honesty"). Now that alone is worth the price of admission!

[@louiseroherty4694]

I truly enjoyed this ted talk. For me, it brought to the forefront, the need for balance in all parts of life. It's knowing that even our virtues need ballasts.

[@epicallyllc1876]

I can resonate with his last statement for loving your self as the single most important thing to do. Of course that can have many interpretations, I think it implies opening up to following your bliss and working together to make the best life we can.

[@sfms952]

This was an amazing talk. Every C-level needs to see this and think on it for awhile. If you don't want us to burn out, let us relax, de-stress, and refresh our minds. I work in a position that is very mentally demanding, where I use creativity to solve complex problems for the benefit of my company. I guarantee you, the less stressed we are, the more efficient we become.

[@longjefferson]

Thank you Tony. You are amazing as ever. Your book Power of full engagement is my rock.

[@summondadrummin2868]

The problem is we have a completely new technological realm of possibility guided by the same elite pattern of dominance that has existed throughout civilizational history. The habits of dominance and control are trumping the needs for widely dispersed wisdom.

[@effiab5995]

This is the deepest talk I have ever heard.

[@VitaleCoachingBoulder]

Tony your Book "Be excellent in anything" was a game changer for me. Thank you!

[@LifeCoachRahulGarg]

How?

[@aleafonso]

What a great presentation... The whole idea about energy spending and renewal is so true and at the same time so underestimated... Thanks for bringing this topic to the business arena

[@indigotime5430]

This was really helpful on a "root cause" type level. Thank you for this! It seems basic at first but all of these tips matter and the more you do them the more your life improves over-all.

[@OMARBellyg]

what a great talk and info, thank you.

[@XingchaoYu]

vulnerablity is not weakness. "Be like water." - Bruce Lee

[@SunstateUS]

Sorry, vulnerability IS weakness. Weakness is literally a synonym of vulnerability. In some instances, the words are interchangeable. Maybe your meaning was, 'vulnerability is not necessarily a negative thing'. ---- That is definitely true. ----- Also, I found your quote very odd. . . . . I don't think of water as 'vulnerable' AT ALL . . . . not EVEN a little bit. Given enough time, water can cut through stone. In a flood, it demolishes everything in it's path. It's a perfectly good quote, it just doesn't seem at all relevant to your comment about vulnerability. ---- If I had to guess what Bruce Lee meant by that quote, I would guess he meant be flexible and fluid (adaptive) . . . . like water . . . . . not vulnerable.

[@handball9815]

be like water means to adapt. now adapting is something the weak dont do because they have the idea that being strong works all the time. floyd mayweather is the perfect example theres times he knows his weak so he uses his weakness as a strength and defeated all boxers 50-0

[@toomuchtruth]

Go try to deadlift 700lbs & see what happens. You'll get nowhere or you'll break. You need to build towards big challenges, including cognitive ones. Most people's minds break under the load of endless info & distraction, so they must be limited the load increased gradually.

[@CoopAssembly]

@@SunstateUS These definitions are not exactly the same. Vulnerable: "susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm." Weakness: "the state or condition of lacking strength." So I think "weakness" more readily refers to a lack of what could be had, whereas "vulnerable" does not so readily say this. I think what this could be taken to mean is that "inherently vulnerable" is not "lacking in strength".

[@julianchosun]

Oh good lord, i so much needed to hear so much of this great speech. Thank you very much Tony Schwarz. You just improved my quality of life and the vacation upon which i'm about to embark by a couple of hundred percentage points.

[@_ADHK293A_]

I read in Scott's H. Young blog that scientist have found that working with high energy produces more output. The bigger used energy the bigger the output. And this is the pieze that completes the puzzle to me. Renewal. Actually I have found much more than expected, I'm astonished by the wisdom if this man. Thanks Tony.

[@bathdayvicvicgaming8074]

Glad Im not the only one who knows this to be relevant and a battle that is unique to each .

[@FlashManinSpace]

Everyone knows what he says is true. But how many companies actually practise these fundamental basics? Hardly!

[@Anubis_moe]

NON

[@bhaveshartsy7805]

I was thinking the same... if you are freelancer you can somehow manage this but can't manage when you are working for someone else like in a company.

[@bhudson39]

While looking past the 'soundbites stitched together' style of presentation that tends towards the dogmatic, Tony Schwarz makes some very good points. For anyone who manages the tendency to be overwhelmed by responding by treating those demands in shallow, rushed ways. The challenge is to find depth in what we do, in a way that gets us closer to where we truly want to go.

[@hdbtoc]

I really don’t get it why this video has never been more popular. I have always loved balance

[@ZaidKhanPathan]

Amazing talk. I personally assume the level of people is as follows: 1. Never think about anyone, even them selves 2. Selfish, only care for self 3. Care for family 4. Care for community 5. Care for country 6. Care for religion 7. Care for humans 8. Care for animals 9. Care of trees and all living things on the 🌏 10. Care for 🌍 11. Care for planets 🪐 Finally... 12. Care for the universe And you can’t be on higher level if you don’t fulfil lower level.

[@Senkai1234]

So totally true, people tent to think we should just work all day long. We should work effectively and this way we will live a much easier effective life. This, by itself makes probabilities of living happier.

[@mickadatwist1620]

a very good content

[@robertwatson3962]

Care of yourself, while you care for others

[@markw.spradley2845]

I am very impressed that thanks to my February 1, 2012 review of his book "The Way We Are Working Isn't Working," Tony pronounced the "t" in "antacoluthia," even though it is still misspelled in the accompanying graphic just as it is in the book; however, this term does not cover the unity of opposites which was not a Stoic doctrine but is usually attributed to Nicholas of Cusa. The unity of the opposites is a common idea in German interpretations of Neoplatonism and Tony gets it from Carl Jung. Coherently putting these ideas together, one would expect to get the mutual entailment of the virtues and the vices, but Tony doesn't want to say that. If you have any philological interest in this, check out my review: www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1MNXRBBKBFW76?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl Tony's heart is in the right place, and he is finally atoning for writing "The Art of the Deal," but his fix for the way we are working is well known to every full-time worker already: we would all perform better in the afternoon if we could take a nap after lunch. Somebody should tell the boss.

[@mohamedsyairozmohamedodman6056]

Deep

[@taurahelms3068]

I'm seeking a new way to work.

[@smartcityrevolution1673]

7 years later and this video is still relevant. That should tell you everything you need to know about relying on the good faith of companies aside from maybe a $50 iTunes / Amazon gift card, free appetizers at Chili’s coupon, and hotel shampoos & lotion in a half destroyed basket and a big personal “Hey you, all the best to you. Thank you” in a branded postcard 👌🏽 Time to stop playing the game, liberal or conservative, atheist or religious, doesn’t matter. Escaping the game should be able to unite a small group at least 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@abelsoo5465]

Siesta is important for high work performance.

[@lynettemarquis7391]

I feel like this was a good first draft of an outline. It could've been so much better. I get the sense he works with a lot of conceited workaholics. I couldn't relate beyond the common knowledge we need to balance recuperation with work. I really dont think I heard the answer to the title of the talk, either. As for people needing their bosses to get on board... that's not your boss's job, it's up to you to put balance in your life. Stop relinquishing control to others.

[@bennigreeneyes605]

I had to turn the playback speed to 1.5X could he talk ANY slower?

[@semientroy]

Compassion fatigue? I think that I would be a much better person if I did suffer such a thing. Caring too much? I ask God to help me care even more.

[@SunstateUS]

You seem to be doing compassion 'correctly'. ---- I have a friend who suffers from this 'compassion fatigue'. She does too much. She is the only person I have ever met that explains the term "too nice for her own good." (How can you be too nice?) She is. She will help others, even people she doesn't know, to her own detriment. ---- I totally believe in helping people, (including strangers) but she is the kind of person who would give someone her coat because it is cold, and then freeze to death herself. She also never says 'no' to anyone, and then becomes sick from lack of sleep, or stress overload, or not eating properly, etc . . . . so I think that is what the term refers to.

[@alexc2265]

Maybe it's because you've been fatigued for a long time and have forgotten the previous age

[@MegzeeR]

LOL, preaching to the choir here.

[@antoniomartin5417]

oh he didnt do his normal stuff

[@jmseas2]

All Tony needs is an entabulator to make this possible.

[@doc2590]

we need a ubi.

[@phy29]

You know your only default are lies that you beleive sins ....

[@cocoanutte]

Tony Schwartz defines capitalism as: More. Bigger. Faster. Did you know that's the precise definition of Cancer?

[@justinfu5676]

ok but that suit tho

[@georgeanothonyconroy1505]

Communism had the right way but went about it wrong. we need more leisure time.

[@saturnalias4948]

While he explains some pretty true and important introspective ideas, they didn't evolve into anything. I think this was poorly executed especially since he began the conversation with a topic of discussion and really didn't relate anything he said afterward back to the original topic. He didn't touch on anything beyond a series of blank statements about self improvement. Very vague concepts that didn't suggest any of the needed action or collective behavior that needs to happen in order to address the problems he points out.

[@user-vx1up7ty7z]

I thought he was pretty clear that we need to find a balance, and prioritize increasing energy in order to have energy to spend. Meaning sleeping more, eating better, exercising, relaxing, etc.

[@juanoude]

In the book power of full engagement he makes a better case. I know in the talk seemed vague, but actually they came to this theory observing high performance athletes. They noticed that they developed some kind of 'Relaxation Ritual' even in the middle of a decisive tennis game, while normal athletes were trying 100% all the time. It's like they Full engage when needed and make disengaging moments in every window they find. Seems that this behavior leads to a better maintenance of high results. It's a interesting book.

[@Allpacallpa]

Your definition of "anacolouthia" is confusing. You explained that "anacolouthia" means the mutual entailment of the virtues. No virtue by itself. Minute 17:54 in your video. This is what the dictionary explains: noun, Rhetoric. 1. lack of grammatical sequence or coherence, especially in a sentence.

[@alexc2265]

Ouch. Well, he referred to the Socratic concept of the unity of the virtues and the tempered agreements with that in Greco-Roman philosophy

[@drymouthful]

Dont waste your 18 minutes.. This talk is all about WHAT.. Nothing on HOW.. Just re-enforcing what everyone intuitively knows....

[@timdunk7278]

It might help some, if we know "what" to do before we decide "how" do to it. :)

[@BarbaraMackenzie]

Manish Sharma I wish that were true... society wouldn't be toxic soup.

[@pommesoleil7901]

Well, not everyone knows how to read intuition, and even knowing, so why we see so many things going wrong? And of course there's nothing about "How", there're no manual or rules of how to run your life. It seems you didn't understood the talk...

[@OurNewestMember]

Manish Sharma : yes and no. Yes, presentation is largely WHAT, (lacking tangible, actionable value), but the talk offers enough structure of intangible ideas (ie, around "energy") which helps the HOW (improved behavior, eg, though reduced effort thanks to "clearer" ideas) (ie, you'll have pictures and words better formed when your nervous system is resolving as part of executing a decision) -- a better WHAT improves the "physical" manifestation of HOW: the talk helps the HOW indirectly. Highlights of the structure offered by the talk (plus reactions): - Energy unlike "time" can expand - 4 types of "energy": physical/quantity emotional/quality mental/focus spirit/purpose -- (these categories lack rigor and physical basis, but they can provide structure to your thoughts and behaviors) Key idea: "anacoluthia": "true" virtues actually exist as combinations/pairs of virtues - So this talk describes "how to fix" in terms of pairs of virtues The talk's "how to solve"-like section is about "renewal of energy" - "Physical" energy: Presentation treats "spending" and "renewing" as binary opposites. -- Opinion: the talk frames this wrongly. Instead, you should learn the parts of your energy "spending" (eg, work, time trapped with in-laws) that are actually "renewing" (eg, problem solving, learning to argue). That is one way HOW to systematically improve your energy (because you can: 1) increase the proportion of effective energy balance without restructuring your life's activities, and 2) when you *do* restructure your life -- eg, new job, relationship -- you can effectively realize increasingly better conditions) - "emotional" energy is either confidence or humility, so "renewing energy" means more humility. -- Opinion: this is an oversimplification. Also the argument for the benefits of humility was weak (avoid arrogance, improve connection through vulnerability). - "mental" -- creativity is the missing value driver in society, and it's a driver of "mental" energy (defined as "focus" in this talk). Also, creativity and "left hemisphere" are "opposites" (Opinion: these are questionable arguments in how restricted the're defined). - "spiritual" -- argument is that society's mistake is overvaluing care of others (Opinion: the argument is wrong because the reason to care for yourself is... so you can care for others). Anyway, talk lacks concrete guidance but offers helpful structure of ideas although the supporting arguments are oversimplified.

[@antoniomartin5417]

not enuff views

[@johnmacdonald7736]

How can I take anyone seriously who's wearing that suit.And when matched with the "striped tie" , like in the "New York Post'photo, Can I think anything but "Clown" ?

[@edjonge.3668]

Seriously??? This talk contains "what the hell are you talking about"-thingy. It'sn't interesting at all. Now I know why it only has 37k views and his audience's bored to death.

[@XingchaoYu]

Edjong Earl Virtudes no, this just proves most ppl are shallow. this topic is very philosophical

[@njb2226]

The content was unremarkable but buy, this speaker has the dullest presentation out of any TED speaker I have listened to.

[@MitchellCowellart]

I bet this guy has no children.

[@SunstateUS]

I bet he DOES have children. ------- It seems EVERYONE has children but me. . . . . You're welcome. :o)

[@mdogzino]

why is he dressed like a pimp?

[@izzivanizi]

mdogzino Why do you care, dude? :D

[@jeriokamura6064]

OMG, so boring. I kept waiting for him to say something.