Steve Jobs - Inspirational Speech "If today were the last day of my life"

"If today were the last day of my life" 

what would I like to do? 

 

Wanna Do What I Want and I Wanna Get Paid – How Millennials are Changing the Workplace

JAMIE NOTTER

Jamie Nutter is a consultant with twenty years of experience in conflict resolution, diversity, leadership, and management. He is co-author of the new book When Millennials Take Over.

As they come into their own professionally, millennials are shifting corporate culture and the way companies are organized. In this video, Jamie Notter, co-author of When Millennials Take Over digs deeply into common millennial values and how they're changing the ways top companies compete for premium talent. Unlike previous generations, millennials aren't satisfied with years of "paying their dues" in positions of low responsibility. They want autonomy, transparency, and a sense of mission. Expect to see the tides continue to shift in this direction as the emerging generation takes the reins in the coming decade.

Big Think is proud to partner with Mercer on Inside Employees' Minds, a series that examines employees' changing mindsets and the ways workplaces are responding to them.

Mercer’s new Inside Employees’ Minds™ research reveals what more than 4,000 workers in Canada and the US think about their jobs, their employers, and the changing work experience. It explores trends in employee engagement and the evolving employee-value proposition, highlighting key differences by generation, job level, and more. The research confirms that, as business needs and the workforce composition continue to evolve — with the boomer generation moving toward retirement and the preferences of the younger generations starting to dominate — employers need to rethink and reshape their value propositions to lay the foundation for future success. In this compelling video series, Mercer business leaders and other noted experts share their thoughts on the transforming work experience and what it means for both employers and employees.

Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion

Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.

Why you should listen

Rita F. Pierson, a professional educator since 1972, taught elementary school, junior high and special education. She was a counselor, a testing coordinator and an assistant principal. In each of these roles, she brought a special energy to the role -- a desire to get to know her students, show them how much they matter and support them in their growth, even if it was modest.

For the past decade, Pierson conducted professional development workshops and seminars for thousands of educators. Focusing on the students who are too often under-served, she lectured on topics like “Helping Under-Resourced Learners,”“Meeting the Educational Needs of African American Boys" and "Engage and Graduate your Secondary Students: Preventing Dropouts."

Pierson passed away in June 2013.

What others say

“Parents make decisions for their children based on what they know, what they feel will make them safe. And it is not our place [as educators] to say what they do is 'wrong.' It's our place to say maybe we can add a set of rules that they don't know about.” — Rita Pierson

Kiran Sethi: Kids, take charge

Kiran Bir Sethi shows how her groundbreaking Riverside School in India teaches kids life's most valuable lesson: "I can." Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents. http://schoolriverside.com/ 

Why you should listen

Kiran Bir Sethi's early training as a designer is clear in her work as an educator -- she looks beyond what exists, to ask, "could we do this a better way?" In 2001, she founded the Riverside School in Ahmedabad, designing the primary school's curriculum (and its building) from the ground up. Based around six "Beacons of Learning," the school's lesson plan focuses on creating curious, competent future citizens. The school now enrolls almost 300 children and has franchised its curriculum widely.

Sethi's latest project, inspired by dialogue with the children of Riverside, is called AProCh -- which stands for "A Protagonist in every Child." Fighting the stereotype of modern kids as rude and delinquent, AProCh looks for ways to engage Ahmedabad's children in modern city life, and to revamp our cities to make room for kids to learn, both actively and by example.

What others say

“It is possible to organize cities to teach usefulness, social responsibility, ecological skill, the values of good work, and the higher possibilities of adulthood.” — aproch.org

How to Free Your Brain: Time-Management Tips from a Neuroscientist

Daniel Levitin is an award-winning neuroscientist, musician, author and record producer. He is the author of three consecutive #1 bestselling books: This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs and The Organized Mind. He is also the James McGill Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal, where he runs the Laboratory for Music Cognition, Perception and Expertise.



According to neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, the key to effective time management is to maintain a level of organization that allows you to dedicate less and less neural resources to running your life. This means making good use of a calendar and developing routines. It also means having the courage not to overschedule yourself. Know your limits. Assess your priorities. Embrace a system.

Bill and Melinda Gates: Why giving away our wealth has been the most satisfying thing we've ever done

In 1993, Bill and Melinda Gates took a walk on the beach and made a big decision: to give their Microsoft wealth back to society. In conversation with Chris Anderson, the couple talks about their work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as their marriage, their children, their failures and the satisfaction of giving most of their money away.

Jeffrey Sachs on the Millenium Development Goals

Jeffrey Sachs, UN Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals, explains why 2015 is a critical year for global sustainable development.