I love to travel so far I’ve visited 70
countries and hopefully this isn’t the
end of it I inherited the travel back
from my parents one of my earliest
childhood memories is when I was about
three years old getting extremely
impatient that my family would finally
get packed and ready and take off to
Spain where we spend our summer holidays
okay
who of you is under the age of 40 okay
is there anybody over 40 well guys let
me tell you back then in the 70s the
dark ages of the motorcar making a
holiday trip by car was a different
story
no air condition known a vacation system
and worst of all no in-car entertainment
to keep the kids busy there was just one
central entertainment unit and there was
a cassette player controlled by mum she
closely guarded a small selection of
free cassettes one containing some sort
of German folk music and the two others
contained elevator music causing a
serious trauma for my tender young ears
in case you were wondering all is well
it didn’t put me off from traveling I
truly believe that traveling is the best
education possible the organizers of
today’s TEDx asked me Anya what would
you like to see in the future my answer
is get off your butt search for new
experiences a whole lot that is changing
out there can’t be seen from where you
are sitting
one of the countries I’m particularly
fascinated with is India during my
travels in India I learned a couple of
things first of all only eat food that
you can peel important secondly although
Hinduism has a nose like thousands of
gods and goddesses
there are three principal ones Vishnu
Shiva Brahma Vishnu the preserver Shiva
the destroyer Brahma the Creator this
troika is called trim witty trim og
describes just about all you need to
know about business and life why well
like Vishnu we need to preserve what
good is already there like Shiva
we need to selectively forget the past
and like Brahma we need to create the
new so it’s never one or the other we
have to keep all three things in balance
so let’s start with the first principle
the principle of preservation as
represented by Vishnu very good okay a
lot of people confuse preservation with
clinging to the past they try to hold on
to the tried and tested and refused to
change but here’s the thing
you can shout no change as loud as you
want the change is going to happen with
or without you so what we need to
understand is that preservation is not
the absence of change rather
preservation is the ability to maintain
our balance in a changing world which
brings us to the next principle the
principle of change as represented by
Shira very good right so this year we
are celebrating an important historical
event in Germany it’s 500 years off
anybody not the internet that’s not
right so what is it 500 years of yes
Reformation anniversary Martin Luther
it’s been five centuries since Martin
Luther proclaimed his 95 theses and
thereby changed the course of Western
history what was the reaction of the
cathodic church
well they hated him this crazy German
monk what was he thinking they accused
him of being a heretic a heretic is
somebody who teaches or believe
something that goes against official
beliefs and no surprise Luther’s ideas
were extremely revolutionary and they
challenged the power of the castle exert
no surprise that Pope Leo wasn’t a
member of Martin’s fan club Martin
Luther teaches us something very very
important heretics not prophets create
revolutions dare to be a heretic dare to
challenge beliefs dare to question
seemingly irrefutable laws sounds like a
right thing to do but there’s a problem
the problem is that very often we are
not aware that these beliefs exist we
accept them we don’t challenge them let
me give you an example
an example from the world of business
nearly every hotel on this planet
follows the same dogma no matter when
you check in by 12 noon the next day you
have to check out that’s the rule in the
hotel industry I while ago I spoke about
this was a hotel manager and I asked him
why is it why is it that somebody who
checks in at 9:00 the evening has to
check out at the same time as somebody
who checks in at 2:00 or 3:00 in the
afternoon I think that’s unfair so why
don’t you challenge this dogma and do
things differently and then I suggested
why don’t you rent rooms by the hour
no no what some of you are thinking
right now that’s a different business
model what it meant is why don’t you
rent rooms for exactly 24 hours meaning
somebody who checks in at 9:00 in the
evening can keep his room until 9:00 of
the next day where somebody who checks
in at 2:00 in the afternoon
leaves the room at 2:00 the next day
it’s very transparent it’s fair plus it
creates a lot of value for the guest the
more excitedly I argued in favor of my
newfound idea the more the attitude of
the hotel manager changed he stood in
front of me like this arms crossed
wrinkled forehead and a dismissive look
in his eyes he said you know what your
problem is you don’t understand the
rules of the hotel industry the question
is is this a problem or a blessing I
vote for the letter the thing is the
longer you work in a certain
field the more blind you become in that
sense seemingly irrefutable laws and
blind beliefs are our greatest enemies
in business as in life phrases like
we’ve always done it that way that’s the
way it works they are very good hints
that you might be following a belief
that is not necessarily correct so that
means that we need to challenge these
beliefs because the danger is that they
turn into intellectual straitjackets so
challenge them and question them that’s
the first order of the day that’s why I
love this photo so much it’s great isn’t
it it it represents a certain philosophy
about life that I subscribe to so so far
we have talked about preservation we
have talked about challenging old
beliefs and change that leaves us with
the third principle the principle of
creation as represented by Brahma all
world is changing faster than ever
before
and that means that we have to step out
of our comfort zone and try new things
you cannot know if something works until
you’ve tried it
here are three recommendations for you
first of all experiment vigorously if
you want to increase the number of goals
scored you have to increase the number
of experiments and thus accept more
setbacks this gentleman is James Dyson
he’s the inventor of
vacuum cleaner before he was able to
bring the first bagless vacuum cleaner
on the market he worked on 5127
prototypes again 5127 experiments
honestly most of us would have given up
after 30 or 40 experiments and this guy
goes on and on and on for years until he
gets it right this gentleman is
artificial he’s a german inventor and
entrepreneur among other things he
invented the plastic wall plaque that’s
the thing he’s holding in his hands yeah
obviously not the regular household size
unless you have very thick walls so in
his long life Otto Fisher secured eleven
hundred and thirty six patents 1136
patents that is world class it puts him
on the same level as Thomas Edison so
here’s a question for you what do you
think we’re all his patents as
successful as a plastic wall plaque no
of course not of course not but that
didn’t keep him from experimenting and
trying new things all the time
I’ll take Albert Einstein he wrote 240
scientific papers Pablo Picasso created
20,000 pieces of art not all of them as
famous as Gandhi co-led misère but that
didn’t keep him from trying new things
all the time and experimenting
vigorously so what these people tell us
is if you want to increase the number of
goals court you have to experiment more
and thus accept more setbacks here’s my
second recommendation fail faster to
succeed sooner
it sounds crazy but it is true you have
to make all the stupid mistakes early on
in the process and then learn from them
as fast as possible
and move on former racecar driver Mario
Andretti
famously said if everything seems under
control you’re just not going fast
enough so true here’s my third
recommendation be daring
be bold before I started my graduate
studies in the u.s. I traveled the
United States for six months it was
awesome I loved it
fast forward two years I’ve just
completed my master degree and I’m
sitting down having my first interview
the interviewer reads through my resume
and suddenly there’s a frown on his face
and I’m thinking oh my what is it he
looks up from reading and says there’s a
gap in your interview in your resume I
draw myself up and say was quiet pride
yes I know I gave myself the best
education I could give myself indeed
what did you do oh I travelled
extensively I see reading upside down I
see him right gap no relevant experience
initially I was frustrated I felt
rejected and then I stumbled upon a
quote from Charles handy he’s an Irish
management philosophy great guy and he
says if all your experiments was life
turn out well you probably haven’t
pushed yourself far enough so true be
daring be bold and don’t let the bows
scheduled down so best of luck and
Godspeed thank you
[Applause]
countries and hopefully this isn’t the
end of it I inherited the travel back
from my parents one of my earliest
childhood memories is when I was about
three years old getting extremely
impatient that my family would finally
get packed and ready and take off to
Spain where we spend our summer holidays
okay
who of you is under the age of 40 okay
is there anybody over 40 well guys let
me tell you back then in the 70s the
dark ages of the motorcar making a
holiday trip by car was a different
story
no air condition known a vacation system
and worst of all no in-car entertainment
to keep the kids busy there was just one
central entertainment unit and there was
a cassette player controlled by mum she
closely guarded a small selection of
free cassettes one containing some sort
of German folk music and the two others
contained elevator music causing a
serious trauma for my tender young ears
in case you were wondering all is well
it didn’t put me off from traveling I
truly believe that traveling is the best
education possible the organizers of
today’s TEDx asked me Anya what would
you like to see in the future my answer
is get off your butt search for new
experiences a whole lot that is changing
out there can’t be seen from where you
are sitting
one of the countries I’m particularly
fascinated with is India during my
travels in India I learned a couple of
things first of all only eat food that
you can peel important secondly although
Hinduism has a nose like thousands of
gods and goddesses
there are three principal ones Vishnu
Shiva Brahma Vishnu the preserver Shiva
the destroyer Brahma the Creator this
troika is called trim witty trim og
describes just about all you need to
know about business and life why well
like Vishnu we need to preserve what
good is already there like Shiva
we need to selectively forget the past
and like Brahma we need to create the
new so it’s never one or the other we
have to keep all three things in balance
so let’s start with the first principle
the principle of preservation as
represented by Vishnu very good okay a
lot of people confuse preservation with
clinging to the past they try to hold on
to the tried and tested and refused to
change but here’s the thing
you can shout no change as loud as you
want the change is going to happen with
or without you so what we need to
understand is that preservation is not
the absence of change rather
preservation is the ability to maintain
our balance in a changing world which
brings us to the next principle the
principle of change as represented by
Shira very good right so this year we
are celebrating an important historical
event in Germany it’s 500 years off
anybody not the internet that’s not
right so what is it 500 years of yes
Reformation anniversary Martin Luther
it’s been five centuries since Martin
Luther proclaimed his 95 theses and
thereby changed the course of Western
history what was the reaction of the
cathodic church
well they hated him this crazy German
monk what was he thinking they accused
him of being a heretic a heretic is
somebody who teaches or believe
something that goes against official
beliefs and no surprise Luther’s ideas
were extremely revolutionary and they
challenged the power of the castle exert
no surprise that Pope Leo wasn’t a
member of Martin’s fan club Martin
Luther teaches us something very very
important heretics not prophets create
revolutions dare to be a heretic dare to
challenge beliefs dare to question
seemingly irrefutable laws sounds like a
right thing to do but there’s a problem
the problem is that very often we are
not aware that these beliefs exist we
accept them we don’t challenge them let
me give you an example
an example from the world of business
nearly every hotel on this planet
follows the same dogma no matter when
you check in by 12 noon the next day you
have to check out that’s the rule in the
hotel industry I while ago I spoke about
this was a hotel manager and I asked him
why is it why is it that somebody who
checks in at 9:00 the evening has to
check out at the same time as somebody
who checks in at 2:00 or 3:00 in the
afternoon I think that’s unfair so why
don’t you challenge this dogma and do
things differently and then I suggested
why don’t you rent rooms by the hour
no no what some of you are thinking
right now that’s a different business
model what it meant is why don’t you
rent rooms for exactly 24 hours meaning
somebody who checks in at 9:00 in the
evening can keep his room until 9:00 of
the next day where somebody who checks
in at 2:00 in the afternoon
leaves the room at 2:00 the next day
it’s very transparent it’s fair plus it
creates a lot of value for the guest the
more excitedly I argued in favor of my
newfound idea the more the attitude of
the hotel manager changed he stood in
front of me like this arms crossed
wrinkled forehead and a dismissive look
in his eyes he said you know what your
problem is you don’t understand the
rules of the hotel industry the question
is is this a problem or a blessing I
vote for the letter the thing is the
longer you work in a certain
field the more blind you become in that
sense seemingly irrefutable laws and
blind beliefs are our greatest enemies
in business as in life phrases like
we’ve always done it that way that’s the
way it works they are very good hints
that you might be following a belief
that is not necessarily correct so that
means that we need to challenge these
beliefs because the danger is that they
turn into intellectual straitjackets so
challenge them and question them that’s
the first order of the day that’s why I
love this photo so much it’s great isn’t
it it it represents a certain philosophy
about life that I subscribe to so so far
we have talked about preservation we
have talked about challenging old
beliefs and change that leaves us with
the third principle the principle of
creation as represented by Brahma all
world is changing faster than ever
before
and that means that we have to step out
of our comfort zone and try new things
you cannot know if something works until
you’ve tried it
here are three recommendations for you
first of all experiment vigorously if
you want to increase the number of goals
scored you have to increase the number
of experiments and thus accept more
setbacks this gentleman is James Dyson
he’s the inventor of
vacuum cleaner before he was able to
bring the first bagless vacuum cleaner
on the market he worked on 5127
prototypes again 5127 experiments
honestly most of us would have given up
after 30 or 40 experiments and this guy
goes on and on and on for years until he
gets it right this gentleman is
artificial he’s a german inventor and
entrepreneur among other things he
invented the plastic wall plaque that’s
the thing he’s holding in his hands yeah
obviously not the regular household size
unless you have very thick walls so in
his long life Otto Fisher secured eleven
hundred and thirty six patents 1136
patents that is world class it puts him
on the same level as Thomas Edison so
here’s a question for you what do you
think we’re all his patents as
successful as a plastic wall plaque no
of course not of course not but that
didn’t keep him from experimenting and
trying new things all the time
I’ll take Albert Einstein he wrote 240
scientific papers Pablo Picasso created
20,000 pieces of art not all of them as
famous as Gandhi co-led misère but that
didn’t keep him from trying new things
all the time and experimenting
vigorously so what these people tell us
is if you want to increase the number of
goals court you have to experiment more
and thus accept more setbacks here’s my
second recommendation fail faster to
succeed sooner
it sounds crazy but it is true you have
to make all the stupid mistakes early on
in the process and then learn from them
as fast as possible
and move on former racecar driver Mario
Andretti
famously said if everything seems under
control you’re just not going fast
enough so true here’s my third
recommendation be daring
be bold before I started my graduate
studies in the u.s. I traveled the
United States for six months it was
awesome I loved it
fast forward two years I’ve just
completed my master degree and I’m
sitting down having my first interview
the interviewer reads through my resume
and suddenly there’s a frown on his face
and I’m thinking oh my what is it he
looks up from reading and says there’s a
gap in your interview in your resume I
draw myself up and say was quiet pride
yes I know I gave myself the best
education I could give myself indeed
what did you do oh I travelled
extensively I see reading upside down I
see him right gap no relevant experience
initially I was frustrated I felt
rejected and then I stumbled upon a
quote from Charles handy he’s an Irish
management philosophy great guy and he
says if all your experiments was life
turn out well you probably haven’t
pushed yourself far enough so true be
daring be bold and don’t let the bows
scheduled down so best of luck and
Godspeed thank you
[Applause]
Please follow and like us: