TED at IBM Offers Ideas To Inspire

TED at IBM InspiresBecause I am the type of person who could spend a whole weekend listening to TED talks, I was thrilled to hear about and listen to #TEDatIBM this week. If you search Twitter for #TEDatIBM you can pick up on many key takeaways. Also go to IBM.com/TED to see all of the speakers.

The person who inspired me most was Lisa Seacat Deluca who is an IBM’er, and not just any. She is IBM’s most prolific female inventor and a mobile software engineer. In 2014, she was named one of Network World's 50 Most Fascinating People in the World of Technology. She has filed more than 370 patent applications. (To read more about Lisa Seacat DeLuca click here and follow her on Twitter @LisaSeacat).

Lisa’s TED talk was “An Inventor’s Vision of the Future” which really made me stop and think as I was in standard listen mode. She got me to step back and re-imagine, which is always an amazing thing when someone can do that.

Imagine a world where the toilet paper roll sends a signal to your favorite store to reorder.

Imagine hangers that light up in your closet to show you clothes you have not worn in six months – perhaps to signal a clothes donation (or just a reminder to rotate your clothes a little more).

Imagine devices that can tell who is in the room when you are together with friends, and make movie recommendations based on what everyone has or has not watched already. How would that alter your world? I think it would be awesome – no big debates on what you did see or haven’t – because you already listed these movies and the device is simply using big data (or small data?) to share what several of you in the room might want to watch based on your past preferences. Wow.

Instead of watching on a big TV screen or monitor, you might watch on holograms held in each person’s hand. I can see that happening, can’t you?

It is already possible for computers to translate much of this – we are close to this new world.

IBMer Kareem Yusef (Twitter handle @kareemyusuf) was also a big surprise – he is VP of Development & SaaS Operations at IBM and talked about tone and how it affects us.

The overarching theme “What Could I Share that Might Change the World?” is something I want to leave you with. What would YOUR answer be?

image courtesy of IBM.com

IBMThis post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I've been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

Lori Richardson - Score More SalesLori Richardson is recognized on Forbes as one of the "Top 30 Social Sales Influencers" worldwide. Lori speaks, writes, trains, and consults with inside sales teams in mid-sized companies. Subscribe to the award-winning blog and the “Sales Ideas In A Minute” newsletter for sales strategies, tactics, and tips. Increase Opportunities. Expand Your Pipeline. Close More Deals.

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