Ideas change everything

Thriving in an overconnected world

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Leslie Perlow |

TED@BCG San Francisco

• October 2013

While email and mobile technology have greatly accelerated the way we do business, Leslie Pernow argues that the always "on" mentality can have a long-term detrimental effect on many organizations. In her sociological experiments at BCG and other organizations, Pernow found that if the team –- rather than just individuals -- collectively rallies around a goal or personal value, it unleashes a process that creates better work and better lives.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

While email and mobile technology have greatly accelerated the way we do business, Leslie Pernow argues that the always "on" mentality can have a long-term detrimental effect on many organizations. In her sociological experiments at BCG and other organizations, Pernow found that if the team –- rather than just individuals -- collectively rallies around a goal or personal value, it unleashes a process that creates better work and better lives.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

About the speaker

Leslie Perlow

Ethnographer

Leslie Perlow is the Konsuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership at the Harvard Business School and author of the book, “Sleeping With Your Smartphone.” She is an ethnographer who studies what happens when organizations experience tremendous change in the workplace -- such as globalization, 24/7 technology and hyper-efficiency -- but fail to consider their implications on how people work.

About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute