If you paid attention to our Coolest Companies winners at #BostonFest this year, you know that the days of the formal suit and tie are numbered. Almost all of our nominees had casual dress every day, and plenty had even better bragging rights that would make anyone want to apply. And now, there’s a significant trend pulling away from the traditional cookie-cutter corporate meeting, as standard classroom seating is being replaced by hammocks and hotel coffee stations are traded out for in-house baristas with gourmet offerings. Across the world, companies are pulling away from stifling, regimented business environments in favor of less structured environments that stimulate new ideas and creative thinking.
Leading it all are the uber successful TED conferences, the first of which was intended to be one-off event with the slogan “ideas worth spreading” in 1984. Nearly 30 years later, three pillar TED (which stands for technology, entertainment, design) conferences are held annually, comprised of 50+ talks over the course of four days in an immersive environment, and independent TEDx events are coordinated throughout the world with live 18 minute talks and online webinars accompanying the physical event.
With an infinitely wide range of topics, TEDx events “showcase ideas that matter in any discipline. The immersive environment allows attendees and speakers from vastly different fields to cross-fertilize and draw inspiration from unlikely places”.
With a focus on innovative and engaging storytelling, the format of the event has deviated pretty significantly from your average business conference. Attendees are given guidelines to leave their cell phones and laptops at home in order to fully submerge themselves into the inspiring conference. Check out the images below, via BizBash, for just some of the ways that TEDx events are making an all-day meeting more thought-provoking and exciting than just getting out of work and enjoying a free lunch.
Want to attend a TEDx event in Cambridge tomorrow? Click here for more information.
