What intelligent machines can learn from a school of fish | Radhika Nagpal

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Science fiction visions of the future show us AI built to replicate how our minds work -- but what if we modeled it instead on the other kinds of intelligence found in nature? Robotics engineer Radhika Nagpal studies the collective intelligence displayed by insects and fish schools, seeking to understand their rules of engagement. In a visionary talk, she presents her work creating artificial collective power and previews a future where swarms of robots work together to build flood barriers, pollinate crops, monitor coral reefs and form constellations of satellites.

Five questions to ask to understand customer motivation

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Understanding customer motivation can provide a solid base for your marketing that allows you to be one step ahead throughout the entire buyer’s journey. By asking yourself these five questions, you can get to the bottom of what is driving your customers to purchase — and why they might be falling off.

For Better Negotiation Training, Study the U.S. Government’s Mistakes

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Business professionals seeking to improve their negotiation training can learn a great deal from the mistakes made in newsworthy negotiations.
To take one recent example, Steven M. Davidoff of the New York Times’ “DealBook” recently analyzed how the U.S. governments rushed negotiations to save U.S. automaker Chrysler led to a costly long-term problem.
The post For Better Negotiation Training, Study the U.S. Government’s Mistakes appeared first on PON - Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

The most Martian place on Earth | Armando Azua-Bustos

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How can you study Mars without a spaceship? Head to the most Martian place on Earth -- the Atacama Desert in Chile. Astrobiologist Armando Azua-Bustos grew up in this vast, arid landscape and now studies the rare life forms that have adapted to survive there, some in areas with no reported rainfall for the past 400 years. Explore the possibility of finding life elsewhere in the universe without leaving the planet with this quick, funny talk.

What we're missing in the debate about immigration | Duarte Geraldino

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Between 2008 and 2016, the United States deported more than three million people. What happens to those left behind? Journalist Duarte Geraldino picks up the story of deportation where the state leaves off. Learn more about the wider impact of forced removal as Geraldino explains how the sudden absence of a mother, a local business owner or a high school student ripples outward and wreaks havoc on the relationships that hold our communities together.

RESPECT MY TIME… AND GOOD NATURE

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Come on folks… when you reach out and ask for someone’s time, pay attention for the reply. #Respect Can’t tell you how many times people reach out, I reply that I have time that day or the next (trying to do my part to help others and #BeGoodToPeople), and I hear back a week later. Or… ... Read more

Why Africa must become a center of knowledge again | Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

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How can Africa, the home to some of the largest bodies of water in the world, be said to have a water crisis? It doesn't, says Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò -- it has a knowledge crisis. According to Taiwo, a lack of knowledge on important topics like water and food is what stands between Africa's current state and a future of prosperity. In a powerful talk, he calls for Africa to make the production of knowledge within the continent rewarding and to reclaim its position as a locus of learning on behalf of humanity.

Don’t Answer Objections, Isolate Them

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Don’t Answer Objections, Isolate Them
by Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales
 
Most sales reps hate getting objections. Their hearts sink into their stomachs, their palms start to sweat, and they start wondering how they're going to pay the rent. Sound familiar? 
When sales reps ask me how they should handle objections, they are often surprised by my answer. I tell them they shouldn’t answer them, they should isolate them. When they look confused, I explain: 

Negotiate Your Organizational Vision

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Organizations, large and small, look to their leaders to establish an organizational vision. Popular commentary on corporate leadership presupposes that a company’s vision comes from its CEO and that, without a strong CEO, the company has no vision. But that’s not the case.
The post Negotiate Your Organizational Vision appeared first on PON - Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

How digital DNA could help you make better health choices | Jun Wang

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What if you could know exactly how food or medication would impact your health -- before you put it in your body? Genomics researcher Jun Wang is working to develop digital doppelgangers for real people; they start with genetic code, but they'll also factor in other kinds of data as well, from food intake to sleep to data collected by a "smart toilet." With all of this valuable information, Wang hopes to create an engine that will change the way we think about health, both on an individual level and as a collective.

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