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How to Get Past the “Messy Middle” of a Big Change | Mary Martin | TED

Did progress on your next big project stall out? Transformation expert Mary Martin refers to this moment as the “messy middle” — the frustrating gap between starting and finishing a goal, when you might lose confidence or give up altogether. Offering three ways to find glimmers of progress when the going gets tough, she explores…

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Did progress on your next big project stall out? Transformation expert Mary Martin refers to this moment as the “messy middle” — the frustrating gap between starting and finishing a goal, when you might lose confidence or give up altogether. Offering three ways to find glimmers of progress when the going gets tough, she explores what to do when you feel stuck. (Recorded at TED@BCG on October 23, 2025)

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The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

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7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. @MaximumResultInLife

    August 27, 2026 at 11:10 am

    You talked about the “flag” system where anyone could raise a concern and senior leaders would act. How do you prevent this system from being overwhelmed by too many flags or from losing credibility if leaders can’t act on every single one?

    Reply

    • @jf-jx4ym

      August 27, 2026 at 11:40 am

      Automation can convey right information to right person… Very efficiently

      FOR ONE…

      That would be assuming they actually want to and are capable of doing their job instead of criminal bullshit.. control.. abuse..robbery..or explaining (often against all sense and law and Court rulings) how the system doesn’t work for us.. only them..etc rights destruction.

      Language model based system would probably be able to classify and parse many things better than your average corrupt assistant or their manager or boss.

      Still very illicit profit maxing and other robbery is enabled in modern world.

      Ofc they will vote against it as it threatens them.. even if it’s at the cost of many lives or years worth living for people affected.

      Would have to pamper them like children and offer ready abled easy press this button tools for this end… Without threatening their mighty importance and career… Or Hidden incentives or authoritarian bs.

      Behind anonymous user interface people also get detached from the outcome of their own actions in authority position.. one press of a button is very different if you are constantly the target and dependent on it in harmful way.. than pressing it…

      Reply

  2. @paddleduck5328

    August 27, 2026 at 1:15 pm

    Ted I love you but why does everything have to be pushing a.i. lately?

    Reply

    • @siiiomaiiii

      August 27, 2026 at 8:42 pm

      @paddleduck5328 righhhttt! Makes me wanna stop supporting… here for the intelligence not the artificial

      Reply

  3. @wagwanbennydj6003

    August 27, 2026 at 2:07 pm

    We love you ted we do ❤

    Reply

  4. @shimmeringchimps3842

    August 27, 2026 at 6:26 pm

    Wow, this lady has cojones talking about factory farmed chicken, AI directing fast food workers, and the personal struggles of corporate overlords and packaging all that controversy as motivational content. 😂

    Reply

  5. @NearThePyramids

    August 28, 2026 at 1:40 am

    is it me or the talk shifted from “how to handle messy middles” to “how i used AI to transform business” very fast … it felt like one of those “look i can do this … call me” things

    Reply

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People & Blogs

Why You Should Share a Recipe with a Stranger | Anuj Gupta | TED

Can we eat our way to a stronger democracy? Civic leader Anuj Gupta believes that food is one of our last common denominators. (Recorded at TED Democracy Philadelphia on June 13, 2026) Join us in person at a TED conference: Become a TED Member to support our mission: Subscribe to a TED newsletter: Follow TED!…

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October 27, 2026

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Can we eat our way to a stronger democracy? Civic leader Anuj Gupta believes that food is one of our last common denominators. (Recorded at TED Democracy Philadelphia on June 13, 2026)

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Why It’s So Hard to Listen When You Disagree | Emily Kasriel | TED

Do you avoid talking to people you disagree with? Author and mediator Emily Kasriel thinks you should try it out. She explains why engaging with ideas that bother you is one of the most powerful things you can do — and presents her framework for “deep listening” that can help you form relationships across generations,…

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October 26, 2026

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Do you avoid talking to people you disagree with? Author and mediator Emily Kasriel thinks you should try it out. She explains why engaging with ideas that bother you is one of the most powerful things you can do — and presents her framework for “deep listening” that can help you form relationships across generations, cultures and political divides.(Recorded at TED2026 on April 15, 2026)

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The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

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TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at

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People & Blogs

Why We Should Design Cities Like Disney | Zach DeBoer | TED

Where you live shapes your relationships, your emotions and even how long you live, says community designer Zach DeBoer. After studying what a century of building cities around cars has done to downtowns in the US, he turned to lessons from some of the most walkable, carefully designed streets in the country: the ones inside…

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October 25, 2026

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Where you live shapes your relationships, your emotions and even how long you live, says community designer Zach DeBoer. After studying what a century of building cities around cars has done to downtowns in the US, he turned to lessons from some of the most walkable, carefully designed streets in the country: the ones inside Disney theme parks. With ideas ranging from narrower roads to buildings that pull you around the next corner, he offers a practical guide to turning ordinary downtowns into magical places people want to explore. (Recorded at TEDxSioux Falls on May 5, 2023)

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The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

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TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at

#TED #TEDTalks #Design

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