TED Community » Karl Gretz

More About Me

I'm passionate about

I am passionate about helping people grow to the next level of effectiveness in their lives and business. I believe character is the key to that growth.

An idea worth spreading

In a world drowning in despair where individuals are convinced to turn themselves into human bombs to make a final statement about their lives, it behooves those of us in leadership positions to strive with all the energy we have to give hope to the hopeless. Only by reaching beyond ourselves and our own petty problems can we lift another and help them rise above their despair to the point where they can begin to use their own creativity to find solutions for their lives. In the end, that's the whole point of leadership.

Talk to me about

What you are doing to help others move out of the darkness of despair and into the bright light of hope.

People don't know that I'm good at

Helping people work together to achieve a common goal.

My TED Story

50 years ago, Hollywood, the churches, the schools and even the government worked to teach children the importance of developing a good character. Now, the only only organizations that demand character are the military, the Boy Scouts of America and a few churches. Everyone else has either abandoned their responsibility or [like Hollywood today] are doing everything they can to destroy character. Today, no one is accountable for anything they do or say. The economic, political and social problems we face as a nation can be traced to our failure to demand and teach character to our youth, our co-workers and, especially, our political, educational, business and religious leaders. When will we stop pandering to mediocrity and the lowest common denominator and demand the best of ourselves and each other?

Comments

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• A comment on Conversation: The Creativity Revolution: The more creativity the better? What does creativity do for your daily life?

  Mar 31 2011: Until adults stifle it, all children are naturally full of creativity. They are also naturally full of hope. That hope spurs their creativity in every area where they have hope. If they have a feeling they hope to communicate they write it, draw it, sing it, dance it or express it in some other way. They fantasize about tomorrow and the kinds of lives they might live (artist, poet, doctor, lawyer, indian chief, etc.) and role play their expectations of what those lives might be. As grownups and leaders, instead of destroying their hope with "well meaning" doses of our version of "reality", we must continue to foster their hope that their efforts to create are always worthwhile and we are prepared to support them whether we agree with their interpretation or not. From that hope will come the desperately needed creative solutions to tomorrow's challenges.