Ideas worth spreading

How machine learning can teach us to build more effective teams

33,938 views | Drew Humphreys • TED@UPS

Former Marine Corps lieutenant Drew Humphreys knows a thing or two about leadership. Before joining the business world, he was a platoon commander in Afghanistan, in charge of 36 Marines fighting the Taliban and maintaining a vital supply route through Helmand Province. He had to reconsider everything he knew about being a leader when he was forced to divide his platoon and give control over to other commanders. It was then Humphreys realized the surprising connection between this successful decentralized management model, and how we manage machine learning in business. His resulting leadership strategy offers three lessons on building a more effective team that every manager can learn from.

Former Marine Corps lieutenant Drew Humphreys knows a thing or two about leadership. Before joining the business world, he was a platoon commander in Afghanistan, in charge of 36 Marines fighting the Taliban and maintaining a vital supply route through Helmand Province. He had to reconsider everything he knew about being a leader when he was forced to divide his platoon and give control over to other commanders. It was then Humphreys realized the surprising connection between this successful decentralized management model, and how we manage machine learning in business. His resulting leadership strategy offers three lessons on building a more effective team that every manager can learn from.

This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with UPS.

Read more about the TED Institute.

About the speaker

Drew Humphreys

Leadership innovator

Former Marine Corps Officer Drew Humphreys spent eight years in the military and was deployed twice to Afghanistan, first as a manager for his unit’s Combat Operations Center and then as a Transportation Platoon Commander. Humphreys and his platoon of 37 Marines ran tactical convoys that spanned the breadth of southern Afghanistan, transporting troops, equipment and munitions in support of the counterinsurgency effort. He joined UPS after graduating business school in 2015 and now works in marketing, where he primarily focuses on managing the competitive landscape. Humphreys holds bachelor’s degrees in international affairs and Russian from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Emory University.

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

This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with UPS.

Read more about the TED Institute.