Earlier this year, we published a blog post titled “5 Fascinating TED Talks on Death & Dying” that got a ton of great feedback. And while we’re happy to see these subjects getting some attention from the TED community, they aren’t the only ones that funeral directors need to be paying attention to.

The TED Talks website is full of great insight from successful business owners, entrepreneurs and thought leaders, all of whom funeral directors can learn from as they strive to remain competitive and grow their own companies. Although the following seven videos aren’t specific to the funeral industry, we’re sure that motivated funeral directors will be able to take something away from the personal and business growth lessons shared.

Tony Robbins — Why We Do What We Do

What is it that makes consumers choose one funeral home over another? What makes them take any action in the first place?

In this classic TED talk, business coach Tony Robbins discusses how a better understanding of the human needs and emotions that shape our lives and choices can help business owners to improve their performance and overall results. While it isn’t specifically geared towards the funeral profession, there are plenty of great lessons here that can be applied to any industry.

Dan Pink — The Puzzle of Motivation

Whether you’re finding it difficult to maintain your own professional motivation or having trouble motivating your funeral home’s staff, you’ll find something of value in this TED talk from career analyst Dan Pink. Give it a watch, you might be surprised by his assertion that traditional forms of rewards actually dull thinking and block creativity!

Nigel Marsh — How to Make Work-Life Balance Work

The struggle to maintain work-life balance is a huge issue for funeral professionals, and author Nigel Marsh gets it. At 40, was drinking too much, eating too much, working too hard and neglecting his family, before turning it around by taking control of his work-life balance.

If you’re finding it challenging to make time for self-care and at risk of funeral industry burnout, this TED talk is definitely worth a watch!

Joseph Pine — What Consumers Want

When it comes down to it, consumers want authenticity, at least, that’s what they think they want. In this TED talk, author Joseph Pine discusses the challenges of creating authenticity, as well as brands that have succeeded in spite of their “artificial” images. For funeral homes that may be struggling to form seemingly-authentic connections with prospective customers, this video is a “must see!”

Rachel Botsman — The Currency of the New Economy is Trust

Consumers today want to trust, and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that they don’t feel this connection with funeral directors. In this insightful video, tech writer Rachel Botsman discusses the idea of “relationship capital,” a valuable concept that savvy funeral homes can apply to their own business practices in order to increase calls and overall revenue.

Rory Sutherland — Life Lessons from an Ad Man

Currently, the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group, Sutherland’s talk makes a fascinating point that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider “real” value. Considering that plenty of consumers see little value in traditional funeral services, this talk presents a worthwhile thought experiment on how businesses of all types can do more to appeal to customers.

Richard St. John — 8 Secrets of Success

Why do some people and businesses succeed where others fail? As it turns out, it isn’t necessarily because they’re smarter or inherently better than others. In this clip, Richard St. John condenses years of research conducted with more than 500 seemingly-successful subjects into a series of eight secrets that can help make you and your funeral home more successful. At just over three minutes of run-time, there’s no reason not to check out this talk!

If you’ve ever had a chance to poke around the TED website, you know that these seven talks are only the tip of the iceberg. If there are other talks you love that you’d like to see added to this list, let us know in the comments section below!