Barry Schwartz: Our loss of wisdom

Translator: Juan Marcos Perez Gulin Reviewer: Juan Jose Sanchez Penas

In his inaugural address,

No seu discurso inicial,

Barack Obama appealed to each of us to give our best

Barack Obama fixo un chamamento para que aportemos o mellor de nós mesmos

as we try to extricate ourselves from this current financial crisis.

namentres tratamos de liberármonos da crise financieira actual.

But what did he appeal to?

Pero, ¿que nos estaba a pedir realmente?

He did not, happily, follow in the footsteps of his predecessor,

Por sorte, el non seguiu os pasos do seu predecesor,

and tell us to just go shopping.

e non nos dixo que bastaba con ir de compras.

Nor did he tell us, "Trust us. Trust your country.

Tampouco dixo: "Confíen en nos. Confíen no seu país.

Invest, invest, invest."

Invistan, invistan, invistan."

Instead, what he told us was to put aside childish things.

No canto diso, o que nos dixo foi que aparcasemos as cousas infantís.

And he appealed to virtue.

E apelou á virtude.

Virtue is an old-fashioned word.

Virtude é unha verba pasada de moda.

It seems a little out of place in a cutting-edge environment like this one.

Parece algo fora de lugar nun entorno de vangarda coma este.

And besides, some of you might be wondering,

E ademáis, algúns de vós estaredes a preguntar,

what the hell does it mean?

¿que diaños quere dicir isto?

Let me begin with an example.

Deixádeme comezar cun exemplo.

This is the job description of a hospital janitor

Esta é a descrición do posto de traballo dun celador nun hospital,

that is scrolling up on the screen.

está a avanzar na pantalla.

And all of the items on it are unremarkable.

E ningún dos puntos que figuran nela son destacables.

They're the things you would expect:

Son as cousas que cabería esperar:

mop the floors, sweep them, empty the trash, restock the cabinets.

fregar o chan, barrelo, sacar o lixo, reencher as despensas.

It may be a little surprising how many things there are,

Pode chamar a atención tal cantidade de cousas,

but it's not surprising what they are.

pero non é sorprendente as que son.

But the one thing I want you to notice about them is this:

Pero sobre o que quero chamar a vosa atención é que:

even though this is a very long list,

Aínda que é unha lista moi extensa,

there isn't a single thing on it that involves other human beings.

non hai nin sequera unha cousa que teña que ver con outros seres humanos.

Not one.

Nin unha.

The janitor's job could just as well be done in a mortuary as in a hospital.

O traballo deste celador poderíase levar a cabo igual nun depósito de cadáveres que nun hospital

And yet, when some psychologists interviewed hospital janitors

Porén, cando algúns sicólogos entrevistaron aos celadores do hospital

to get a sense of what they thought their jobs were like,

para achegarse ao que eles pensaban acerca do seu traballo,

they encountered Mike,

atoparonse ao Mike,

who told them about how he stopped mopping the floor

que lles contou como deixou de fregar o chan

because Mr. Jones was out of his bed getting a little exercise,

porque o Sr. Jones saira da súa cama a facer un pouco de exercicio,

trying to build up his strength, walking slowly up and down the hall.

tratando de recuperar forzas, camiñando lentamente polo corredor.

And Charlene told them about how she ignored her supervisor's admonition

E Charlene contoulles como ignorou ao seu supervisor

and didn't vacuum the visitor's lounge

e non aspirou a sala para as visitas

because there were some family members who were there all day, every day

porque algúns dos familiares pasaban todo o día nela, todos os días

who, at this moment, happened to be taking a nap.

e que, neses intres, resulta que estaban botando unha cabezada.

And then there was Luke,

E depois estaba o Luke,

who washed the floor in a comatose young man's room twice

que fregou dúas veces o chan do cuarto dun mozo en coma

because the man's father, who had been keeping a vigil for six months,

porque o seu pai, que levaba seis meses en vixilia,

didn't see Luke do it the first time,

non o vira facelo a primeira vez,

and his father was angry.

e estaba enfadado.

And behavior like this from janitors, from technicians, from nurses

E comportamentos como estes dos celadores, dos técnicos, dos enfermeiros

and, if we're lucky now and then, from doctors,

e, cun pouco de sorte, dos médicos,

doesn't just make people feel a little better,

non só fan que a xente se sinta mellor,

it actually improves the quality of patient care

tamén mellora a atención ao doente

and enables hospitals to run well.

e posibilita que os hospitais funcionen ben.

Now, not all janitors are like this, of course.

Agora ben, non todos os celadores son como estes, naturalmente.

But the ones who are think that these sorts of human interactions

Pero os que o son pensan que este tipo de interacción humana

involving kindness, care and empathy

que ten que ver coa amabilidade, o coidado e a empatía

are an essential part of the job.

son unha parte esencial do seu traballo.

And yet their job description contains not one word about other human beings.

Porén na súa descrición do traballo non figura unha palabra acerca de outros seres humanos.

These janitors have the moral will to do right by other people.

Estes celadores teñen a vontade moral de facer o correcto por outra xente.

And beyond this, they have the moral skill to figure out what "doing right" means.

E máis aló disto, teñen a habilidade moral para entender o que significa "facer o correcto".

"Practical wisdom," Aristotle told us,

"A Sensatez práctica", dixo Aristóteles,

"is the combination of moral will and moral skill."

"é a combinación de vontade moral e habilidade moral."

A wise person knows when and how to make the exception to every rule,

Unha persoa sensata sabe cando e como facer excepcións ás reglas,

as the janitors knew when to ignore the job duties in the service of other objectives.

igual que os celadores sabían cando ignoraban as súas responsabilidades ao servizo de outros obxectivos.

A wise person knows how to improvise,

Unha persoa sabia, é quen de improvisar,

as Luke did when he re-washed the floor.

como fixo o Luke cando voltou fregar o chan.

Real-world problems are often ambiguous and ill-defined

Os problemas do mundo real son, con frecuencia, ambiguos e confusos

and the context is always changing.

e o contexto muda constantemente.

A wise person is like a jazz musician --

Una persoa sabia é como un músico de jazz --

using the notes on the page, but dancing around them,

utiliza as notas que están no papel, pero bailando aredor delas,

inventing combinations that are appropriate for the situation and the people at hand.

inventando combinacións axeitadas para a situación e a xente que a rodea.

A wise person knows how to use these moral skills

Unha persoa sabia, recoñece como debe usar estas habilidades morais

in the service of the right aims.

ao servizo dos obxectivos correctos.

To serve other people, not to manipulate other people.

Para servir a outra xente, non para manipulala.

And finally, perhaps most important,

E finalmente, se cadra máis importante,

a wise person is made, not born.

unha persoa sabia faise, non nace.

Wisdom depends on experience,

A sensatez depende da experiencia,

and not just any experience.

e non de calquera experiencia.

You need the time to get to know the people that you're serving.

Precisas o tempo para coñecer á xente á que estás a servir.

You need permission to be allowed to improvise,

Precisas autorización para que se che permita improvisar,

try new things, occasionally to fail and to learn from your failures.

probar novas cousas, de cando en vez errar e aprender dos erros.

And you need to be mentored by wise teachers.

E non precisas sabios profesores como mentores.

When you ask the janitors who behaved like the ones I described

Cando lle preguntas aos celadores que se comportan como os que veño de describir

how hard it is to learn to do their job,

como de difícil é aprender a facer o seu traballo,

they tell you that it takes lots of experience.

todos contestan que require moita experiencia.

And they don't mean it takes lots of experience to learn how to mop floors and empty trash cans.

E non se refiren a que precisen moita experiencia para aprender a fregar o chan ou baleirar caixas de lixo.

It takes lots of experience to learn how to care for people.

Aprender a preocuparse pola xente require moita experiencia.

At TED, brilliance is rampant.

En TED, prolifera a brillantez.

It's scary.

Pon os cabelos de punta.

The good news is you don't need to be brilliant to be wise.

A boa nova é que non hai que ser brillante para ser sensato.

The bad news is that without wisdom,

A mala é que sen sensatez,

brilliance isn't enough.

non abonda con ser brillante.

It's as likely to get you and other people into trouble as anything else.

É tan probable que vos meta a vós e a outra xente en problemas como calquera outra cousa.

(Applause)

(Aplauso)

Now, I hope that we all know this.

Agora ben, espero que todos nós saibamos isto.

There's a sense in which it's obvious,

Dalgún xeito é obvio,

and yet, let me tell you a little story.

porén, deixádeme que vos conte unha pequena historia.

It's a story about lemonade.

É unha historia sobre limoada.

A dad and his seven-year-old son were watching a Detroit Tigers game at the ballpark.

Un pai e o seu fillo de sete anos estaban a ver un partido dos Detroit Tigers no campo de beisbol.

His son asked him for some lemonade

E o seu fillo pediulle limoada

and Dad went to the concession stand to buy it.

e papa foi ao posto de venda para mercarlla.

All they had was Mike's Hard Lemonade,

Só tiñan Mike's Hard Lemonade,

which was five percent alcohol.

que tiña o 5 por cento de alcol.

Dad, being an academic, had no idea that Mike's Hard Lemonade contained alcohol.

Papá, que era un académico, non tiña nin idea que a Mike's Hard Lemonade contivera alcol.

So he brought it back.

Así que lla levou.

And the kid was drinking it, and a security guard spotted it,

E cando o neno estaba a bebela, un garda de seguridade viuno,

and called the police, who called an ambulance

e chamou á policía, que chamou a unha ambulancia

that rushed to the ballpark, whisked the kid to the hospital.

que entrou a presa no campo de beisbol, levándo o neno para o hospital.

The emergency room ascertained that the kid had no alcohol in his blood.

En urxencias determinaron que o neno non tiña alcol no sangue.

And they were ready to let the kid go.

E ían deixar marchar ao neno.

But not so fast.

Pero non tan rápido.

The Wayne County Child Welfare Protection Agency said no.

A Axencia de Protección do Benestar dos Nenos do Wayne County dixo que non.

And the child was sent to a foster home for three days.

E o neno foi enviado a un hogar de acollida por tres días.

At that point, can the child go home?

Nesa altura, ¿pode regresar o neno a casa?

Well, a judge said yes, but only if the dad leaves the house and checks into a motel.

Ben, un xuíz dixo que si, pero só se o pai deixa a casa e marcha a un motel.

After two weeks, I'm happy to report,

Tras dúas semanas, alédame dicirvos,

the family was reunited.

que a familia foi reunida de novo.

But the welfare workers and the ambulance people

Pero todos, os traballadores de benestar e a xente da ambulancia

and the judge all said the same thing:

e o xuíz, dixeron o mesmo:

"We hate to do it but we have to follow procedure."

"Odiamos ter que facelo pero precisamos seguir o procedemento."

How do things like this happen?

¿Como chegan a suceder cousas como esta?

Scott Simon, who told this story on NPR,

Scott Simon, que contou unha historia na NPR,

said, "Rules and procedures may be dumb,

dixo, "as regras e os procedementos poden non ter sentido,

but they spare you from thinking."

pero aforranche ter que pensar."

And, to be fair, rules are often imposed

E, para ser xusto, decote, as regras son impostas

because previous officials have been lax

porque funcionarios anteriores teñen sido pouco estrictos

and they let a child go back to an abusive household.

e deixaron volver ao neno a un fogar con abusos.

Fair enough.

Semella razoable.

When things go wrong, as of course they do,

Cando as cousas van mal, como normalmente van,

we reach for two tools to try to fix them.

temos dúas ferramentas para arranxalas.

One tool we reach for is rules.

Unha ferramenta que temos son as regras.

Better ones, more of them.

Mellores, máis...

The second tool we reach for is incentives.

A segunda son os incentivos.

Better ones, more of them.

Mellores, máis...

What else, after all, is there?

Despois de todo, ¿que máis temos?

We can certainly see this in response to the current financial crisis.

Certamente podemos ver isto como resposta á crise financieira actual.

Regulate, regulate, regulate.

Regular, regular, regular...

Fix the incentives, fix the incentives, fix the incentives ...

Establecer incentivos, establecer incentivos, establecer incentivos...

The truth is that neither rules nor incentives

A verdade é que nin as regras nin os incentivos

are enough to do the job.

abondan para isto.

How could you even write a rule that got the janitors to do what they did?

¿Como se podería establecer unha regra para que os celadores fagan o que fixeron?

And would you pay them a bonus for being empathic?

E ¿pagaríaselles un bonus por ser empáticos?

It's preposterous on its face.

É ridículo.

And what happens is that as we turn increasingly to rules,

E o que ocorre é que conforme nos decantamos polas regras.

rules and incentives may make things better in the short run,

as regras e os incentivos fan as cousas mellores no curto prazo,

but they create a downward spiral

pero crean unha espiral descendente

that makes them worse in the long run.

que as fai peores no longo prazo.

Moral skill is chipped away by an over-reliance on rules

A habilidade moral é minimizada por unha sobreconfianza nas regras

that deprives us of the opportunity

que nos priva da oportunidade

to improvise and learn from our improvisations.

de improvisar e aprender das nosas improvisacións.

And moral will is undermined

E a vontade moral é socavada

by an incessant appeal to incentives

por unha chamada incesante aos incentivos

that destroy our desire to do the right thing.

que esboroan o noso desexo de facer o correcto.

And without intending it,

E sen tratar de facelo,

by appealing to rules and incentives,

ao apelar ás regras e aos incentivos,

we are engaging in a war on wisdom.

comprometémonos nunha guerra contra a sensatez.

Let me just give you a few examples,

Deixádeme poñervos algúns exemplos,

first of rules and the war on moral skill.

primeiro acerca das regras e a guerra contra a habilidade moral.

The lemonade story is one.

A historia da limoada é un.

Second, no doubt more familiar to you,

Outro, sen dúbida máis familiar para vós,

is the nature of modern American education:

é a natureza da educación Norteamericana:

scripted, lock-step curricula.

curricula dirixida por guións con pasos pechados.

Here's an example from Chicago kindergarten.

Un exemplo dunha gardería en Chicago.

Reading and enjoying literature

Lendo e desfrutando da literatura

and words that begin with 'B.'

e das verbas que comezan cun 'B'

"The Bath:" Assemble students on a rug

O baño: xuntar aos estudantes nunha alfombra

and give students a warning about the dangers of hot water.

e avisalos dos perigos da auga quente.

Say 75 items in this script to teach a 25-page picture book.

Mencionar os 75 puntos deste guión para ensinar un libro ilustrado de 25 páxinas.

All over Chicago in every kindergarten class in the city,

En todas as garderías de Chicago,

every teacher is saying the same words in the same way on the same day.

cada mestre pronuncia as mesmas verbas o mesmo día.

We know why these scripts are there.

Sabemos por que existen eses guións.

We don't trust the judgment of teachers enough

Non confiamos o suficiente no xuízo dos mestres

to let them loose on their own.

para poder deixalos sós.

Scripts like these are insurance policies against disaster.

Os guións como este son polizas de seguro contra os desastres.

And they prevent disaster.

E preveñen os desastres.

But what they assure in its place is mediocrity.

Pero o que aseguran no seu lugar é mediocridade.

(Applause)

(Aplauso)

Don't get me wrong. We need rules!

Non me malinterpretedes. Precisasmos regras!

Jazz musicians need some notes --

Os músicos de jazz precisan dalgunhas notas --

most of them need some notes on the page.

a meirande parte deles precisan notas escritas.

We need more rules for the bankers, God knows.

Precisamos regras para os banqueiros, ben sabe Deus.

But too many rules prevent accomplished jazz musicians

Pero demasiadas regras apartan aos músicos de jazz experimentados

from improvising.

da improvisación.

And as a result, they lose their gifts,

E como resultado, perden o seu don,

or worse, they stop playing altogether.

ou peor, deixan de tocar todos xuntos.

Now, how about incentives?

Agora ben, ¿que acontece cos incentivos?

They seem cleverer.

Semellan máis intelixentes.

If you have one reason for doing something

Se tes unha razón para facer algo

and I give you a second reason for doing the same thing,

e danche unha segunda razón para facer o mesmo♪

it seems only logical that two reasons are better than one

semella lóxico que dúas razóns son mellores que unha

and you're more likely to do it.

e resultará máis probable que o fagas.

Right?

¿Non?

Well, not always.

Ben, non sempre.

Sometimes two reasons to do the same thing seem to compete with one another

Ás veces dúas razóns para facer a mesma cousa parecen competir entre elas

instead of complimenting,

en lugar de se complementar

and they make people less likely to do it.

e fan que sexa menos probable que a xente o faga.

I'll just give you one example because time is racing.

Dareivos un exemplo porque o tempo corre.

In Switzerland, back about 15 years ago,

Hai uns 15 anos en Suíza

they were trying to decide where to site nuclear waste dumps.

trataban de decidir onde situar os depósitos de lixo nuclear.

There was going to be a national referendum.

Íase facer un referendum nacional.

Some psychologists went around and polled citizens who were very well informed.

Algúns sicólogos fixeron unha enquisa a cidadáns que estaban ben informados.

And they said, "Would you be willing to have a nuclear waste dump in your community?"

E dixeron, "¿Estaría vostede disposto a ter un depósito de residuos nucleares na súa comunidade?

Astonishingly, 50 percent of the citizens said yes.

Sorprendentemente, o 50 por cento dos cidadáns dixeron que si.

They knew it was dangerous.

Sabían que era perigoso.

They thought it would reduce their property values.

Pensaron que reduciría o valor das súas propiedades.

But it had to go somewhere

Pero tiña que estar nalgures

and they had responsibilities as citizens.

e eran cidadáns responsables.

The psychologists asked other people a slightly different question.

Os sicólogos fixéronlle a outra xente unha pregunta lixeiramente diferente.

They said, "If we paid you six weeks' salary every year

Dixeron, "¿Se lle pagamos cada ano o soldo de seis semanas

would you be willing to have a nuclear waste dump in your community?"

estaría vostede disposto a ter un depósito de lixo nuclear na súa comunidade?"

Two reasons. It's my responsibility and I'm getting paid.

Dúas razóns. É a miña responsabilidade e vanme pagar.

Instead of 50 percent saying yes,

No canto do 50 por cento

25 percent said yes.

foi o 25 por cento que dixo si.

What happens is that

O que ocorre é que

the second this introduction of incentive gets us

no momento en que se introduce o segundo incentivo

so that instead of asking, "What is my responsibility?"

no canto de preguntármonos, "¿Cal é a miña responsabilidade?"

all we ask is, "What serves my interests?"

o que nos preguntamos é, "¿Que me interesa máis?"

When incentives don't work,

Cando os incentivos non funcionan,

when CEOs ignore the long-term health of their companies

cando os CEOs ignoran a saúde da súas empresas no longo prazo

in pursuit of short-term gains that will lead to massive bonuses,

por perseguir vantaxes no curto prazo, que os levarán a conseguir enormes bonus

the response is always the same.

a resposta é sempre a mesma.

Get smarter incentives.

Pon incentivos máis intelixentes.

The truth is that there are no incentives that you can devise

A verdade é que non se poderán imaxinar incentivos

that are ever going to be smart enough.

que sexan suficientemente intelixentes sempre.

Any incentive system can be subverted by bad will.

Cada sistema de incentivos pode ser trastocado polas malas intencións.

We need incentives. People have to make a living.

Precisamos incentivos. A xente ten que vivir.

But excessive reliance on incentives

Pero unha dependencia excesiva nos incentivos

demoralizes professional activity

desmoraliza a actividade profesional

in two senses of that word.

en dous sentidos.

It causes people who engage in that activity to lose morale

Provoca que a xente que se compromete coa actividade perda a moral

and it causes the activity itself to lose morality.

e causa que a actividade en si mesma perda moralidade.

Barack Obama said, before he was inaugurated,

Barack Obama dixo, antes de ser investido,

"We must ask not just 'Is it profitable?' but 'Is it right?'"

"Non debemos preguntarnos simplemente '¿É rendible?' senon '¿É o correcto?'

And when professions are demoralized,

E cando as profesións se privan da moralidade

everyone in them becomes dependent on -- addicted to -- incentives

todos os profesionais fanse dependentes de -- adictos aos -- incentivos

and they stop asking "Is it right?"

e deixan de preguntarse "¿É o correcto?"

We see this in medicine.

Podemos velo na medicina.

("Although it's nothing serious, let's keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't turn into a major lawsuit.")

("Ainda que non é nada serio, botémoslle unha ollada para asegurármonos de que non se convirte nun pleito.")

And we certainly see it in the world of business.

E certamente vémolo no mundo dos negocios.

("In order to remain competitive in today's marketplace, I'm afraid we're going to have to replace you with a sleezeball.")

("Para manternos competitivos no mercado actual, témome que imos ter que te remplazar por un calquera.")

("I sold my soul for about a tenth of what the damn things are going for now.")

("Vendín a miña alma por unha décima parte do que custa agora.")

It is obvious that this is not the way people want to do their work.

É obvio que esta non é a maneira na que a xente quere facer o seu traballo.

So what can we do?

Asi que ¿Que podemos facer?

A few sources of hope:

Algunhas fontes para a esperanza:

we ought to try to re-moralize work.

Deberíamos tratar de volver a introducir a moral no traballo.

One way not to do it: teach more ethics courses.

Un xeito de non facelo: impartir máis cursos de ética.

(Applause)

(Aplauso)

There is no better way to show people that you're not serious

Non hai mellor xeito de amosar que non és unha persoa seria

than to tie up everything you have to say about ethics

que comprimir todo o que tes que dicir sobre ética

into a little package with a bow and consign it to the margins as an ethics course.

nun pequeno paquete cun lazo e relegalo ás marxes como un curso de ética.

What to do instead?

¿Que facer no canto diso?

One: Celebrate moral exemplars.

Un: louvar os exemplos morais.

Acknowledge, when you go to law school,

Recoñecer, cando vas a unha escola de dereito,

that a little voice is whispering in your ear

esa voceciña murmurandoche no ouvido

about Atticus Finch.

sobre Atticus Finch.

No 10-year-old goes to law school to do mergers and acquisitions.

Ninguén de dez anos vai a unha escola de dereito para facer fusións ou adquisicións.

People are inspired by moral heroes.

A xente inspírase nos heroes morais.

But we learn that with sophistication

Pero aprendemos que, coa sofisticación

comes the understanding that you can't acknowledge that you have moral heroes.

chegamos á conclusión de que non podemos ter heroes morais.

Well, acknowledge them.

Ben, recoñecedeo.

Be proud that you have them.

Estade orgullosos de telos.

Celebrate them.

Louvádeos.

And demand that the people who teach you acknowledge them and celebrate them too.

E pedídelle á xente que vos ensina que os recoñeza e os louve tamén.

That's one thing we can do.

Esa é unha das cousas que podemos facer.

I don't know how many of you remember this:

Non sei cantos de vos lembrades isto:

another moral hero, 15 years ago, Aaron Feuerstein,

outro heroe moral, hai quince anos, Aaron Feuerstein,

who was the head of Malden Mills in Massachusetts --

que era a cabeza de Malden Mills en Massachussetts --

they made Polartec --

fixeron Polartec --

The factory burned down.

Incendiouse a fábrica.

3,000 employees. He kept every one of them on the payroll.

3.000 empregados. Mantivéronos a todos en nómina.

Why? Because it would have been a disaster for them

¿Por que? Porque tería sido un desastre para eles

and for the community if he had let them go.

e para a comunidade se os tivesen abandonado.

"Maybe on paper our company is worth less to Wall Street,

"Pode que nos papeis a nosa compañía teña menos valor para Wall Street,

but I can tell you it's worth more. We're doing fine."

pero eu pódolles dicir que vale máis. Estámolo a facer ben."

Just at this TED we heard talks from several moral heroes.

Mesmo neste TED escoitamos charlas de varios heroes morais.

Two were particularly inspiring to me.

Dous deles inspiráronme especialmente.

One was Ray Anderson, who turned --

Un foi Ray Anderson, quen convertiu --

(Applause)

(Aplauso)

-- turned, you know, a part of the evil empire

-- convertiu unha parte do imperio do mal

into a zero-footprint, or almost zero-footprint business.

nu negocio de pegada cero, ou case pegada cero.

Why? Because it was the right thing to do.

¿Por que? Porque era o correcto.

And a bonus he's discovering is

E un bonus que está a descubrir é que

he's actually going to make even more money.

a verdade é que vai facer incluso máis cartos.

His employees are inspired by the effort.

Os seus empregados están inspirados polo seu esforzo.

Why? Because there happy to be doing something that's the right thing to do.

¿Por que? Porque están contentos de estar a facer algo que é o correcto.

Yesterday we heard Willie Smits talk about re-foresting in Indonesia.

Onte escoitamos a Willie Smits falar da reforestación de Indonesia.

(Applause)

(Aplauso)

In many ways this is the perfect example.

En moitos modos este é o exemplo perfecto.

Because it took the will to do the right thing.

Porque tivo a intención de facer o correcto.

God knows it took a huge amount of technical skill.

Sabe Deus que requeriu unha enorme cantidade de capacidade técnica.

I'm boggled at how much he and his associates needed to know

Deixame frío canto tiveron que traballar el e os seus socios

in order to plot this out.

para levar a cabo o seu plan.

But most important to make it work --

Pero o máis importante para facelo funcionar --

and he emphasized this --

e el mesmo o destacou --

is that it took knowing the people in the communities.

é que lle requeriu coñecer á xente das comunidades.

Unless the people you're working with are behind you,

Se non che apoia a xente coa que estás a traballar

this will fail.

o plan fracasará.

And there isn't a formula to tell you how to get the people behind you,

E non hai unha fórmula para asegurar o apoio da xente

because different people in different communities

porque somos xente distinta en distintas comunidades

organize their lives in different ways.

que organizamos as nosas vidas de xeitos distintos.

So there's a lot here at TED, and at other places, to celebrate.

Así que hai moito que celebrar, aquí en TED e noutros sitios.

And you don't have to be a mega-hero.

E non é preciso que sexas un megaheroe.

There are ordinary heroes.

Hai heroes cotiáns.

Ordinary heroes like the janitors who are worth celebrating too.

Heroes cotiáns como os celadores que tamén merecen ser louvados.

As practitioners each and every one of us should strive

Como profesionais todos e cada un de nos deberíamonos esforzar

to be ordinary, if not extraordinary heroes.

por ser heroes cotiáns, se non extraordinarios.

As heads of organizations,

Como líderes de organizacións,

we should strive to create environments

deberíamonos esforzar por crear ambientes

that encourage and nurture both moral skill and moral will.

que motiven e alimenten tanto as habilidades morais como a vontade moral.

Even the wisest and most well-meaning people

Mesmo a xente máis sensata e ben intencionada

will give up if they have to swim against the current

deixarao se ten que nadar contracorrente

in the organizations in which they work.

nas organizacións nas que traballa.

If you run an organization, you should be sure

Se xestionas unha organización deberíaste asegurar

that none of the jobs -- none of the jobs --

de que ningún dos traballos -- ningún dos traballos --

have job descriptions like the job descriptions of the janitors.

teñan descripcións como a descripción do traballo dos celadores.

Because the truth is that

Porque a verdade é que

any work that you do that involves interaction with other people

calquera traballo que fagas e que implique interacción con outra xente

is moral work.

é un traballo moral.

And any moral work depends upon practical wisdom.

E calquera traballo moral depende dunha sensatez práctica.

And, perhaps most important,

E, se cadra máis importante,

as teachers, we should strive to be the ordinary heroes,

como mestres, deberíamos esforzármonos por ser heroes cotiáns,

the moral exemplars, to the people we mentor.

os exemplos morais, para a xente que mentamos.

And there are a few things that we have to remember as teachers.

E hai algunhas cousas que temos que lembrar como mestres.

One is that we are always teaching.

Unha é que estamos sempre ensinando.

Someone is always watching.

Sempre hai alguén mirando.

The camera is always on.

A cámara está sempre prendida.

Bill Gates talked about the importance of education

Bill Gates falou da importancia da educación

and, in particular, the model that KIPP was providing:

e, en particular, do modelo que KIPP facilita.

"Knowledge is power."

"O coñecemento é poder"

And he talked about a lot of the wonderful things

E falou de moitas cousas maravillosas

that KIPP is doing

que KIPP está a facer

to take inner-city kids and turn them in the direction of college.

para coller rapaces de zonas urbanas deprimidas e orientalos cara á universidade.

I want to focus on one particular thing KIPP is doing

Quero centrarme nunha cousa en particular das que KIPP está a facer

that Bill didn't mention.

e que Bill non mencionou.

That is that they have come to the realization

Que é que se teñen percatado

that the single most important thing kids need to learn

de que a cousa máis importante que os rapaces teñen que aprender

is character.

é caracter.

They need to learn to respect themselves.

Precisan aprender a respectarse a si mesmos.

They need to learn to respect their schoolmates.

Precisan aprender a respectar aos seus compañeiros.

They need to learn to respect their teachers.

Precisan aprender a respectar aos seus profesores.

And, most important, they need to learn to respect learning.

E, o máis importante, precisan aprender a respectar a aprendizaxe.

That's the principle objective.

Ese é o obxectivo principal.

If you do that, the rest is just pretty much a coast downhill.

Se o consegues, o resto é máis ben unha costa abaixo.

And the teachers: the way you teach these things to the kids

E os profesores: a forma que tendes de ensinar isto aos rapaces

is by having the teachers and all the other staff embody it every minute of every day.

é implicando aos mestres a a todo o personal cada minuto do día.

Obama appealed to virtue.

Obama apelou á virtude.

And I think he was right.

E penso que estaba no certo.

And the virtue I think we need above all others is practical wisdom,

E a virtude que creo que precisamos por riba de todas é a sensatez,

because it's what allows other virtues -- honesty, kindness, courage and so on --

porque é o que permite que as outras virtudes -- honestidade, amabilidade, valor, etc... --

to be displayed at the right time and in the right way.

sexan amosadas no momento axeitado na forma axeitada.

He also appealed to hope.

Tamén apelou á esperanza.

Right again.

Acertado de novo.

I think there is reason for hope.

Penso que hai motivos para a esperanza.

I think people want to be allowed to be virtuous.

Penso que a xente quere que se lles permita ser vituosos.

In many ways, it's what TED is all about.

Dalgún xeito, isto é do que vai TED.

Wanting to do the right thing

Querer facer o correcto

in the right way

do xeito correcto

for the right reasons.

polas razóns correctas.

This kind of wisdom is within the grasp of each and every one of us

Este tipo de sabiuria está na comprensión de cada un de nós

if only we start paying attention.

só se comezamos a prestar atención.

Paying attention to what we do,

Prestar atención ao que facemos.

to how we do it,

como o facemos,

and, perhaps most importantly,

e quizáis máis importante,

to the structure of the organizations within which we work,

á estrutura das organizacións nas que traballamos,

so as to make sure that it enables us and other people to develop wisdom

para asegurármonos de que posibilitan que nós mesmos e outras presoas desenvolvamos a sensatez

rather than having it suppressed.

en troques de suprimila.

Thank you very much.

Moitas grazas.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplauso)

Chris Anderson: You have to go and stand out here a sec.

Chris Anderson: tes que vir e destacar por un segundo.

Barry Schwartz: Thank you very much.

Barry Schwartz: moitas grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplauso)