Unleashing Our Potential in a Chaotic World | Roland Mees | TEDxUniversityofGroningen

Roland Mees, Professor of Practice of Business Ethics at the University of Groningen, asks what inner source people need to make the world a better place in a chaotic time. He argues that staying true to one's deepest commitments can help steer events toward a world worth leaving to future generations. The talk shares what he has learned about unleashing personal potential while navigating uncertainty. It was given at a TEDx event independently organized by a local community.

• Finding an inner source to create a visible, positive impact
• Staying true to deepest commitments in a chaotic world
• Personal lessons on unleashing potential
• Speaker: Roland Mees, University of Groningen

Amidst the chaos around us, my question is: What inner source do we need to make the world a better place? Growing from within, how can we realise a visible, positive impact? My response: by staying true to the fire within us. When we keep working on realising our deepest commitments, we may be able to steer the course of events towards a world we want to leave for future generations. Here, I share with you what I have learned—insights that can help you unleash your potential as you navigate your way through a chaotic world. Roland Mees is a Professor of Practice of Business Ethics at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Groningen. Before entering academia, he was Director of Sustainable Finance at ING Wholesale Banking until mid-2025, where he worked closely with CFOs, treasurers, and sustainability managers of major global companies. He is the inventor of the Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL), a financial product that links loan interest rates to a company’s year-on-year sustainability performance, measured through independently verified Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Alongside his role at ING, he completed a PhD at the Ethics Institute of Utrecht University in 2017, with his research monograph published in 2020. His work explores why it is so difficult to motivate action toward preserving the planet for future generations. At the RUG, he inspires students by showing how personal growth can develop along parallel paths that eventually converge to create positive change. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx