ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jeff Smith - Recovering politician
Once an up-and-coming star in the Missouri State Senate, Jeff Smith went to prison for covering up an election law violation. Since his release, he's created a new space for himself as a professor, writer, political commentator and advocate for those he was locked up with.

Why you should listen

In 2004, Jeff Smith ran for the U.S. Congressional seat vacated by Dick Gephardt, and came this close to defeating Republican Russ Carnahan. His inspiring, but ultimately unsuccessful, campaign was documented in the award-winning documentary, Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?

A year later, Smith ran for the Missouri State Senate and won in a hotly contested election. He quickly became a rising star in the legislative body, focusing on education reform and tax credits among other things. However, in 2009, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into whether Smith had lied about a violation in his 2004 campaign. He ultimately plead guilty and spent a year in jail. It’s a story he has told on This American Life

Since being released from prison, Smith accepted a position as an assistant professor at The New School's Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy in New York City. His research focuses on political campaigns, the role of race in urban politics and the legislative process. At the same time, he writes for The Recovering Politician, City & State NY and Politico's The Arena, and is working on an memoir. 

More profile about the speaker
Jeff Smith | Speaker | TED.com
TED@New York

Jeff Smith: Lessons in business ... from prison

Jeff Smith: Lektioner i forretning … fra fængslet

Filmed:
1,324,960 views

Jeff Smith tilbragte et år i fængslet. Men det han opdagede indenfor, var ikke det han forventede -- han så uendelig opfindsomhed og forretningstalent i sine medfanger. Han spørger: Hvorfor udnytter vi ikke denne potentielle foretagsomhed til at hjælpe eksfanger med at bidrage til samfundet, når de er tilbage uden for murene? (Fra TED Talent Search eventet TED@NewYork.)
- Recovering politician
Once an up-and-coming star in the Missouri State Senate, Jeff Smith went to prison for covering up an election law violation. Since his release, he's created a new space for himself as a professor, writer, political commentator and advocate for those he was locked up with. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
B.J. was one of manymange fellowfyr inmatesindsatte
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B.J. var en af de mange medfanger
00:19
who had bigstor plansplaner for the futurefremtid.
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der havde store planer for fremtiden.
00:21
He had a visionvision. When he got out,
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Han havde en vision. Når han kom ud,
00:23
he was going to leaveforlade the dopedope gamespil for good and flyflyve straightlige,
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ville han forlade stofferne for bestandig og han ville leve stoffri,
00:26
and he was actuallyrent faktisk workingarbejder on mergingfletning his two passionslidenskaber into one visionvision.
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og han arbejdede faktisk med at sammenlægge sine to visioner til et.
00:31
He'dHan ville spentbrugt 10,000 dollarsdollars
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Han havde brugt 10.000 dollars
00:33
to buykøbe a websiteinternet side that exclusivelyudelukkende featuredfeatured womenKvinder
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til at købe en hjemmeside der udelukkende viste kvinder
00:36
havingat have sexkøn on toptop of or insideinde of luxuryluksus sportssport carsbiler. (LaughterLatter)
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der havde sex oven på eller inden i en luksus sportsvogn. (Latter)
00:42
It was my first weekuge in federalføderale prisonfængsel,
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Det var min første uge i statsfængslet,
00:45
and I was learninglæring quicklyhurtigt that it wasn'tvar ikke what you see on TVTV.
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og jeg lærte hurtigt at det ikke var det man så på TV.
00:49
In factfaktum, it was teemingvrimler with smartsmart, ambitiousambitiøse menherrer
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Faktisk, myldrede det med smarte, ambitiøse mænd
00:52
whosehvis businessforretning instinctsinstinkter were in manymange casessager
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hvis sans for forretning i mange tilfælde
00:55
as sharpskarp as those of the CEOsAdministrerende direktører
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var lige så skarpe som dem hos de administrerende direktører
00:58
who had winedwined and dinedspiste me sixseks monthsmåneder earliertidligere
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der havde haft mig med ude og spise og drikke seks måneder tidligere,
00:59
when I was a risingstigende starstjerne in the MissouriMissouri SenateSenatet.
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da jeg var en stigende stjerne i senatet i Missouri.
01:04
Now, 95 percentprocent of the guys that I was lockedLåst up with
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Nu havde 95 procent af fyrene jeg var låst inde med
01:07
had been drugmedicin dealersforhandlere on the outsideuden for,
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været narkohandlere uden for murene,
01:10
but when they talkedtalte about what they did,
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men da de talte om hvad de gjorde,
01:13
they talkedtalte about it in a differentforskellige jargonjargon,
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talte de om det i en anden jargon,
01:16
but the businessforretning conceptsbegreber that they talkedtalte about
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men virksomhedskoncepterne som de talte om
01:17
weren'tvar ikke unlikeI modsætning til those that you'ddu ville learnlære in a first yearår MBAMBA classklasse at WhartonWharton:
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var ikke ulig dem man lærte om i det første års undervisning af en MBA ved Wharton:
01:21
promotionalsalgsfremmende incentivesincitamenter, you never chargeoplade a first-timeførste gang userbruger,
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slagsfremmende incitamenter, man afkræver aldrig betaling fra en førstegangs kunde,
01:26
focus-groupingfokus-gruppering newny productprodukt launcheslanceringer,
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fokusgrupper til lanceringen af nye produkter,
01:29
territorialterritoriale expansionudvidelse.
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territorial udvidelse.
01:31
But they didn't spendbruge a lot of time relivingGenoplev the gloryære daysdage.
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Men de brugte ikke meget tid på at genopleve hæder dagene.
01:35
For the mostmest parten del, everyonealle sammen was just tryingforsøger to surviveoverleve.
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For det meste, prøvede alle bare at overleve.
01:38
It's a lot harderhårdere than you mightmagt think.
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Det er meget sværere end man skulle tro.
01:40
ContraryTværtimod to what mostmest people think,
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I modsætning til hvad de fleste folk tror,
01:43
people don't paybetale, taxpayersskatteydere don't paybetale, for your life
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betaler folk ikke, skatteborgere betaler ikke for ens liv
01:46
when you're in prisonfængsel. You've got to paybetale for your ownegen life.
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når man er i fængsel. Man skal betale for sit eget liv.
01:48
You've got to paybetale for your soapsæbe, your deodorantdeodorant,
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Man skal betale for sæbe, ens deodorant,
01:50
toothbrushtandbørste, toothpastetandpasta, all of it.
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tandbørste, tandpasta, det hele.
01:53
And it's hardhårdt for a couplepar of reasonsgrunde.
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Og det er svært af flere årsager.
01:54
First, everything'salt er markedmarkeret up 30 to 50 percentprocent
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For det første, er prisen sat 30 til 50 procent op
01:56
from what you'ddu ville paybetale on the streetgade,
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i forhold til det man betaler udenfor,
01:58
and secondanden, you don't make a lot of moneypenge.
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og for det andet, tjener man ikke mange penge.
02:00
I unloadedlosses truckslastbiler. That was my full-timefuld tid jobjob,
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Jeg lossede lastbiler. Det var mit fuldtids job,
02:03
unloadingaflæsning truckslastbiler at a foodmad warehouselager,
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at losse lastbiler ved et lager,
02:05
for $5.25, not an hourtime, but perom monthmåned.
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for 5,25 dollars, ikke i timen, men om måneden.
02:09
So how do you surviveoverleve?
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Så hvordan overlever man?
02:11
Well, you learnlære to hustletrængsel, all kindsformer of hustleshustles.
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Jamen, man lærer at svindle, alle mulige slags svindel.
02:15
There's legalgyldige hustleshustles.
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Der er lovlig svindel.
02:17
You paybetale everything in stampsfrimærker. Those are the currencyvaluta.
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Man betaler alt i frimærker. Det er den gangbare møntenhed.
02:19
You chargeoplade anotheren anden inmateindsatte to cleanren his cellcelle.
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Man afkræver en anden indsat for at rengøre hans celle.
02:21
There's sortsortere of illegalulovlig hustleshustles, like you runløb a barbershopbarbershop out of your cellcelle.
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Der er ulovlig svindel, som at man har en frisørsalon i ens celle.
02:26
There's prettysmuk illegalulovlig hustleshustles: You runløb a tattootatovering parlorstuen out of your ownegen cellcelle.
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Der er rigelig med ulovlig svindel: Man har en tatoveringsforretning i ens celle.
02:30
And there's very illegalulovlig hustleshustles, whichhvilken you smugglesmugle in,
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Og der er meget ulovlig svindel, hvor man smugler,
02:34
you get smuggledsmuglet in, drugsstoffer, pornographypornografi,
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man får smuglet ind, narko, porno,
02:38
cellcelle phonestelefoner, and just as in the outerydre worldverden,
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mobiltelefoner, og ligesom i verden udenfor,
02:41
there's a risk-rewardrisiko og belønning tradeoffafvejning, so the riskiermere risikobetonede the enterpriseEnterprise,
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er der en risiko-præmie afvejning, så jo mere risikabel et foretagende er,
02:45
the more profitableindbringende it can potentiallypotentielt be.
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jo mere profitabel er det potentielt.
02:47
You want a cigarettecigaret in prisonfængsel? ThreeTre to fivefem dollarsdollars.
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Vil man have en cigaret i fængslet? Tre til fem dollars.
02:51
You want an old-fashionedgammeldags cellcelle phonetelefon that you flipflip openåben
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Vil man have en gammeldags mobiltelefon man kan klappe op
02:55
and is about as bigstor as your headhoved? ThreeTre hundredhundrede bucksbukke.
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og er på størrelse med ens hoved? Tre hundrede dask.
02:58
You want a dirtysnavset magazinemagasin?
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Vil man have frække blade?
03:01
Well, it can be as much as 1,000 dollarsdollars.
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Jamen, det kan være så meget som 1.000 dollars.
03:04
So as you can probablysandsynligvis tell, one of the definingdefinere aspectsaspekter
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Så I kan nok se, at en af de afgørende sider
03:07
of prisonfængsel life is ingenuityopfindsomhed.
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ved livet i fængslet er opfindsomhed.
03:11
WhetherOm it was concoctingconcocting deliciouslækker mealsmåltider
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Om det var at udpønse lækre måltider
03:13
from stolenstjålet scrapsscraps from the warehouselager,
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fra stjålne madrester fra varehuset,
03:17
sculptingsculpting people'sfolks hairhår with toenailtoenail clippersnegleklipper,
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at forme folks hår med neglesakse,
03:21
or constructingkonstruere weightsvægte from boulderskampesten in laundryTøjvask bagstasker
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eller konstruere vægte fra sten i vasketøjsposer
03:26
tiedbundet on to treetræ limbslemmer, prisonersfanger learnlære how to make do with lessmindre,
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bundet til tre lemmer, fanger lærer hvordan man klarer sig med mindre,
03:31
and manymange of them want to take this ingenuityopfindsomhed
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og mange af dem vil tage denne opfindsomhed
03:34
that they'vede har learnedlærte to the outsideuden for
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som de har lært til verden udenfor
03:36
and startStart restaurantsrestauranter, barberFrisør shopsbutikker,
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og starte restauranter, frisører,
03:38
personalpersonlig traininguddannelse businessesvirksomheder.
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personlig træning virksomheder.
03:40
But there's no traininguddannelse, nothing to prepareforberede them for that,
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Men der er ingen træning, intet der forbereder dem på det,
03:44
no rehabilitationrehabilitering at all in prisonfængsel,
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ingen rehabilitation overhovedet i fængslet,
03:46
no one to help them writeskrive a businessforretning planplan,
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intet til at hjælpe dem med at skrive en forretningsplan,
03:48
figurefigur out a way to translateOversætte the businessforretning conceptsbegreber
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finde på en måde til at oversætte forretningskoncepterne
03:52
they intuitivelyintuitivt graspforståelse into legalgyldige enterprisesvirksomheder,
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de intuitivt forstår til legale foretagender,
03:55
no accessadgang to the InternetInternet, even.
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selv ingen adgang til internettet.
03:57
And then, when they come out, mostmest statesstater
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Og så, når de kommer ud, har de fleste stater
04:00
don't even have a lawlov prohibitingforbud mod employersarbejdsgivere
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ikke engang en lov der forbyder arbejdsgivere
04:02
from discriminatingdiskriminerende againstmod people with a backgroundbaggrund.
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fra at diskriminere mod folk der har en baggrund.
04:06
So noneingen of us should be surprisedoverrasket
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Så ingen af os bør være overraskede
04:08
that two out of threetre ex-offendersex-lovovertrædere re-offendre fornærme
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over at to ud af tre tidligere lovovertrædere begår en forseelse igen
04:11
withininden for fivefem yearsflere år.
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inden for fem år.
04:14
Look, I liedløj to the FedsFeds. I lostfaret vild a yearår of my life from it.
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Hør engang, jeg løj for banksystemet. Jeg tabte et år af mit liv på grund af det.
04:19
But when I camekom out, I vowedsvor that I was going to do
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Men da jeg kom ud, sværgede jeg at jeg ville gøre
04:23
whateveruanset hvad I could to make sure
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hvad jeg kunne for at sørge for
04:24
that guys like the onesdem I was lockedLåst up with
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at fyre som dem jeg var låst inde med
04:27
didn't have to wastespild any more of theirderes life than they alreadyallerede had.
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ikke skulle spilde mere af deres liv end de allerede havde gjort.
04:31
So I hopehåber that you'llvil du think about helpinghjælpe in some way.
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Så jeg håber at I vil tænke på at hjælpe dem på en eller anden måde.
04:35
The bestbedst thing we can do is figurefigur out waysmåder
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Det bedste vi kan gøre er at finde på måder
04:37
to nurturepleje the entrepreneurialiværksætter spiritånd
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til at pleje den foretagsomme ånd
04:40
and the tremendousenorm untappeduudnyttet potentialpotentiel in our prisonsfængsler,
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og det enorme uudnyttede potentiale i vores fængsler,
04:43
because if we don't, they're not going to learnlære any newny skillsfærdigheder
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fordi hvis vi ikke gør det, kommer de ikke til at lære nogen nye færdigheder
04:46
that's going to help them, and they'llde vil be right back.
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der kommer til at hjælpe dem, og så kommer de lige tilbage.
04:49
All they'llde vil learnlære on the insideinde is newny hustleshustles.
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Det eneste de lærer indenfor er nye svindelnumre.
04:52
Thank you. (ApplauseBifald)
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Tak. (Bifald)

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jeff Smith - Recovering politician
Once an up-and-coming star in the Missouri State Senate, Jeff Smith went to prison for covering up an election law violation. Since his release, he's created a new space for himself as a professor, writer, political commentator and advocate for those he was locked up with.

Why you should listen

In 2004, Jeff Smith ran for the U.S. Congressional seat vacated by Dick Gephardt, and came this close to defeating Republican Russ Carnahan. His inspiring, but ultimately unsuccessful, campaign was documented in the award-winning documentary, Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?

A year later, Smith ran for the Missouri State Senate and won in a hotly contested election. He quickly became a rising star in the legislative body, focusing on education reform and tax credits among other things. However, in 2009, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into whether Smith had lied about a violation in his 2004 campaign. He ultimately plead guilty and spent a year in jail. It’s a story he has told on This American Life

Since being released from prison, Smith accepted a position as an assistant professor at The New School's Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy in New York City. His research focuses on political campaigns, the role of race in urban politics and the legislative process. At the same time, he writes for The Recovering Politician, City & State NY and Politico's The Arena, and is working on an memoir. 

More profile about the speaker
Jeff Smith | Speaker | TED.com