IN THEIR WORDS
Get to Know
the Expert
Speakers
I
nnovation and education go hand in hand. When you embrace
education, you welcome new ideas. Without new ideas,
innovation cannot take place. To help you innovate, be sure to
attend the Professional Development Sessions (PDS) at this
year’s ISPA Conference & Expo. The educational sessions feature
experts in business strategy, marketing, retail, social media,
First of rt
Pa
Three- s
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leadership, customer service and many others.
Who exactly are this year’s speakers? Get to know them in
their own words—and find out why they’re worth your time at
the ISPA Conference.
Petra Kolber
EXPERTISE: Leadership/
Management
SESSION: The Perfection Detox—
Dropping the Weight of
Perfection So You Can Soar
SESSION: The Happiness
Epidemic—Catch It If You Can
1. I define innovation as: The sum of idea + vision + implementation.
2. In my view, the greatest innovation in today’s time is: Clean water and any
advancement in the medical space.
3. Of all the world’s innovators, I most admire: Bill Gates. I admire the work he did
with Microsoft but, more importantly, the work he and Melinda Gates are doing with
their foundation.
4. In the area I’ll be speaking about, the most disruptive idea I’ve seen is: The idea
(now backed by science) that our brain cannot tell the difference between a thought
and an actual event. Before any innovation, there is a thought. The power lies in which
thoughts do we choose to take on as our truth.
5. In the health and wellness space, the most inventive idea I came across
with is: The Standing Desk by Varidesk. To be at your most creative, energetic,
vibrant and influential—you need to be up and out of your chair.
6. If I can invent one thing, I would invent a: Magic makeover. Imagine waking up in
the morning with makeup and hair all done. It would save women around the world so
much time that we’ll have more time changing the world versus changing our hairstyles.
7. The one piece of advice I’d give to help foster a culture of innovation is: Be
prepared to fail, fail more and fail again. But never forget fail equals first attempts in
learning. Innovation happens on the other side of everything we think we know.
8. The app I am hooked on is: theSkimm—bite-sized world news delivered to your
inbox every morning.
9. If I can only keep one book to read, I’d pick: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel
Ruiz. That small book always seems to give me just what I need to push through.
10. The single most important takeaway attendees can gain from attending my
session at ISPA Conference is: The power that lies in creating a positive mindset to
create a positive life. I will be sharing tools and strategies to help you leverage the
thoughts that will leverage your life so you can soar into your full potential.
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July 2016