Dawnna St. Louis
EXPERTISE: Business Strategy
SESSION: Craved, Envied, and
Buzzworthy—Sales and Service
Your Customer Can’t Resist
1. I define innovation as: An improvement in the consumer experience that makes things
easier, faster, more valuable, or better.
2. In my view, the greatest innovation in today’s time is: The 3D printer.
3. Of all the world’s innovators, I most admire: Elon Musk.
4. In the area I’ll be speaking about at this year’s ISPA Conference, the most
disruptive idea I’ve seen so far is: The 3D printer.
5. In the health and wellness space, the most inventive idea I came across with
is: Theranos, which is driven to reinvent laboratory testing.
6. If I can invent one thing, I would invent a: Way for people who were injured to walk.
7. The one piece of advice I’d give to help foster a culture of innovation is: Leverage
a “murder board” to “kill” weak ideas and strengthen great ones.
8. The app I am hooked on is: LinkedIn.
9. If I can only keep one book to read, I’d pick: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel
Ruiz.
10. The single most important takeaway attendees can gain from attending my
session at ISPA Conference is: Learning how to transform their eight-hour days into a
profit-producing performance in six simple steps.
Patti Biro
EXPERTISE: Sales/Retail
SESSION: Ten Things You Need to
Know About Spa and Lifestyle
Retail
1. I define innovation as: Honoring the past but looking forward with a new or improved
solution to a problem.
2. In my view, the greatest innovation in today’s time is: Digital technology, starting
with smartphones and apps that have connected the community on a global basis.
3. Of all the world’s innovators, I most admire: Thomas Edison. He once said: “Our
greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just
one more time.”
4. In the area I’ll be speaking about at this year’s ISPA Conference, the most
disruptive idea I’ve seen so far is: The phenomenal growth of online retailing with
extensive shopper metrics. This has turned the entire “buy local, buy small” trend into a
movement. The key phrase in retail right now is “small is the new big.”
5. In the health and wellness space, the most inventive idea I came across with is:
The professional course called Elder-sage: The Art and Science of Massage for Aging
Adults. The course was a one-day evidenced-based look at the health, wellness and
mental health benefits of developing massage programs for adults 50 years and above.
6. If I can invent one thing, I would invent a: Virtual dog walker that would give my dog
treats, carry a poop scoop and pet the entire neighborhood dogs and cats.
7. The one piece of advice I’d give to help foster a culture of innovation is: If you
don’t give yourself permission to try new things, and sometimes have to admit that it did
not work out, you will never move forward. Innovation is n