“Strength lies in differences,
not in similarities.”
— BEST-SELLING AUTHOR AND ENTREPRENEUR STEPHEN COVEY
STYLING & PHOTO BY ECHOSTARMAKER.COM
When I think of the importance of diversity of ideas in order to disrupt a
market, I am often reminded of Stephen Covey’s words. The inspiring speaker
and author is right: To compete in today’s market, we need to maximize our
strengths by being different. How are we standing out from the competition?
There are many new disruptors in
today’s market. One of my favorites is Blue
Apron, a meal-delivery subscription service
that make home cooking convenient and
easy. My cute husband surprised me of a
subscription as a birthday gift last year, and we “love – love it.” We have enjoyed experimental
cooking at home using ingredients we never would have picked up on our own. This service really
played into the idea that people like to cook at home, but may not feel quite comfortable putting
together a gourmet meal.
Blue Apron and the many other meal-delivery services like Hello Fresh have become the new
“must-try” thing and certainly seem like they have innovated meal time quickly. Something to keep
in mind as more and more disruptors like these develop is that Blue Apron and Hello Fresh clearly
haven’t made the restaurant industry obsolete. Similarly, disruptors in the spa industry are finding
their brand differentiators from other players and are promoting that—a rising tide raises all ships.
What make disruptors succeed—or fail—is their fearless ability to embrace the future. Similar
to this issue, which demands that we close this Pulse magazine and write this column even before
the ISPA Conference has taken place, we need to think ahead. It has yet to be seen which part of
ISPA Conference is my most loved part but here’s a hunch—there won’t be any shortage of
disruptive ideas at this year’s event! If you happen to have attended the recent ISPA Conference &
Expo, what disruptive idea did you take away? What did you DREAM – DISCOVER – DO?
—LYNNE McNEES, ISPA PRESIDENT
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PULSE
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October 2016
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Lynne Walker McNees