PULSE PREVIEW
It’ s hard to believe that we are just three months away from Conference. It seemed only yesterday when, packing along a travel tote and“ a bun in the oven,” I first attended Conference— stuffing room drops, handing out attendee survey forms, working the show floor and piecing together Daily Pulse. Soon, I get to do it all over again, only this time, I will no longer be waddling around with a growing belly.
This year’ s Conference promises a lot of exciting things— some new, some familiar— and several of these are highlighted in this special Pulse Conference preview. There’ s an interesting back-to-back Conversations( page 22) with two of this year’ s General Session speakers, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and BrainReserve CEO Faith Popcorn, which give a sneak peek of what to expect on the big stage this year. Another highly respected speaker featured in this issue is Zappos Insight Product Manager Robert Richman( page 41) who will speak at this year’ s first-ever Masters Session on how to create a unique company culture and build success upon that. A strong culture, he says, makes the rules very clear in the form of values.
Along this line, a must-read is Building a Culture of Collaborative Teamwork( page 44) which highlights the brand culture of fashion apparel company EILEEN FISHER. This interview with the designer and entrepreneur takes an honest look at what drives her and her team to live and breathe the company values, weaving these values into the very fabric of their daily operations and relationships.
Plus, in case you haven’ t keep up with Conference news yet, we’ ve got you covered on what’ s staying, what’ s new in We Heard You!( page 38); what makes Conference a“ priceless” investment( page 48) and how to experience Mandalay Bay— this year’ s official venue— with all your senses( page 60).
For a teaser of what’ s on showcase at this year’ s Expo, flip through ISPA Expo: Loyalty on the Show Floor( page 30) which has a sampling of this year’ s new Expo products. And yes, we retained your favorite Ask the Expert section with this year’ s Professional Development Speaker Jaclyn Hughes providing techniques and tools on how to manage and motivate your team.
I encourage you to read every feature, take in every insight, use every tool and reap every advice. But ultimately, I encourage you to simply enjoy every page of August Pulse.
6 PULSE ■ August 2011
— MAE MAÑACAP-JOHNSON, EDITOR
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