December_Pulse12 11/14/12 4:17 PM Page 26
ON GREATNESS, INNOVATION,
HEALTH AND GRATITUDE
A Day-by-Day Recap of ISPA Conference Takeaways
This year’s General Sessions at the ISPA Conference & Expo had
BY LISA KASANICKY
no shortage of takeaways. Here’s a day-by-day recap
of expert insights from this year’s keynote speakers.
DAY 1: Jim Collins The Path to Greatness
W
hat do motor sledges, ponies and dogs
have to do with greatness? Everything,
according to keynote speaker and bestselling author Jim Collins, who opened
the 2012 ISPA Conference & Expo with a powerful message
about leadership. Collins wove the fascinating tale of the
1911 South Pole expeditions of Roald Amundsen and
Robert Falcon Scott into the spirit of his message.
Amundsen’s trek was hailed a great success. Scott, who
reached the Pole only to find that Amundsen had reached it
first, perished along with his comrades just miles from the
supply depot.
26 PULSE
■
December 2012
What separated these two men and how do these differences help us map out our own course to greatness as spa
industry leaders? Collins laid out the path by illustrating the
striking contrast between these two explorers. He described
“Level 5 Ambition” leaders such as Amundsen as having the
X-factor of great leadership—humility combined with “an
utterly ferocious will” tied to a cause bigger than themselves
and relentlessly inspired standards.
What do you need to be Amundsen, not Scott, in your
operation? Collins defines it as striving for the three behaviors
common among these Level 5 leaders, along with using luck
as a defining moment.