Everyone is born creative. However, for many of us – whether it is from a fear of failure or from past criticisms – our innate creativity goes dormant.
The good news? It’s easy to wake up and get it going again! Learning some practical techniques to stimulate your creativity and imagination is the perfect jumpstart. Continue reading
If you aren’t quite sure how to answer that question, consider this very bold reply below, which was in response to one of the five questions posed to delegates planning to attend the upcoming Global Spa and Wellness Summit (GSWS) in Aspen, Colorado:
What do you see as the main innovations in the spa/wellness industry (existing and future)? Continue reading
In preparation for the upcoming Global Spa and Wellness Summit (GSWS), which will take place in less than 45 days in Aspen, Colorado, registered delegates are asked to submit short briefing papers on exactly that topic. Each two-page briefing answers five questions and is aggregated into a printed report that each delegate receives at the Summit. (Each briefing can be viewed on the GSWS website beginning in June.) Continue reading
Innovation: it’s just as important to countries as it is to businesses and organizations.
For countries around the world, innovation can be a central driver of economic growth, development and jobs.
Did you know each country has as an “innovation” score? The World Economic Forum’s 500+ page “Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012” ranks 142 countries according to a variety of factors such as “Innovation and Sophistication Factors.” The “Global Innovation Index” by INSEAD (an international graduate business school and research institution) is a collaborative document exceeding 300 pages that ranks 125 countries.
Take a look at these two top 10 lists. Can we learn a thing or two from these countries? Do they also excel in health and wellness innovation? Or in hospitality innovation? Which countries are the most innovative when it comes to spa? (A point of discussion planned for the Global Spa & Wellness Summit this June in Aspen, Colorado.) It’s all up for discussion this weekend. What do you think?
| World Economic Forum’s “Innovation and Sophistication Factor” ranking 2011-2012Top 10: 1. Switzerland 2. Sweden 3. Japan 4. Finland 5. Germany 6. United States 7. Israel 8. Denmark 9. Netherlands 10. Taiwan (China) |
INSEAD “Global Innovation Index” ranking 2011Top 10: 1. Switzerland 2. Sweden 3. Singapore 4. Hong Kong (China) 5. Finland 6. Denmark 7. United States 8. Canada 9. Netherlands 10. United Kingdom |
Check out these reports in more detail:
You talked TED. We listened. And made a list.
In the last issue of the Weekender, we asked about your favorite TED talks. Check out who your peers are watching:
Judy Chapman, Wellness & Spa Curator, Karma Resorts
Thandie Newton’s Embracing Otherness, embracing myself
Shawn Anchor’s Happy Secret to better work
Sallie Fraenkel, EVP – Corporate Development Relations, SpaFinder, Inc.
Nigel Marsh’s How to Make Work-Life Balance Work
Peter Diamondis’ Abundance is Our Future
Jesper, Managing Director, Serena Spa Pvt. Ltd.
Paul Gliding’s The Earth is Full
Farida Chettab Brouwer, Managing Director, Salamander Lifestyle
Jane Fonda’s Life’s 3rd Act
Adria Lake, Founder, AW Lake Spa Concepts
Itay Talgam’s Lead like the great conductors
Krishna Walker, Owner, Krishna Blu Body Studio
Jill Bolte Taylor’s A Stroke of Insight
Diana Mestre, Mestre & Mestre
Bunker Roy’s Lecciones de un Movimiento de Descalzos
Sylvia Gonzalez, Manager, Miami Life Center
Simon Sinek’s How Great Leaders Inspire Action
Jess Grippo, Employee at Mac
Alisa Vitti’s Loving Your Lady Parts as a Path to Success
Jeremy McCarthy, Director, Global Spa Development and Operations
Neil Pasricha’s 1000 Awesome Things
Matt Ridley’s When Ideas Have Sex
Dan Buettner’s How to Live to Be 100
Daniel Kahneman’s Experiencing Self vs. Remembering Self
Michael Bartura, East West Learning Centre, Singapore
Sir Ken Robinson’s Bring On The Learning Revolution!
Simon Sinek’s How Great Leaders Inspire Action
Lori Hutchinson, Hutchinson Consulting
Brene Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability
This week’s burning question: Do you have a favorite TED talk? If you do, by all means, let us know! This issue is all about TED. I attended the 2012 TED conference this past week in Long Beach – one of the most fertile grounds for discussion about imagination and innovation. In this Weekender, we want to know the TED talks you feel the spa and wellness industry should listen to (I have a few in mind).
We’ll be sending a list of the favorites that people suggested in next week’s issue. Will yours make the A-list?
Meet TED
TED is a gathering of people, over 1,500 to be exact. With the tagline of “Ideas worth Spreading,” TED is an innovative nonprofit that started out (in 1984) as a conference to bring together three worlds – technology, entertainment and design. Since then, it has become massively successful, especially since it took on the innovative philosophy of “radical openness.”
TED Today (aka all-grown-up)
Today, along with TED’s annual conferences and regional events, the organization has all sorts of projects going on, including an award-winning video site that makes these inspiring and content-rich TED talks available to anyone for free. The website has had 700,000,000 views over the past five-and-a-half years, and the videos have been translated into 86 languages – talk about far reaching.
Lucky Number 18
What makes TED so special is the format: Each speaker talks for 18-minutes – no more, no less. There are no breakout sessions. According to TED.com, “Everyone shares the same experience. It shouldn’t work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected.”
So what does this mean for the spa and wellness industry? These 18-minute videos have the potential to be a huge help as we embark on understanding innovation and imagination. Take a look at TED’s video library, select a few in your area of interest and let us know the ones you love.
Also, check out the list below of our favorites, covering everything and anything about innovation: from medicine and wellness, to education and personal “genius.”
Daniel Kraft: Medicine’s Future?
Innovations impacting medicine and wellness.
Sir Ken Robinson: Bring On The Learning Revolution!
One of the most-viewed TED talks ever.
Elizabeth Gilbert: On Nurturing Creativity
We all have a “genius.”
Trust me – each of these 18-minute talks will be worth your time this weekend.
Check out the GSWS team’s picks:
GSWS team pick:
Daniel Kraft: Medicine’s Future?
A quick and encouraging glimpse at innovations impacting medicine and wellness.
Susie’s pick:
Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!
One of the most viewed TED talks ever. It is about innovation in education.
Dulcy’s pick:
Elizabeth Gilbert: On Nurturing Creativity
Shares the radical idea that we all have our own, personal “genius.”