Dr. Stefanie Boyer, Professor of Marketing at Bryant University, and an expert in design thinking, led a group of CEOs in an exercise to bring creativity to strategic thinking for the problem-solvers of the direct selling industry at the Direct Selling Association’s Annual Meeting in June.

“What I found most encouraging was the openness of the CEOs to learn and try something new,” Stefanie says. “This gave me so much hope and confidence to know that everyone in that room is going in the right direction.”

The event brought together dozens of industry leaders engaging with one another in a judgment-free brainstorming session designed to promote innovative and flexible thinking in a rapidly-evolving business environment.

“We worked on breaking through ‘controls’ in thinking to co-create interesting ideas to real business challenges of today,” says Connie Tang, President and CEO, Princess House. “Plus, it was fun getting to know one another on a different level.”

Three DSEF Fellows served as table facilitators during the session: Drs. Eric Liguori, Rowan University; Adam Mills, Loyola University, New Orleans; and Mark Groza, Northern Illinois University.