By SSA Executive Director Tambra Jones

Last week I was able to represent the SSA in the halls and meeting rooms of the ISPA Expo 2022 in Orlando, FL. When I was not at a speaker presentation, I was out on the exhibit floor, which was large and bustling as buyers, sellers and industry affiliates enjoyed face time for business and general catching up with one another. I saw new and familiar faces on the exhibit floor and in the meeting rooms. The networking was outstanding and the hugs warm and genuine.

I attended Tuesday’s Keynote address by rockstar drummer for P!NK, Mark Schulman, entitled “Hacking the ROCKSTAR ATTITUDE: How to Ignite Rockstar Performance During Uncertain Times”. He described his presentation as “a rock show disguised as a keynote” and it was.

He gave Kim Cobb, Wright Global Graphics a drum lesson in the middle of his talk - I got a photo. His message was motivational and he interspersed everything with live drum sessions. It had me fully engaged even though it was 8am in Orlando (and 5am for this jet-lagged Californian…) In fact, his message was all about engagement - about being fully engaged in our performance. He stressed “active listening” and encouraged responding instead of reacting. He talked about engaging with an open mind and suspended judgement so that there is less resistance to whatever is being communicated. Listen and judge later… He talked a lot about attitude and our responsibility to choose the attitude with which we engage - because attitude drives behavior - and behavior leads to a consequence. Clean up our attitude and we clean up our consequences. So our attitude while we engage creates a connection and drives how we communicate. He said that “helping is the new selling” and emphasized the value in a willingness to help. His final talking point was about his passion for passion. He said that purpose is WHY we do something, and passion is HOW we do it. He encouraged us to “play every note like it matters” - treat interactions we have with someone, be it in business or personally, like it matters.

He ended with us in the audience echoing the peats he demonstrated by clapping to match, then an amazing drum show with several P!NK rock videos up on the screen. This girl (me) caught the drum stick he tossed out! He dubbed us in the audience the ISPA BEATS and stayed to take photos with us at his drum kit. ISPA’s Mary Helen Rodgers and Dave Perry took our photos as we posed with our new favorite drummer.

Psst…. Come work the door for me in Las Vegas - C1565

On Wednesday I attended the presentation by CNBC Senior Analyst, Financial Journalist and Best-Selling Author Ron Insana, entitled “An Economic Reality Check: From Here to Normality”. Mr. Insana spoke about the stock market and its volatility around recent world events. He spoke about rising inflation and the FED raising interest rates incrementally to help combat that. He spoke about the increase in liquidity that has been enjoyed by many Americans from the stimulus payments. He listed numbers around the US economy, inflation rates year over year, the change in labor markets as a result of the pandemic shut-down and restructuring of workplaces, of supply chair productivity and efficiency in relation to supply chair security, and predicted a 1 to 1.5 year timeline for us to work through the abnormalities we saw since mid 2020. He said that while some parts of the world had growing populations, the US has what he described as a “baby bust”. He suggested that automation in the workplace will fill in for many low-wage human jobs, but that the low birth rate plus the drop in immigration point to a decreasing our GDP. He suggested that economists in the government are all working on this and that he was optimistic. So at least there’s that…

On the exhibit floor, the energy was up, the smiles were big and the hugs warm. I talked with old friends and made some new ones. We very well may see a couple of new companies in the SSA showroom in July. There were some fun products and I wish I had taken more photos. I did take a pic with a llama though.

Of course the networking at the cocktail reception was outstanding. ISPA created a “Roaring 20’s” atmosphere - which the event planning team told me was to celebrate our being in the 2020’s - complete with a secret Speak-Easy which required a password to enter. I figured out the password, and whispered it about (it was “Columbus” because the 2024 Expo will be in Columbus, OH).

Thanks ISPA team - you gave us a great overall event!. The attendance at this event, increased attendance at the last Las Vegas Market, the buzz around the upcoming High Point, AND the projections for the Summer Las Vegas Market are invigorating. Sleep Industry: FULL STEAM AHEAD!