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CHANGE MAKERS Direct selling’s visionary leaders discuss how their companies’ 2020 pivots have shaped their 2021 outlook. To view the complete videos from The Change Makers event, go to dsa.org/cm-recordings
Last November, C-suite leaders and senior executives engaged in a DSA livestream event that focused on shaping the direct selling channel post-COVID-19. Hosted by Thirty-One Gifts Founder Cindy Monroe, the four-hour event shared how these leaders met the challenges of 2020, what they did to change their business approaches, and how they will continue to be agents of change for their companies, teams, distributors, and consumers moving forward.
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here is something wonderful about human nature and an individual’s desire to connect as part of a community. Those of us in direct selling know this desire for connection is the driving force that makes this channel so exciting and dynamic. Each one of us is part of CINDY MONROE this industry because we love to Founder, bring people together, to create Thirty-One Gifts strength by leaning on each other in good times and in times of uncertainty, to build each other up, to give each other permission to dream, and to recognize the best in each other. As direct sellers, beyond our desire to seek strength from our community is our passion for innovation. We know that our community is stronger together and that our shared passion has the power to transform individuals, families, and communities. When
36 Leadership Panel 39 CEO Keynote: Tracy Britt Cool 41 CEO Keynote: Asma Ishaq 43 CEO Keynote: Jill Blashack Strahan 44 Marketing Panel
direct sellers come together, ideas are sparked, and strategic insights take shape. It is hard to comprehend all that happened in 2020— the change that took us all by storm. Yet, we can clearly see that direct selling continued to adapt to an evolving market. And we fully understand that the personal relationships we make and the passion for our products are so important to our business model. Whether through traditional one-to-one selling, home parties, or online, those relationships and that passion allow our brands to find success in new ways that others admire. The visionary leaders featured on the following pages faced their share of change in the past year. They discuss how their companies’ 2020 pivots ultimately have shaped their 2021 outlooks, and how they will continue to be change makers for the foreseeable future. dsa-dsj.org
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