Dave Pfeiffer, Chairman of the Board
American Sportfishing Association
ICAST Industry Breakfast
July 19, 2006
Las Vegas Convention Center

Good morning, everyone. I’m Dave Pfeiffer, Chairman of the Board for the American Sportfishing Association.

It’s an honor to be the one to raise the curtain on ICAST 2006. The stage seems to be set for a really great show, thanks in large part to so many of you in this room who’ve taken leading roles in building this success. ICAST’s growth is a great example of how our industry can benefit from working together for our common interests.

The renewed sense of optimism about ICAST has been validated by steady increases in floor capacity and attendance over the last five years. Anything we can do to ensure that buyers have a good show experience is going to advance that trend and build up the value of our trade show even more. After all, the buyers and retailers are the ones on the front lines, face-to-face with our customers, turning product orders into product sales.

The reason ICAST has steadily improved is because ASA, the Board, its committees, and countless other committed members made it a priority to revamp the show. Together, we focused on key improvements over the last five years, and now we’re seeing the results of that effort.

Even with a good show, doing the same thing every year wouldn’t lead to any progress. We also couldn’t afford to be reckless, trying out new things just to be different.

Collectively, we considered feedback from members and show attendee surveys to make reasoned, incremental changes. We used our imaginations to continually refine these improvements. And we stuck with our efforts long enough to evaluate the results, giving us valuable wisdom for future growth.

That same approach has been used to address another one of our industry’s priorities—growing fishing participation. This was the theme of last year’s Industry Breakfast. We’re starting to see the returns on our investments in the Take Me Fishing Campaign and we have reason to be hopeful about the future growth of our sport.

Just like any effort to affect a big change, we’ve had to adapt and refine our approaches along the way, based on what has been learned through the process. The new Anglers’ Legacy program, a complement to the Take Me Fishing Campaign, capitalizes on all of our progress. It’s turning it into a powerful venture by asking avid anglers to commit to teaching someone to fish and leave their legacy for the next generation.

This is all good food for thought as we focus this year on the importance of innovation to our industry. Peter Drucker once said, “Innovation is as much about discipline as it is about creativity.”

Getting better does not always have to be through revolutionary new ideas alone. Some of the best progress comes from making a clear priority and focusing on it, figuring out what works and sticking with it, building that incremental progress.

He also implies that we should continually ask the ‘reality check’ questions, like “are we really being innovative here?” And be willing to look successes and failures in the face to unlock all of their meaning, recognizing that both are inevitable as well as valuable.

Innovation is something that is dear to my heart after nearly 19 years with Shimano. I have learned that true innovation is a lot more than just developing new products or new product elements. It has much to do with carrying innovative thinking through all the decisions affecting the supply chain.

To really be successful with innovation, a certain culture has to be adopted and nurtured all the time. A few strong players can build a reputation for the entire industry, as the automotive and electronics industries have done.

We have a good understanding, as an industry, of the value of being innovative in developing new products. We can expand that value further by tapping the full potential of innovative sales and marketing strategies, too. If we extend our innovative thinking more in that direction, we would give the sport much more mainstream appeal and ultimately get more anglers out on the water.

Hopefully, this year’s theme of innovation will challenge the ASA and our industry as a whole to give greater thought to how we can change the value and perception of our own business.

Before turning over the podium to Mike Nussman, I want to take a moment to thank him and the entire staff of ASA for all their help over the last two years while serving as Chairman. It’s been really impressive to see how hard this group of people works for the whole industry, member companies and individuals alike. They certainly deserve our recognition, appreciation, and thanks.

In addition, I would like to thank everyone that has served on the Board, on committees, and participated in other ways to help ASA grow. All of your efforts certainly made my job easier and more rewarding.

With an active membership, the ASA staff can do a much better job representing our interests. I definitely encourage everyone to find some way to participate on the Board of Directors or one of ASA’s committees. It truly is a great experience.

Now, Mike Nussman, the president of ASA, will give us a report on key initiatives the association is undertaking, and share some of his insights on innovation.

{After Mike:}

Thank you, Mike. Before introducing our keynote speaker, I want to reiterate my enthusiasm for Anglers’ Legacy and encourage you to find out more about it in the cyber lounge hosted by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation.

Just after the breakfast and throughout the day, industry leaders are gathering in the cyber lounge for a special signing ceremony to officially launch Anglers’ Legacy. Several pro anglers here at ICAST are also going to be signing on. This coincides with the program’s grassroots launch all across the country.

Scores of local Anglers’ Legacy events will encourage more sign-ons to a “Declaration of Support,” a commitment to introduce the sport to new anglers. The idea is to rally fishing ambassadors nationwide to pass on their passion to even just one other person. Everyone can make a difference.

Now, getting back to our program this morning, it’s an honor to introduce our special guest, Dr. Larry Steinmetz. Larry is President of High Yield Management, Inc., based in Boulder, Colorado.

Larry’s company has educated tens of thousands of businesspeople all over the country through seminars and customized in-house training. He is considered one of the nation's foremost authorities on getting top dollar for one's products and services.

Prior to being a successful entrepreneur, he was a full professor at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Colorado, a position he reached at the ripe old age of 32.

Larry’s message for us today is right on target. He has some valuable ideas to share about finding innovative ways to maintain high profit margins, even in challenging environments.

He also will host a more intensive workshop at the Sportfishing Summit in San Diego in October. More details on the summit are on the cards on your tables. The workshop will be a great way to hone a professional edge in selling.