Brenda Anderson took over the management of SITE during the downturn of 2001, a few months before the September 11 disaster put the travel and incentive industries in a tailspin. During those difficult early years, Anderson not only kept the organization stable, she also managed to expand the reach of SITE into 82 countries and raise its membership and retention levels to record numbers.

She credits that unlikely success to her decision not to give in to negative thinking. Rather than assuming that 9/11 had devastated the market permanently, Anderson saw a challenge to redefine SITE. She believes so strongly in the power of choice, that she's written a book on it, released in March by New World Libraries, and titled Playing the Quantum Field: How Changing Your Choices Can Change Your Life.

Anderson was first introduced to incentive programs as a participant when she began her career 25 years ago at Adia, an international staffing company now known as Adecco. The reward that still stands out in her mind is a trip to New York City when she was 26, where she had breakfast on top of the World Trade Center sitting next to the CEO of her billion-dollar company, watching the sunrise and talking about life. By 1991, she was using incentives as a vice president to push her division from $60 million to $100 million in sales in 18 months.

Ten years ago, at age 36, Anderson changed careers and joined SmithBucklin, the association management company, where she headed up the International Customer Service Association before taking over SITE. Over the past four years, she's met with executives and leaders in 33 countries.

She says a woman need not act like a man to succeed, something Anderson admits she did early in her career. Soft skills, like being a good mediator and negotiator, she says, are just as important as the skills used to close the deal, though harder to measure—not unlike some values of incentive programs.

Fast Fact: Anderson is just as proud of her certificate from the Players Workshop, an improvisation comedy school in Chicago, as she is of her Masters degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Chicago. This page is protected by Copyright laws. Do Not Copy