How Unconventional Thinking Can Beat Competitive Thinking
Big brands have proved that unconventional thinking can yield remarkable results.
Oct 09, 2026 | 3 min read
David Salyers, former vice president of marketing, growth and hospitality at Chick-fil-A, and Aaron Fossas, vice president of ADDO, challenged conventional thinking about marketing your company during Thursday’s Education Session “The Bets That Built Empires: Why the Best Business Decisions Look Wrong at First.”
While working at Chick-fil-A, Salyers learned that the company made courageously counterintuitive decisions. It closed its restaurants on Sundays and went into malls before other fast-food establishments.
He suggested that companies should use the 80/20 rule, and make the 20% mean more with innovation that may seem counterintuitive, such as using a cow to market a chicken restaurant. It’s a practice that Salyers said can make a business become exponentially better versus incrementally better. It offers a competitive advantage—you’re not just playing the game better, you’re playing an entirely different game.
“Competitive is my red flag,” he said. “If you are so focused on being competitive, you are a commodity and are conventional. You want to be unconventional.”
Fossas provided three examples of companies that did not settle for competitive and sought to provide remarkable experiences for their clients. First there was Airbnb. Cofounder Brian Chesky set out to disrupt the traditional hotel model with his business. Using the traditional one- to five-star rating system, he challenged his team to imagine what a client could experience to rate a facility with six stars, seven stars and so on. The list started with wine, cheese and a personal welcome note at check-in and escalated to a rocket trip to Mars.
- The lesson: Remarkable lives beyond five stars but before the ridiculous. Be remarkable.
Fossas’s next example was Patagonia. On Black Friday in 2011, Patagonia ran an ad in The New York Times with the headline “Don’t buy this jacket” with an image of its bestselling R2 fleece. In fine print underneath, the company urged consumers to only buy what they truly needed to promote reuse and recycling. Ironically, the ad discouraging purchases boosted sales by 30% over the following year.
- The lesson: Great brands look beyond the money. Be purpose-driven.
Another example was about young father Chris Hurn, who took his family to Amelia Island in Florida. They stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, and Hurn’s youngest son left his “best friend” Joshie the Giraffe behind. That night, Hurn averted disaster by telling his son that Joshie decided to extend his vacation and would come home later. Later, the hotel found Joshie in the laundry. Knowing the young father’s white lie, the Ritz-Carlton team returned Joshie with a binder documenting his extended stay. Joshie was pictured in a lounge chair at the pool, getting a massage, in the security center and driving a golf cart.
- The lesson: Be generous with guests. Go above and beyond.
Fossas said generosity may seem wrong on paper, but it could ultimately work miracles. He challenged the audience to go out and create remarkable moments—they just might reap remarkable results.
