Robyn Waters has always had the courage to speak up. After graduating from Mankato State University in Mankato, Minn., in 1975, she worked at a local department store, making barely enough to pay for the gas in her car. She had a double major in business and home economics, as well as specialized studies in textiles and merchandising, but getting an interview at Donaldson's, Minnesota's largest department store, proved frustrating at best.

After being told three different times that human resources couldn't find her recent application, Waters sat down and wrote to the president of Donaldson's, telling him how inefficient his human resources personnel were. Two days later, she received a phone call at home from the president, who asked her to come to the city to talk with him. She told him she'd already taken another offer; besides, she said, she didn't have the money for gas. He asked if she'd ever interviewed with a company president before. When she replied that she hadn't, he asked, "Aren't you even curious?"

She went to see him and explained her ideas about fashion, about how everything old is new again. The next day, she received $5 in the mail to cover her gas and an offer--from the newly appointed human resources director--to become the assistant fashion coordinator at Donaldson's. The job involved travel, which she loved, and she spent the next three years there. Ultimately, she became the fashion coordinator.

Lesson One: Speak your mind, and be open to opportunities.

Waters spent the next 15 years at various high-end department stores in Mississippi and Boston. She traveled Europe, attended design shows, and tracked and translated trends into sales and profits. In 1992 she moved to Target, where she eventually became vice president of trend, design and product development, helping the discount chain become a fashion destination.

"The company had hip and cool images in the media but very plain clothes on the rack," Waters says, "and I knew if I could make the clothing half as good as the advertising, it would be a winner." Author and marketing guru Seth Godin has called Waters "the woman who revolutionized what Target sells and helped the company trounce Kmart."

During the 10 years she spent at Target, the company became more focused on the bottom line, and Waters left to pursue more creative endeavors. She traveled, hired a business coach and kept a journal, which became her first book, The Trendmaster's Guide: Get a Jump on What Your Customer Wants. She recently published a second book, The Hummer and the Mini: Navigating the Contradictions of the New Trend Landscape, which explores the contradictory nature of today's consumer.

Lesson Two: Follow your heart.

In 2002, when Waters was in her mid-50s, she began her consulting and speaking firm, RW Trend. Waters describes herself as a hired-gun visionary, and her corporate clients range from Anheuser Busch Inc., Proctor and Gamble, Sara Lee Corp. and Fidelity Investments to Bank of Ireland and Best Buy.

Waters acts as a creative catalyst to challenge her clients' current thinking and help them reframe opportunities, with the goal of creating remarkable results. At the core of Waters' strategy is her 3H Design Theory: The first H is for head--the need that drives a purchase. The second H is handbag--the price and value of the item to the consumer. The third H is for heart: the emotion that consumers attach to the design or product.

Asked how she identifies and keeps up with trends, Waters replies that she's a visual storyteller. "I'm a cheerleader for ideas, and I use stories, heroes and demonstrations to sell them," she says. She described how she persuaded Target executives to add more color to their clothing and product lines. "I believed that the day of neutral colors had passed, but the company resisted. So I scheduled a meeting with top executives, borrowed a candy-colored IMac, bought blue M&M's and put them in a lovely bowl, brought a stack of brightly colored polo shirts I'd found in Paris and put them all on pedestals to show how to use color." It worked. For the next 10 years, Target integrated color as a major factor in all its products, and other discounters began to copy that strategy.

Lesson Three: Gather the facts and visuals to bring a strong emotional response to your ideas.

Waters considers herself a respectful rebel. "I'm a strong believer in Howard Shultz's philosophy for Starbucks," which she characterizes as "creating profit in a benevolent way." Asked how the economic downturn has affected her business, Waters admits there have been fewer bookings in 2009, but she sees things turning around already and has her first booking for 2010.

The recently married Waters credits her husband with keeping her grounded. "I'm always working: thinking, analyzing, finding ways to increase efficiency and identifying trends. Since starting my own company and getting married, I've relaxed more and take better care of myself. I do what I love and can be authentic about my work."

Waters says she's now interested in reinventing the whole concept of retirement for herself. "I'm not looking for a project or establishing a goal for future retirement, but I want to enjoy that time of my life that I worked so hard to achieve," she says. "Retirement is a time to share wisdom and give back."