A comprehensive study of the power of differentiation as a key component of any business model, this book includes a step-by-step process to help leaders discover, achieve, express, and sustain their own authentic position. For the first time in recent history, trust is as important to corporate reputation as quality of products and services, according to the 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer. Still, nearly 70 percent of people say that organizations will revert to "business as usual" once the economy recovers. Moreover, U.S. job satisfaction is at a 22-year-low, according to a 2010 Conference Board report, and by most every measure, the consumer outlook is bleak. The good news? Organizational authenticity is attainable, declares Morin in Better Make it Real. However, it isn't the goal, she says, but the result of providing, consistently and continuously, an authentic "total experience" to your stakeholders—workers, customers, vendors, and other business partners. In other words, Morin affirms, authenticity isn't a destination—it's an ongoing journey that will serve to differentiate any organization in its marketplace, which too often is littered with fakes. Morin's recommended roadmap is Kahler Slater's Total Experience Design—a specific, step-by-step process for designing stakeholder experiences that are "authentic, intentional, and wholly integrated." In Better Make It Real, Morin offers a comprehensive guide to implementing Total Experience Design inside organizations of all types and sizes. She also shares behind-the-scenes stories from Kahler Slater projects and clients, including Google, Robert Redford's Sundance Cinemas, Monster.com, and numerous entrepreneurial enterprises. Bottom line: Organizational authenticity is sorely lacking—and urgently needed. On the heels of the Great Recession, Morin rolls out a roadmap to "real"—helping executives and entrepreneurs find their way forward.

From a #1 New York Times bestseller, “page-turning romance about an unlikely couple who overcomes the glare of the public eye . . . addictive summer reading” (Publishers Weekly). Under ordinary circumstances, Oakley Ford and Vaughn Bennett would never even cross paths. There’s nothing ordinary about Oakley. This bad-boy pop star’s got Grammy awards, millions of fangirls and a reputation as a restless, too-charming troublemaker. But with his home life disintegrating, his music well suddenly running dry and the tabloids having a field day over his outrageous exploits, Oakley needs to show the world he’s settling down—and who better to help him than Vaughn, a part-time waitress trying to help her family get by? The very definition of ordinary. Posing as his girlfriend, Vaughn will overhaul Oakley’s image from troublemaker to serious artist. In return for enough money to put her brothers through college, she can endure outlandish Hollywood parties and carefully orchestrated Twitter exchanges. She’ll fool the paparazzi and the groupies. She might even start fooling herself a little. Because when ordinary rules no longer apply, there’s no telling what your heart will do . . . “Fun and addictive!” —Katie McGarry, award-winning author of Say You’ll Remember Me “A fast-paced, ‘he-said, she-said’ page-turner.” —School Library Journal “Undeniable fun. . . . A quintessential beach read.” —Kirkus Reviews

They were only faking it…. A landscape designer for his family’s construction firm, Joe Walker, is nearing completion on one of the most important projects of his career—gardens for spec homes that if they wow, Walker Construction will survive. When a freak accident sidelines him with a broken leg, the firm hires a competitor. Her ideas are radically different, but his stalker ex arrives to play nurse, and Joe needs more than gardening help. After six-years working in English manor gardens, horticulturist Kara Sudbury returns to River’s Edge to help in her grandparents’ struggling garden center. She’s thrilled when Jackson Walker hires her to execute his injured cousin’s designs. Ignoring Joe is difficult because he’s as sexy now as he was in high school and even more stubborn. But when Joe asks Kara to play the role of girlfriend, they strike a deal that will help Joe handle his tenacious ex and put Sudbury’s Nursery back in the black. Kara’s up for the subterfuge…for a price, but then the pretense feels real, and Kara is reminded that every rose has its thorns.

Make It Real by Vuzo Adeleke What could possibly go wrong in a house presided over by a doting father and a loving mother? In Make It Real, by Vuzo Adeleke, we can see the kind of stigma people pay for after going through childhood scarred for life by physical, mental, and sexual torture from the people relied upon to look after them. Despite being blessed by an almost perfect set of parents, the author describes the silent horror of living in a house with a vicious nanny and a perverted Christian minister. No wonder then that it took a momentous development in her life before she could regain the trust and the mind to gain the life befitting her own outlook. Make It Real shows us what could go wrong in a typical upwardly mobile, aspiring family, and the latent effects of sinister people upon what could be our own children. About the Author Vuzo Adeleke was born and raised in Durban, South Africa. She studied education and graduated with Primary Teacher's degree and pursued further diploma in Education Specializing in School Library and Media Science. She is currently employed as a primary school teacher head of department in the foundation phase. She lives in her hometown of Durban.

A realistic approach to assessing student behavior, staff morale, and school climate and creating a proven-to-work character development program that can dramatically turn around student behavior.

The Girls of Grace conferences have inspired thousands of young women across the globe. Now, Make It Real, based on the 2005-2006 Girls of Grace conference theme, inspires each and every girl to see herself through God's eyes and be the person He wants her to be. Point of Grace is: Shelley, Denise, Leigh, and Heather. Together in this fun, biblically-based book, the girls discuss and apply the issues facing young women today: Words, Worth, Relationships, and Me. If you enjoy their conferences or their music, you're sure to love this book as they encourage all young girls to Make It Real!

Every Catholic teen will be evangelized in the coming year. That is a fact. The question is this: Who will evangelize our teens, and to what will they be converted? Ironically, most "evangelization" is being done not by the Church but by contemporary American culture. A variety of voices are vying for the attention and allegiance of our youth. Many of those voices, often electronically piped into our unsuspecting households, proclaim relevantly, creatively, and persuasively a message contrary to our Catholic faith. Yet the Church possesses a message that addresses the most significant hunger of every teen's heart. We have exactly what young people are searching for. We struggle, however, in constructing an environment that teens find attractive, and we often fail to proclaim the Gospel in a creative and culturally relevant manner. Make It Real: A Practical Resource for Teen-Friendly Evangelization is all about building evangelistic ministry that not only is worth teens' time but also addresses the issues that are real in their lives. This book provides fresh, clear, and test-driven principles for building an effective and teen-friendly ministry for evangelistic outreach. The fully designed sessions help the busy youth worker implement dynamic and spiritually powerful evangelistic gatherings.

The founder of Better Life Bags, Rebecca Smith, teaches us how to take little steps, say yes when God calls, and follow the passion He has given us. Let love stretch you. As the founder of one of the most popular custom handbag companies in the country, Rebecca Smith knows a thing or two about business. A highly successful entrepreneur in a world where the focus is on scalability, brand strategy, and global marketing, Rebecca Smith also knows the truth: that every success she's experienced at Better Life Bags has been the result of very small, very ordinary, very obedient steps of faith. Moving from Savannah, Georgia, to Hamtramck, Michigan, was culture shock enough for Rebecca. But trying to feel at home in a city where twenty-six different languages were spoken and most of the inhabitants were immigrants seemed downright impossible. It was only when Rebecca recognized that God had called her to this specific neighborhood at this particular moment in time that his plans began to unfold for her. Stepping forward into the place God had called her - a place that seemed messy and uncomfortable and unfamiliar - Rebecca discovered the true secret to success: when we slow down, pay attention, and trust that still, small voice of God to guide us, we just might change the world. Though Rebecca never set out to build a brand or create an empire, God saw Rebecca's heart for others, and began to multiply her efforts in ways she could have never imagined, creating a company where women from different cultures, faiths, and backgrounds work together for the good of others - for a better life. As you read this inspiring story, you will discover how to hear and follow God's voice for yourself as you slow down, take one small step at a time, and make a difference in the world right where you are.

If there nothing was you back, what dream would you chase? For a young snail named John Scotland, traveling is the impossible aspiration that he decides to make a reality. After leaving the only town he'd ever known, John meets a variety of colorful characters along his path to New York City who inspire and teach him some of life's most important lessons through their own unique experiences. Inspired by a real life adventure, the story of John Scotland will take you on a journey that will open your mind and free your spirit to achieve your biggest dreams.