10 Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd: How to Out-Think and Out-Perform the Competition

"Business as usual" is no longer enough if an individual or organization wants to set themselves apart from the competition and be the top choice for today's demanding and savvy customer. Connie Podesta and Jean Gatz, with their no-nonsense style, get right to the heart of every organization's number one concern when they ask their readers the question: "What do you bring to the table that is so memorable and outstanding that people will CHOOSE to do business with you?" Then, using a combination of their expertise in both psychology and business, they answer that question with 10 Ways to Stand Out From the Crowd: How to Out-think and Out-perform the competition. They have ingeniously taken the top ten business topics and condensed them into ten stand-alone books that can be sold as a whole or individually in digital format. Readers will appreciate a business book that is full of content, yet also a visual delight to read. With an effortless blend of substance and style--mixing personality, graphics, color and amazing take-home value--these authors have created a book that lives up to its name and does indeed Stand Out From the Crowd. Book 1: RE*COMMIT to Change Life as you knew it is transforming before your very eyes. To survive and thrive requires the ability and willingness to adapt to CHANGE at the click of a mouse. You can no longer keep doing what you've always done and expect STANDOUT results! The good news? Successfully dealing with change is in your DNA! The bad news? So is the temptation to resist anything that's uncomfortable, stressful or requires extra WORK. To go from safe and predictable to amazing and adventurous, you've got to view change as an Opportunity for Continuous Growth. Book 2: RE*THINK Your Choices! Life doesn't always happen the way you planned, but in every situation you've got two choices: 1) React And Resist, and you will feel POWERLESS . . . without control or contribution. 2) Initiate And Take Positive Action, and you will feel POWERFUL . . . confident and in charge. Taking charge of your life means accepting responsibility for your own happiness, being accountable for the consequences of your choices, letting go of what didn't work in the past, and looking for solutions that will work even when times are tough. How you CHOOSE to STANDOUT will define yourfuture success. Book 3: RE*ASSESS Your Expectations Expectations: What you think or want to happen. Reality: What really happens. Not always a perfect match. Expect too much and you leave yourself open to disappointment. Expect too little and you'll never know what you are truly capable of achieving. How close life comes to meeting YOUR expectations and how close YOU come to meeting the expectations of others will directly affect your ultimate success. Understand and manage those expectations – and you can STANDOUT and set the pace for a better life. Book 4: RE*POSITION Your Strengths Using your STRENGTHS – those things you were BORN to do, LOVE to do and are PASSIONATE about – is the quickest and most fulfilling path to successfully STANDING OUT in a crowd. But STRENGTHS alone cannot get youthrough every situation. When you LEARN and apply new SKILLS that fortify those talents, you've got a winning combination. Add to that the willingness to identify and overcome the limitations that stand in your way and you will be able to turn your “liabilities” into “abilities.” Book 5: RE*NEW Your Positive Attitude Your ATTITUDES reflect how you feel about yourself, your relationships, your job and the people and events in your life. While you can be taught many things, no one else can MOTIVATE, COACH or TRAIN you to have an attitude that will have a positive impact on yourself and others. You always have a choice to be POSITIVE, NEGATIVE or INDIFFERENT towards a person or situation. Since your attitudes are a reflection of who you are and how you will ultimately perform, they should mirror the very BEST of your strengths, personality, values and abilities so you can STANDOUT in a positive way.Book 6: RE*ASSERT Your Value Bringing value means you are a necessary and vital part of the overall growth and success of an organization, team or relationship. EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS is a surefire way to STANDOUT and be recognized as avaluable and essential part of the team. “Meeting standards” won't be enough if you want to achieve outstanding, long-lasting results. Always remember thatregardless of your specific job or title, YOU are in the “customer service” business. Whether internal or external, your customers (and colleagues) need and deserve the best of your time, talent, energy and positive spirit.Book 7: RE*THINK Your Relationships Often my clients tell me, “Life would be easy if it weren't for other people ”TM. However, you play a significant role in each of your relationships, even the ones that drive you crazy! Just imagine how much easier life would be if you understood why people do what they do and say what they say. Understanding the psychology of human behavior allows you to CHOOSE respectful and supportive relationships that are essential to your professional and personal well-being. Healthy relationships play a huge part in helping you STANDOUT and achieve the results you want and deserve.Book 8: RE*BALANCE Your Life Contrary to popular belief, balance is NOT about making everything equal in terms of time. Rather, it's an overall feeling ofwell-being based on worthwhile accomplishments, good decisions, healthy relationships, and a sense of security, respect and gratitude in every area of life. Achieving balance begins with your determination to discover ways to have more good days than bad, more excitement than boredom, more solutions than complaints, more happiness than sadness, and more energy than complacency. Finding balance is about making good choices and focusing on what's really important in your life so you can STANDOUT in a positive way.Book 9: RE*EXAMINE Your Leadership No matter what your title, you are a leader. At every given moment, YOU have the POWER to influence the thoughts, behaviors, ideas and attitudes of the people around you in either a positive or negative way. How you ultimately wield that power will determine whether you STANDOUT and model the kind of life others would CHOOSE to imitate, follow and respect, personally and professionally. Good leaders are good role models who align their actions with their values.Book 10: RE*EVALUATE Your Performance Words are just words. What counts are the CHOICES you make and the ACTION you take as a result of those choices. In order to succeed, you must add value, exceed expectations, utilize strengths, maintain healthy relationships, achieve balance, and lead and influence others in a positive way. Today, everyone wants more, demands more and expects more than ever before. Combine your STRENGTHS with your SKILLS so you can deliver outstanding results to the people who depend on you to STANDOUT and make a valuable contribution.

Jean Gatz combines a background in psychology with her talent to engage, inspire, and entertain audiences around the world. Ranked as a platinum-level speaker for Meeting Professionals International, Gatz has also been voted a “top 10” speaker by members of the Society for Human Resource Management. The author of several successful books, she is one of only a few women to earn the designation of Certified Speaking Professional. Through her keynotes and workshops, Gatz helps clients and audiences “Stand Out From the Crowd” by delivering strategies to enhance leadership skills, improve performance, increase personal accountability, and embrace change.Connie Podesta, a licensed, board-certified expert in the psychology of human behavior, is one of the industry's leading authorities in sales strategies, leadership, identity branding, and change. Laugh-out-loud funny and right on target, Podesta is a natural both on stage and off as a top-rated keynote speaker and first-class executive coach. She was named one of the top 25 “hot speakers” by Speaker magazine.Podesta has delivered “Stand Out From the Crowd” presentations to more than 2 million people-—helping increase sales, attract and keep more customers, build longer-lasting relationships, strengthen leadership skills, and become more profitable and successful than they ever thought possible.