KEEPING YOUR STAND OUT FACTOR

Everything has become a commodity. Every day we find more and more inexpensive versions of the same things. Companies quickly catch up with what others have done -- and even a good idea quickly becomes commoditized.

So, how do you keep your edge? How do you get remembered? How do you develop your SO -- your Stand Out factor?

Even though we know that new, different and distinct is what gets people's attention, most of our services and products look like what people expect or what has already been done. We are stuck in a pattern of doing what we've always done. Bland. Boring. Blah!

Business and life successes are in the "could be," not in the "what is." The result is that much of the work place, and the workforce as well, is operating with yesterday's approach even though today is different.

Customers and employees become bored. This causes employees to change jobs in the hope of finding more excitement and a way to significantly contribute. They look for organizations that commit to the largest experiences and impact in what they do because it's a lot more fun. And, if the organization could be ordinary or extraordinary, why not work and shop in a place that is extraordinary?

The key to Stand Out thinking is being different -- better. The goal is to know what others do and insist on doing something better. Don't try to fit in; separate yourself because in a crowded marketplace fitting in is failing.

As we are herded into similar thinking, much of our ability to stand out is challenged, diminished or eliminated. Over time we become great at doing what others did.

Find Creative Solutions To Problems, Issues
In today's service economy, our value is in our thinking. Passionate performance happens when we have freedom to imagine, create and innovate.

Learn to reconnect with your creative side. More than 90 percent of five-year-olds are creative, but only five percent of 13-year-olds (and older) are creative. We have trained ourselves out of being creative. Train yourself back into creative thinking by learning how to revisit a problem, issue or opportunity in the following ways:

• Frame it differently. Make it a product, a hobby, an inanimate object, a cartoon, a food, a superhero, etc.
• See it from another perspective: man, woman, child, minority, friend, enemy, teacher, employee, customer, affluent, poor, honest, greedy, etc.
• Morph the problem by changing it to the best, worst, an object, a person, a policy, a fruit, a car, a game, etc.
• Link it to an unrelated item to see the correlations; identify how it is similar, how it is different. This forces the brain to see connections it would normally ignore.
• Use pictures to visualize the problem, issue or opportunity. How does the visual encourage different thinking? ? View the problem as a color -- what does it make you think of, how does the color offer a new perspective?
• Brainstorm using the phrases, "What if?" "How about?" or "Just consider."
• Use word association to generate ideas
• Write a headline, poem, obituary, news report or book title that relates to a business issue, event or other need. This forces a new perspective on the situation.

So, remember the bad B's: bland, boring and blending as a way of going bust. To succeed, Stand Out.

Think, Dream, Invent And Stand Out From The Crowd
Organizations that openly encourage all employees to think, dream and invent, create the possibility of standing out. And standing out is the only way to compete in this information blurred and "overcommoditized" economy.

Service that stands out encourages customer loyalty. Workplaces that stand out encourage employee loyalty. At a time where there seems to be so little loyalty by either party, a bold commitment to being remembered is a critical advantage. Standing out is about creating something original, exciting and dynamic.

Stand Out thinking starts with the permission to let yourself invent. This happens in an open and accepting environment. It happens when your workplace is diverse in both background and experience and when all employees are required to openly invent, think and participate in decision-making, and say what is on their minds. This is way to invite the new, the different and the great.

Build a culture of creative thinkers in your organization by the following:

• Allow employees to invent and take calculated risks. Reward excellent failures. Encourage greater thinking. If you are not failing every now and then, chances are you are not doing anything innovative. Visibly applaud creative efforts that focus on value, profits and customer service. Applaud employee reach and innovation.
• Invent a Creativity Zone -- an area of the workplace that is committed to extraordinary thinking.
• Invent the "Creativiteam" -- a team assembled to generate ideas to solve an issue, invent something new, create an event, etc.
• Create an idea journal and add to it each day. Think unique, valuable, exceptional and exclusive.

Think success by focusing on what makes you different and distinct. Then help your employees show up to get it done, step up to do it right and Stand Out to be remembered.

Source: Jay Forte

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

KEEPING YOUR STAND OUT FACTOR