Better Make It Real: Creating Authenticity in an Increasingly Fake World

Businesses everywhere are rebooting on the heels of the Great Recession. "Now is the time to get real," says Jill Morin, CEO and author of Better Make it Real:  Creating Authenticity in an Increasingly Fake World.

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.

Jill J. Morin is co-chief executive for Kahler Slater, an interdisciplinary design, planning, and consulting firm. Under her leadership, Kahler Slater has been named one of the Best Small Companies to Work For in America for the past six years. Founded in 1908, Kahler Slater works with clients throughout the world to define and manifest their authentic organizational visions through the design of ideal total experiences. Morin can be reached at jillmorin@bettermakeitreal.com.