November 1, 2011 • Volume 2, Issue 22 • ISSN: 2154-3240

In This Issue

♦	Feature Article: Rituals
♦	Ask Amanda: How can I minimize the impact of negative teammates?
♦	Practical Tips: Industry Conferences

Rituals

Ritual is a powerful and underappreciated tool and one that is rarely considered within the context of work. By definition, rituals are “any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner.” Most people associate the word with religious practices or with a cultural practice like the Japanese tea ceremony. But rituals can not only help us personally by keeping us grounded and on track—they can also be used to create and reaffirm the culture of our workplaces by creating bonds, reaffirming hierarchies, and creating community based on shared experiences.

Rituals help structure our days and give us cues that tell us when to “turn on” and “turn off” work. Look no further than the opening to PBS’s series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, for a clear-cut example of this type of ritual.
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Practical Tips: Industry Conferences

Many of us attend industry conferences, trade shows, and conventions as part of our jobs. An easy way to keep yourself focused and organized is to create a one-pager that allows you to make decisions in the moment and easily execute them.

At the top of the page, write the event’s purpose and how it fits with your goals/plan.
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I'm on a team filled with negative people. We could win the lottery and these people would think that the pot should've been bigger! Their behavior is rubbing off on me—I'm much less positive than I normally am, yet I like my job. What can I do? R.C., New Orleans, LA

You are absolutely right—attitude is contagious and being surrounded by negativity often has a far-reaching impact on your life. It makes your work experience more difficult than it has to be, and often that negativity spills over into other areas of your life. Ultimately, negativity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because only people who are equally negative will be attracted to you.
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Recommended Resources

Interested in having Amanda come speak at your organization? We're now booking speaking engagements for 2012 - contact us for details.

What else can we learn from Steve Jobs? Read Amanda's blog post The Inhumanity of Steve Jobs and let us know what you think.

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About Us: Our Corporate Life LLC (OCL) is a company that offers a new system for reducing unnecessary workplace suffering caused by the organizational, interpersonal, and ethical issues of our time. It is founded on the belief that adhering to core human values and achieving business success are always compatible. Working with both companies and individuals, OCL helps create solutions that enable corporate employees at every level to optimize profits while enabling them to thrive in the corporate environment. OCL was founded by Amanda Mitchell to help meet the needs of people working in corporate America during this transformative moment in our nation's history. The OCL system reflects her experience and insight gained from a 20–year corporate career working with Fortune 500 companies, and as an executive coach to senior–level corporate executives.