September 3, 2013 • Volume 4, Issue 18 • ISSN: 2154-3240

In This Issue

♦	Feature Article: Unexpected Conversations
♦	Ask Amanda: My friends are advancing faster than I am. Advice?
♦	Practical Tips: Move On

Unexpected Conversations

All of us have had unexpected conversations at one time or another. Your company surprises you by reorganizing. The CEO wants to see you immediately. A key customer suddenly decides to move their business elsewhere. The commonality in all these situations is that they provoke emotion—fear, anger, surprise, happiness. How you handle yourself at critical moments makes a big impression on others.

What should you do?

The best outcomes come from clarity. So your first move is to figure out exactly what is happening.
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	Keep accountability without judgement.

Practical Tips: Move On

Most of us are our own worst enemies—particularly when it comes to dwelling on our mistakes. We’ve all spoken out of turn, had our ideas shot down, or misquoted key numbers during meetings. Beyond being a no-win behavior, dwelling on past errors saps your energy, distracts you, and keeps your focus on the past. While you’re still berating yourself for making a mistake, everyone else has moved on. Remember, it’s hard to add value and contribute if you’re brooding, and that really will affect how others see you.

I am concerned because all my friends seem to be advancing faster than I am. Every time I look at Facebook someone else has been promoted. What should I do? M.A., Tuckahoe, NY

Your question demonstrates the importance of having your own strategy. No one has exactly the same mix of opportunities, talents, and goals. Given that your friends are all in different situations it’s irrational to use them as comparators—it just makes you feel bad.
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Recommended Resources

Have you read Seth Godin's The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? We did! Read about it here.

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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.