August 10, 2010 • Volume 1, Issue 16 • ISSN: 2154-3240

In This Issue

♦	Feature Article: Develop Strategically
♦	Ask Amanda: How can I get others to be accountable for their actions?
♦	Practical Tips: Estimate Accurately

Develop Strategically

It is funny how “being strategic” is talked about constantly in the workplace and yet very few executives actually are strategic, particularly when it comes to their own personal development. While your management may have suggestions on areas where they’d like you to increase your skill base, remember that they are basing their recommendations on their needs, which may or may not line up with your long-term agenda. read more

	Any goal easily reached was not big enough.

Practical Tips: Estimate Accurately

A constant refrain around the workplace is that there is not enough time in the day. Part of the reason we feel that way is that we underestimate how much time it takes to complete projects, which leads to unrealistic deadlines. The usual culprit is that we estimate in a vacuum... read more

How can I get others to be accountable for their actions? Many of my direct reports come to me for the solution, as if by dumping the problem on my desk, they are no longer responsible for providing a solution.
– K.M., Stamford, CT

Through our actions and behaviors we train others on how to interact with us. The first question I had when I read your question was “How do you respond when they do this?” Most people want to help and it’s natural to offer up suggestions when others approach with a problem. However, in this instance, doing so rewards their behavior and only encourages them to continue it. read more

Recommended Resources

Our next free call, Preparing for the Worst: Being Laid Off, Fired or Under New Management, will be held August 12th. Register at www.takingcontrolofyourcareer.com.

The next virtual Taking Control of Your Career Bootcamp, will begin September 2, 2010. Find info and more resources for executives feeling trapped at www.takingcontrolofyourcareer.com

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.