August 9, 2011 • Volume 2, Issue 16 • ISSN: 2154-3240

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In This Issue

♦	Feature Article: Staying on Message
♦	Ask Amanda: I’m concerned that my company’s lack of resources is impacting my ability to develop new skills. Any advice?
♦	Practical Tips: Paying Your Dues

Staying on Message

When you have an important meeting or sales call coming up, practice your key selling points and anticipate the objections others might have so you can be prepared to overcome them. Bringing this type of thinking to your everyday work experience is a powerful, yet often overlooked technique.

Think about the key messages you want to reinforce about your team, your work output, and/or your value to the company. Take time to craft statements that are true, supportable, and are stated in a way that allows people to draw the correct inferences. Then practice.
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	Clarity of purpose inspires action and ideas.

Practical Tips: Paying Your Dues

The belief that you must pay your dues before you can achieve something worthwhile is well established in our society. In order to achieve success the thinking goes, you must first endure menial tasks and degrading jobs, and ultimately this will pay off and leave you on “easy street.” This concept is often so ingrained, particularly among older workers and immigrants, that it’s never questioned—even though there are plenty of exceptions everywhere you look.
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We are understaffed and although we're constantly hiring, the work keeps increasing so we're always falling behind. The frustration of not being able to do my job has morphed into concern that I'm not developing the skills I need to stay competitive in the workplace. Any advice? A.S., Seattle, WA

Great question and really good insight on your part regarding the impact lean staffing has on a person’s career.

I hear “we’re understaffed” at least once every day. Given how corporations have responded to our recent economic woes, it’s not surprising that there is too much work for too few people.
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Recommended Resources

What's the difference between lifetime employability and lifetime employment (and why is it so important?) Read Amanda's latest blog post and leave a comment.

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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.