February 22, 2011 • Volume 2, Issue 4 • ISSN: 2154-3240

In This Issue

♦	Feature Article: Breathing Space
♦	Ask Amanda: I am much younger than many of the people I supervise and I am finding it difficult to have performance conversations with them. Suggestions?
♦	Practical Tips: Shake Up Your Routine

Breathing Space

It’s no secret that the corporate world values productivity. How often have you received the message that your worth is measured by “what have you done for me lately?” In businesses that provide intangible services, this often translates to working more and more hours—as if more hours equals being more productive. The trap in this productivity mindset is that most executives are valued for their strategic, critical or creative thinking skills, and constant activity impedes those very processes.

To stay at the top of your game, build in some time to ruminate. But you might want to close the door when you do this because to others it may not look like you’re working! Thinking is often non-linear and organic.
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	Today’s thoughts create your future.

Practical Tips: Shake Up Your Routine

There is a very practical benefit to having a routine. Without a daily structure, it's easy to devolve into disorganization and scattered efficacy. In other words, we can find ourselves either "putting out fires" or finding new stuff to worry about 90% of the time, while actually accomplishing "real" work only 10% of the time. The downside to routine is that it can dull your thinking as you go through your day on automatic pilot.

Change Your Route
Most of us take the same route to work every day. We arrive without having consciously registered anything we’ve seen.
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I am much younger than many of those I supervise. I’m finding it difficult to have performance conversations with my subordinates and often result to using e-mail for feedback—which I know is a cop-out. Any suggestions? M.A., Atlanta, GA

The assumption you are most likely making is that age equals expertise...for both yourself and your subordinates. Rationally you know you have to address performance issues but this assumption is making it difficult for you to do so. No one enjoys these types of conversations, regardless of tenure. You can make it easier on yourself by preparing.
read more

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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.