Kate Wendleton, President of the Five O'Clock Club, released her new book in the summer of 2005, Navigating Your Career: Develop Your Plan, Manage Your Boss, Get Another Job Inside. Navigating Your Career covers not only workplace etiquette, providing steps to enhance interpersonal skills for success within an organization, but also gives a hands-on approach to career development within an organization, for both internal promotions and lifelong career success. Numerous case studies make content real and easily applied, and the book contains exercises that help chart the right career path.

•  Provide an overview of each class    session. Let students know the main points of    the class as well as the course    objectives addressed by the material.

•  Ask students to summarize the material    from each class session. Ask them to include    the main points from    the material as well as    to relate the    information to their    professional goals.

Q: Dear Kate,

     I really love my job, but my boss just won't listen to my new ideas.  Should I quit? I don't have a degree, but I have 7 years experience in the automotive accessory manufacturing industry, in customer service. I'm afraid that not having a bachelors degree will inhibit my ability to get another well-paying job.
Signed, Sarah in Sausalito

A: Ideas are cheap; execution is everything. If you quit, chances are they won't listen to you somewhere else either. Instead, learn to turn your ideas into reality.

Let me give you an example. John passes Jane, his boss, in the hall and says, “I have an idea. Let's send dinner coupons to our important clients as holiday gifts.”

But to be taken seriously, John should develop a plan (not just a suggestion) and present it in a serous way, for example:

•  Identify the core issue, such as, “We need to take care of our important clients.”
•  Develop various ideas for addressing the issue – not just dinner coupons.
•  Analyze the pros and cons of each idea.
•  Develop a budget and a process for implementing the idea.

With this approach, he's more likely to have his ideas listened to.

Do you have a career question that you'd love to have answered by a career counseling expert? E-mail your career question to Kate Wendleton, founder of the Five O'Clock Club and your question could be featured in next month's edition of Success Today. Please send questions to: TLSuccessToday@thomsonlearning.com.

Quick Tips on E-mail from award-winning author Lee Clark Johns:

Is E-mail responsible for “increased productivity that equals about $9,000 per employee”? Or is it “the greatest threat to civilization since lead dinnerware addled the brains of the Roman aristocracy”? Opinions differ. But e-mail has transformed how we communicate.

Now we need to use it wisely. Too many people think sending quick-and-dirty e-mail is okay. After all, it's like a phone call. Dangerous idea! An E-mail goes farther, faster, and to more people than any other document. Plus it has real legal consequences.

To write effective, reader-friendly E-mail, follow these guidelines.

 • Choose your medium    wisely – Is it better to call or    write? Is E-mail, an    impersonal medium, the best    way to achieve the result you    want?

 • Send less – Reduce the    information overload by    sending only messages that    count.

 • Target your distribution     list – Include only those     readers who need your     message. “Fan-out     messages” waste     everyone's time.

 • Think before you write –    E-mail is NOT a conversation.    Treat it like any written    document by planning and    organizing.

 • Get to the point – The first    paragraph should make your    point. Also, your subject line    should be specific so readers    will open it.

 • Be diplomatic – Because    e-mail seems like a    conversation, we can    respond too quickly. If you    are irritated, cool off before    you respond and then have    damage to control.

 • Follow standard    capitalization rules –    Typing in all capitals is    perceived as shouting; all    lower case is poetic but    improper.

 • Proofread – E-mail can be    quick but not dirty. Reader-
   friendly writing – even    electronically – requires the    courtesy of quality control.