Truth at Work: The Science of Delivering Tough Messages

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FOCUS ON THE FACTS

Val and Joe are business analysts at ACME Corp who sit in adjoining cubes. Val is just out of college and is looking for the fastest way up the corporate ladder. Joe’s been at ACME for a few years. He likes the steady paycheck but finds the work tedious. Joe finds that rocking out to Jimmy Buffett with a small Bluetooth speaker he keeps on his desk helps the day go by faster. One day, after pulling an all-nighter to finish a big report, Val hears Joe jamming to some tunes. Normally he could ignore it, but not today. Val peers over their shared cubicle wall and says, “Hey Joe, your music’s at a seven but I could really use it at a four, okay?” Joe looks at Val and then turns his music louder.

Val backs away from the cubicle ...