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Part One: An Introduction to Difficult Situations at Work |
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Seven Determining Factors When Addressing Difficult Situations at Work |
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3 | (8) |
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Part Two: Embarrassing Situations at Work |
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A Personal E-Mail Reaches Someone Else |
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11 | (4) |
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A Personal E-Mail Reaches Almost Everyone Else |
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15 | (3) |
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You Send a Client a Proposal with a Different Client's Name in It |
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18 | (4) |
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Your Boss Overhears You Criticizing Something or Someone at Work |
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22 | (3) |
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You Were Criticizing Someone, Then Realized the Person May Have Heard |
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25 | (3) |
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You Hear a Coworker Criticizing You |
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28 | (4) |
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You Demand Payment from a Client Who, It Turns Out, Paid You Already |
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32 | (3) |
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You Emphasize a Point---Strongly and in Front of Lots of People---Then Immediately Discover You're Wrong |
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35 | (3) |
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You Provide Facts or Advice in a Report That Proves to Be Wrong |
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38 | (4) |
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You Accidentally---but Obviously---Burp, Groan, or Break Wind (It Does Happen) |
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42 | (3) |
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You Call a Person by the Wrong Name |
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45 | (8) |
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Part Three: In the Spotlight---(and Not Sure How You Got There) |
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You're in Front of a Group and Feel Utterly Incompetent---and Unprepared |
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53 | (4) |
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You Don't Have the Required Slides, Handouts, or Other Copy for Your Presentation |
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57 | (6) |
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You Need to Prolong a Meeting---or Reconvene One via E-Mail---on a Difficult Topic |
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63 | (5) |
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Your Colleagues Ask You to Address a Situation That You Know the Audience Won't Like |
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68 | (7) |
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An Employee Turns to You for Help When a Customer Starts Complaining---Loudly---in the Lobby of Your Business |
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75 | (2) |
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At a Meeting, Participants Ask You to Explain a Scandal That Occurred at Your Company |
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77 | (3) |
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A Newspaper Asks You to Discuss a Problem Confronting Your Industry |
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80 | (2) |
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You're the Point Person for a Problem or Other Difficult Situation---but You're Not Sure Why |
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82 | (11) |
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Part Four: When Personal Tragedies Flare Up at Work |
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A Colleague Is Diagnosed with a Serious Illness |
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93 | (4) |
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An Employee Must Take Leave Because of a Health Problem |
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97 | (6) |
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A Colleague's Partner or Parent Dies |
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103 | (3) |
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An Employee Must Miss Work Because a Parent or Child Is Sick and Requires Attention |
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106 | (3) |
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You Are Experiencing Personal Problems and Need Flexibility at Work |
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109 | (3) |
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You Must Leave Your Job for Personal Reasons but May Want to Return Eventually |
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112 | (9) |
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Part Five: In the Fire of Sabotage and Insubordination |
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A Constant Air of Passive-Aggressive Whining Undermines Team Morale and Energy |
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121 | (4) |
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Associates Try to Steal Your Project |
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125 | (3) |
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Your Company or Business Partners Are Lying to the Client About the Scope of Work So They Get More Business |
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128 | (2) |
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Service Providers Don't Supply What They Promised |
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130 | (3) |
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There's a Sudden Exodus of Employees to Your Competitor |
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133 | (3) |
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Your Company Gets Bought Out in a Hostile Situation |
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136 | (9) |
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Part Six: Pressure Cookers |
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Tight Deadline for a Project |
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145 | (4) |
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Sudden Deadline Because of Unexpected Problems |
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149 | (4) |
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Tight Deadline Because a Competitor Threatens to Launch a Product---or Open a New Business---Before You Do |
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153 | (2) |
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You Derail a Project and Must Explain to the Customer |
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155 | (3) |
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Because of New Requirements (Legal or Otherwise), You Must Redirect Your Employees, Your Paperwork, and Your Processes |
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158 | (7) |
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Part Seven: Difficult Financial Situations |
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Your Team Went Over Budget, and You Must Explain Why |
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165 | (3) |
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You Need Unexpected Funding |
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168 | (3) |
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You Learn Some of the Employees Are Stealing from the Company |
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171 | (5) |
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You Can't Sell to a Favored Client Because His Back Payments Are Long Overdue |
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176 | (3) |
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You Have to Delay Your Employees' and Contractors' Pay Because of Cash Flow Problems |
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179 | (3) |
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You Need to Ask Clients to Send Their Payments Early Because of Cash Flow Issues |
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182 | (3) |
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You Can't Make Ends Meet on Your Current Salary and Need to Push Hard for a Raise |
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185 | (8) |
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Part Eight: Relationship Quagmires |
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When Two Employees Are Having an Affair |
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193 | (4) |
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When You Receive Inappropriate Overtures from a Boss |
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197 | (4) |
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When a Coworker Comes On to You |
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201 | (3) |
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When a Client Bothers You or Your Employees through Lewd, Rude, or Other Inappropriate Behavior |
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204 | (6) |
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When an Employee Uses Inappropriate Materials or Accesses Adult Web Sites at Work |
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210 | |