1. What are some of the communication problems?
2. What should Cathy do? What should Cathy do?
3. How could Cathy and Joe have handled this situation better?

Cathy Buford is the design leader on a project team for a large, complex technical project for a very demanding customer. Joe Jackson is an engineer assigned to her design team. It’s about 9:30 A.M. when Joe walks into Cathy’s office. Her head is down and she’s hard at work.
‘‘Hey, Cathy,’’ says Joe, ‘‘going to the Little League game tonight? Ya know, I volunteered to coach this year.’’
‘‘Oh. Hi, Joe. I’m really busy,’’ Cathy tells him.
Joe then proceeds to sit down in Cathy’s office. ‘‘I hear your kid is a pretty good ball player.’’