A top executive in a public relations firm has a favorite saying for clients who are at a loss about what to reveal: "When all else fails, try the truth."  In business, as in life, telling the truth—no matter the short-term consequences—is far more beneficial than getting caught in a deception.  People are generally forgiving, almost to a fault.  But deceive them and they will remember it for a long, long time.  "Try the truth" applies to everyone in the workplace: the boss, the manager, the new employee, the client, the contractor.

- Emily Post's The Etiquette Advantage in Business

Let's say you work as a manager in a software development firm where dozens of software engineers write mountains of code every week.  The products are so complex that the overall design is divided among several teams.  After years of your employees bringing in projects late or riddled with bugs, you discover that the key to consistent high-quality performance is getting them to practice two vital behaviors: (1) admit when they have problems, and (2) immediately speak up when they won't meet a deadline.  When your software designers do these two things consistently, products get completed correctly and on time.  When they don't, they don't. 

-Grenny, Patterson, Maxfield, McMillan, and Switzler, Influencer

In the beginning, I thought inviting people to lunch was a good idea.  Then at one of the lunches, I found out that an individual had worked the overnight shift, changed out of uniform, and caught a couple of hours of sleep prior to joining me for lunch.  This person didn't have enough time to go home and come back for our lunch, and didn't want to miss the opportunity to accept a lunch invitation from the CEO.  From that day forward, I knew that I had to have meals with staff members at rotating hours to fit into their schedules, not into mine.  Even to listen, you have to make yourself available to the logistic needs of others.

-Dr. David Feinberg, former CEO of the UCLA Hospital System, quoted in Prescription for Excellence

Clarity is the most important concept in personal productivity.  The number one reason why some people get more work done faster is because they are absolutely clear about their goals and objectives and they don't deviate from them.

-Brian Tracy, Eat that Frog!

Law Number XLV: One should expect that the expected can be prevented, but the unexpected should have been expected.

-Norman Ralph Augustine, Augustine's Laws 

 There are tons of aphorisms surrounding this topic: "expect the unexpected" is a particularly common one.  Or if you've come in contact with any of NASA's safety discussions (or heard it from Donald Rumsfeld), you know about the "unknown unknowns."  What this all boils down to is that risk presents itself to us in the form of what we know versus what we don't, what we expect and what we don't.

One of the most self-destructive ways to listen in business and personal situations is listening with what I call the "yeah, buts."  This condition occurs when there is a kernel (or more) of truth in something negative that is being said but you don't want to hear it.  You are defensive about what the speaker is saying, so the first response out of your mouth is "yeah, but."  

Whether you're listening to a customer, boss, or spouse, you've got to put the automatic "yeah, but" response on hold.  These responses keep you from hearing the other person.  You block out any chance you have of learning something from this person.

-Michael C. Donaldson, Negotiating for Dummies