 Chapter 1: The Resignation

 Chapter 2: The 51st Floor

 Chapter 3: The CEO
 Chapter 4: JJ Thompson
 Chapter 5: The Apple
 Chapter 6: The Programmers
 Chapter 7: The Speech
 Chapter 8: The Attack
 Chapter 9: The North Koreans
 Chapter 10: The Coffee
 Chapter 11: The Interview
 Chapter 12: The Press Conference
 Chapter 13: The Blind Date
 Chapter 14: Waking Up
 Chapter 15: Interpol
 Chapter 16: The Mickey Mouse Watch
 Chapter 17: Girl with the Almond Eyes
 Chapter 18: The Apartment
 Chapter 19: The Break
 Chapter 20: The Paella

Story Summary:
Meet Lola Badiola. A talented commercial director working in the technology sector who has
decided to quit her safe corporate job to join a technology start-up. Has she made the right
decision or is this a terrible mistake? Let’s find out.

Key Learning Points:

This chapter is full of cool common expressions. We discuss the meaning of A DOG-EAT-DOG
WORLD and consider to which industries this description applies.
We explain what happens when you BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS and show you how to place
yourself HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE THE REST.
Phrasal verbs are one of the biggest challenges for English language students, so we help you
create a long-term strategy to dominate this grammar point.
We also make sure you never confuse GET ON/GET OFF with GET IN/GET OUT OF when talking
about modes of transport.
Finally, we consider an issue that is of vital importance to Human Resources departments - how to
you retain your HIPOs (High Potential Employees).

Transcript of Story
The Adventures of Lola Badiola.

Chapter 1 - The Resignation.

Lola got on the subway train, switched on her iPod and turned up the volume. It was half an hour
before the start of the morning rush hour. She closed her eyes and listened to a meditation playlist
trying to empty her mind of negative thoughts.

She was traveling to work earlier than normal. She wanted to arrive at the office before anyone
else. She needed time to compose herself before she made the announcement. She had hardly
slept the night before. Her subconscious was still second-guessing the decision that her conscious
mind had already made. How would everyone react? What would they think? Was this all just a
terrible mistake?

At 2:00 in the morning, she had called her best friend. She needed some reassurance, someone to
tell her that she was doing the right thing. Is this really what you want? Asked Concha in a sleepy
monotone. Yes Then you have to be ruthless. Lola's best friend, worked as a recruitment
consultant specializing in the placement of senior executives in the financial sector. She knew
better than anyone how dangerous it could be to resign from a company, to join a competitor, to
bite the hand that feeds. But I want to leave on good terms, said Lola. Good luck with that, replied
Concha, dryly. The company has nurtured you, trained you and invested in you. You've become one
of their top producers, a HiPo. They won't let you go without a fight. Lola had hoped that the
telephone call would calm her down, help her get back to sleep, but it had the opposite effect.
Resigning is not as easy as it seems. Concha continued. So let me give you some advice. Don't tell
them where you're going. Don't get emotional and above all else, do not change your mind.
Remember, Lola, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there.

Lola got off the train, switched off her iPod and walked towards the glass and steel skyscraper of
her downtown office in Madrid. It was a Norman Foster designed tower that stood head and
shoulders above the other buildings in the vicinity. A statement of a modern multinational
corporation that sought to dominate its ecosystem.

José, the only male receptionist at the headquarters, welcomed Lola with a big smile, a look of
surprise evident on his face, which she could only assume was due to her early arrival. As always,
they exchanged a few pleasantries before Lola swiped her card on the electronic turnstiles and
walked quickly towards the elevators. While waiting, she saw the elegant figure of Mario Ruiz de
Velasco enter the building, his entourage following quickly behind him. This was the CEO who had
lifted the company out of a financial black hole. The CEO, who was responsible for 10 years of
exponential growth. As always, he was wearing a clean-cut, tailor-made suit that would cost the
average person their monthly salary with a single pop of color in the form of a green silk tie
consciously chosen to match the color of his eyes.

Lola got into the elevator and rode it up to the 14th floor. She walked directly to her office in the
Cyber Security Services Department, sat down at her desk and waited. At 8:45, her direct boss, Luis
Bruna, walked through the entrance with a cup of coffee in his hand and a newspaper tucked
under his arm. Luis was an empathetic manager. He'd always been good to her. He had fought for
her promotions, trusted her with the biggest accounts, and supported her diversity and inclusion
initiatives. In the years that they had worked together, a certain closeness had formed between the
two of them. She knew, therefore, that the next conversation was going to be a difficult one.

"Luis, I need to speak to you" she said as he passed by her desk. "Just a minute, Lola. There's been
a ton of activity through the wires I need to catch up." He didn't stop. He clearly had urgent
matters to deal with. Lola got up from her desk and followed him down the corridor. This can't
wait, she said with an authoritative tone. Luis stopped and looked at her. She didn't normally speak
to him like this. He knew that something was obviously wrong. Okay, follow me. They walked to his
corner office and he politely asked his secretary to hold all the calls. He put down his coffee and
newspaper and then sat down. What's going on? Lola got straight to the point. I'm resigning.

Transcript of Lesson
So how do you think the company is going to react to Lola's resignation? Will she be able to leave
on good terms? Or not. We'll find out in the next chapter.

Have you ever resigned from a company? Have you ever walked away from a project or a team? It's
not an easy thing to do, particularly if your team or your company don't want you to go. You have
to handle the situation well. As you know, it's a small world, and it's best to avoid making enemies,
right?

So we'll discuss the sensitive issue of moving companies in the next couple of podcasts. But let's
start by looking at a few cool business expressions. Have another listen to the advice that Concha
gives to Lola. "Then you have to be ruthless." "Remember, Lola. It's a dog-eat-dog world out
there."

What is it to be ruthless? What is a dog-eat-dog world? Well, this word and this expression allude
to the same thing. Ruthless means without pity or showing no remorse for your actions. A dog-eat-
dog world is one which is aggressive and competitive. Either I survive at your expense or you
survive at my expense.

Concha wants Lola to do what's best for her. Even if it hurts the company. Because at the end of
the day, that's exactly what the company would do to her if they needed to. It's a dog-eat-dog
world.

Have you ever worked for a ruthless manager? Have you ever worked in a dog-eat-dog world?
Well, it depends on how competitive your industry is and how much money is at risk. Anybody who
has been fired in their career or had to fire someone will probably know what we're talking about
here. I myself have experienced both of those unpleasant situations. I have worked for a ruthless
manager in a dog-eat-dog world.

There are several other cool common expressions. Let's go through them. You know what the rush
hour is, right? Everybody who has a 9 to 5 job has experienced the rush hour in the morning and in
the evening.
You understand the expression to bite the hand that feeds. This is almost self-explanatory. It's
normally said as a warning - don't bite the hand that feeds, don't hurt the person who you depend
on.

Here's another obvious one - to be head and shoulders above the rest. It means that you stand
out. You are significantly bigger or better than the people around you.

Right, one final modern business expression that I only learned recently. Have a listen to this
sentence again. "The company has nurtured you, trained you and invested in you. You've become
one of their top producers, a HiPo. They won't let you go without a fight".

What is a HiPo? A Hi-Po? Our human resource managers will know what this means. HiPo is short
for high potential or high potential employee, someone who the company believes is worth
investing in. Somebody on the fast track to senior management. Somebody with high potential.
Normally there will be only a handful of employees at a big company who are considered HiPos.
They are the future leaders and there will be specific retention and promotion strategies in place
for these people. Are you a HiPo? Yes, of course you are.

Let's move from common expressions to phrasal verbs. Yes, the tricky verb plus preposition
combinations that drive non-native English speakers crazy. How many phrasal verbs did we include
in this short text? I counted 16 different phrasal verbs in this text. In fact, we included three phrasal
verbs in the very first sentence. Have a listen again. "Lola got on the subway train, switched on her
iPod and turned up the volume."

Now, these are very common and pretty basic phrasal verbs. Remember, you get on and get off a
train, you switch on and switch off electrical items and you turn up and turn down the volume.
Learning phrasal verbs is a constant work in progress. You can't just memorize a long list. You have
to try to add 1 or 2 phrasal verbs to your vocabulary each week.

Let's continue with a classic phrasal verb question. What mode of transport do you get on? And
what mode of transport do you get into? Yes. This is English designed to confuse the non-native
speaker. Well, here is the definitive answer.

Let's start off with a horse and a bicycle. Well, this is quite obvious, really. You get on a horse, you
get on top of a horse, and you get on a bicycle. You get on top of the bicycle. You don't go inside.
You don't get in the horse or the bicycle. So we definitely say, you get on the horse, you get on the
bicycle. That makes perfect sense.

But what about an enclosed vehicle? Because sometimes you say get on. And sometimes you say
get into. Well, here's the rule. Are you listening carefully? If you enter the vehicle standing up. You
get on the vehicle. If you enter sitting down. You get into the vehicle. So a bus, a plane. a train, a
ship, a spaceship, whenever you enter these vehicles, you are standing up. So you get on those
vehicles, you get on a bus, you get on a plane. etc.
In contrast, a car, a taxi, a canoe, a kayak, a space capsule. As you enter, you sit down. So you get
into those vehicles. You get into a car. You get into a space capsule. And the preposition remains
constant whenever you refer to that mode of transport. So, for example, you would say, I'm on the
bus, I'll be home soon or I'm on the plane. Or if you're Captain Kirk, you might say, I'm on the
Starship Enterprise. ON for any vehicle you enter standing up.

In contrast, you would say, I'm in the taxi. I'll be there in five minutes. I'm in the kayak having fun?
Or if you're Jeff Bezos, you might say that you are in the lunar module on your way to landing on
the moon. So IN or INTO for any vehicle where you enter sitting down.

So there you go. You never need to be confused by those phrasal verbs again or those prepositions.
Just keep practicing and you'll get there.

Now that we have reviewed and explained some of the key vocabulary, expressions and concepts.
Why don't you listen to the chapter again? Count the phrasal verbs and absorb the common
expressions so that you can use them in your next conversation. And make sure you join us for the
next podcast. You can find out what happens when Lola resigns, how her company reacts, and if
there's trouble ahead as we continue to entertain you to a leadership level of business English.
Until then, keep practicing. And remember, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there.