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).

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.

****
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.