Chapter 1: The Resignation: Business English, Part 1 https://lms.santanderopenacademy.com/courses/373/pages/chapter-1-the...

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Meet Lola Badiola. A talented commercial director working in the technology sector who has
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decision or is this a terrible mistake? Let’s find out. 73/ s/3 s/3
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Chapter 1: The Resignation: Business English, Part 1 https://lms.santanderopenacademy.com/courses/373/pages/chapter-1-the...

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Key Learning Points: me ea ell
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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).

Transcripts

▾ 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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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