Introduction

Amielle Lake, Andrew Kakabadse and Nada Kakabadse
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Andrew Kakabadse: Cranfield School of Management
Nada Kakabadse: University of Northampton Business School

A chapter in The Elephant Hunters, 2008, pp 1-4 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The very first interview was with a most intimidating man, reputed as a major industry player as well as a miserable drunk. I (one of us authors) walked into his office with my best suit, placed the digital voice recorder on his desk and introduced myself. His eyes barely shifted my way and he merely looked at my hand as I extended it for a proper shake. He hardly looked at me. So, I placed my hand by my side and sat down. Not a word was exchanged for several minutes, so I began with describing the book and the questions I would ask. I had scarcely uttered two sentences in this aim, when he cut me off, stared at me square in the face and said, “Do you think anyone is going to read your little book?” “Yes, I believe so,” I retorted and headed straight into my rehearsed line of questioning. His first few responses were reserved and lacked detail. And I thought, this could take a while. His body language depicted total disinterest. I felt embarrassed by my ineptitude. But, as the conversation evolved, his tight disposition unravelled. I asked him if he loved what he did. Then, I saw a glimmer of light appear in his eyes. He told me of how he made his first million and how quickly he lost it and how he made his second, third and 600th. He told me of how much he hated being away from work and how the thought of retiring was painful.

Keywords: Good Suit; Finance Business; Dirty Work; Digital Voice Recorder; Industry Peer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-58369-6_1

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DOI: 10.1057/9780230583696_1

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