Unit 10

Success “The only place where success comes

before work is in the dictionary.”

Vidal Sassoon, hairstylist

Starting up

1. What makes people successful? Choose the five most important. Add more words to the list below.

charm drive looks nepotism

dedication imagination luck ruthlessness discipline intuition money stamina

Give examples of people who owe their success to some of the items on your list. Explain your choices.

2. What are the best indicators of an individual's level of success? How important are the following in your culture?

chauffeur(s) cosmetic surgery designer clothes domestic help

exotic holidays expensive jewellery flash car(s) influential friends

leisure activities pedigree pets respect smart house(s)

3. How do you judge the success of a business? Comment on the statements below.

You can tell that a business is a success if (because) ...

1. ... it's always increasing its profit.

2. ... it has a big share of the market.

3. ... it's always in the news.

4. ... people like working for it.

5. ... its customers are loyal.

6. … its brand can sell anything.

7. ...its shares are worth millions.

8. ... it has a prestigious head office.

9. ... it has branches all over the world.

10. ... it puts people first.

Vocabulary

1. M

   Bid book charge manoeuvre number run strip subscribe take vote

   atch the prefixes over- and out- to the verbs below. Do any of the verbs above take both prefixes?

2. Complete these sentences using the prefixes over- or out-, and the correct form of the verbs above. Use each prefix and verb combination only once.

   1. Nokia ________________ Motorola last year to become the world's biggest mobile phone maker.

   2. The group has ________________ its rivals Motorola and Ericsson.

   3. AT&T ________________ two of Mexico's largest suppliers to win the right to build 60% of the network.

   4. The CEO and three other board members combined to ________________ the three non-executive directors.

   5. We were completely _______________ in the negotiation and ended up paying too high a price.

   6. In our company, females ________________ males four to one.

   7. The airline offers cash as compensation for passengers when flights are ________________

   8. They refused to commit themselves in case the project's costs ________________ its budget.

   9. He is alleged to have ________________ them for production and repair work.

   10. The share issue was a success and was hugely ________________

C

manoeuvre number run strip subscribe vote

. Use the prefix over or out, and the correct form of the verbs in the box, to complete these sentences.

1. Last month InterMedia, the Swiss media group, outmaneuvred Erling in a bid battle for Bright Channel, the British outdoor advertising agency.

2. Last year, costs ________________ the budget by almost 35%.

3. The five non-executive directors had _________________ the four executive directors to adjourn the AGM.

4. Gainers __________________ fallers on the Tokyo Stock Exchanges First Section, with 1,081 rising, 269 falling and 51 closing unchanged.

5. Dealers are hoping that the shares, placed at 90p and 15 times _______________, will kick-start the sluggish new-issue market.

6. The outlook remains positive, with demand expected to ________________ supply.

D. Match each verb with its definition.

downsize outflank undersell underspend upgrade

to be more successful than another company, country, etc to improve, to make more efficient to reduce the number of employees and levels of management that a company has to sell goods at a much lower price than the competitors to spend less than you intended or than you are allowed to

E. Complete the following sentences using the correct form of a verb from exercise D.

1. Last year we ______________ our budget by 21%, so unfortunately our budget this year has been reduced accordingly.

2. The CEO's ideas were _______________ by those of the directors.

3. Why don't you have your PC ___________________ if it's so slow?

4. We'll cut our expenses and _________________ our operations in order to become more competitive on the market.

5. We are looking for ways of ___________________ our rivals. No one will be cheaper than us.

F. Match these sentence halves.

It's been a lot of hard work, but she If everything goes smoothly, we At long last, their hard work and investment is What we are looking for is a candidate who Nobody thought we'd clinch the deal, but we The reorganisation of our business is not finished yet, but we

are getting there. beginning to bear fruit. came up trumps in the end. can get results and work well under pressure. seems to be really making a go of her dry-cleaning business. should be in Vancouver in plenty of time for the start of the negotiation.

Now highlight the six idioms which express the idea of “success”.