Single-minded : my life in business /
Claude Littner.
- London : Piatkus, 2017.
- 273 p. : ill. b&w ; 20 cm.
‘Sugar, but no milk!’ -- ‘Littner, fond de la classe’ -- Early encounters with the greasy corporate pole -- A good idea -- The School of Hard Knocks -- How do you say ‘You’re fired’ … in French? -- Meeting Mr Sugar -- Siesta and fiesta -- ‘It’s like World War Three in there!’ -- ‘It could only happen in football Lifesavers -- Getting back on track -- From eleven-a-side to five-a-side -- Floating Powerleague -- The fiasco at ASCO -- The apprentice – the interviews -- The eyes and ears of Alan Sugar -- The wheel turns full circle -- Amounting to something.
Claude Littner is best known as the mercilessly tough interviewer on the BBC's award-winning The Apprentice. His abrupt style and zero-tolerance policy on nonsense have become the highlights of every series. But what is he like in real business? Single-minded reveals the story of Claude's varied career and the turbulent years that shaped him. From being told at school he would never amount to anything to his current status as a boardroom heavyweight both on-screen and off it, success has never come easy. Claude's complex, fascinating work has taken him into many different industries and countries, encompassing: - retail start-ups - knife-edge company rescue missions - the bruising rough-and-tumble of Premier League football - facing down French trade unions - taking on Texan oil barons in multi-million-dollar deals - and, in the private sphere, conquering life-threatening illness As Lord Sugar writes in the foreword to Claude's story, the book 'should be recommended reading for anyone who aspires to make their way in business . . . It is instructive and entertaining, providing an interesting insight into the ups and downs of business life and how single-mindedness, openness and determination can yield dividends both financial and personal.'