Page 32 - Deception at work all chapters EBook

Introduction 23

BUZZ LIGHTYEAR blurted out one of his catchphrases. Police
with sniffer dogs were about to give up the
In November 2002, the Daily Telegraph chase for the thief who had set off the store’s
reported an interesting case involving the alarm, when the intergalactic law enforcer
Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear. For those blurted out, ‘Buzz Lightyear, permission to
of you not involved in academia, Buzz is a engage’. The thief realized the game was up
small spaceman whose main catchphrase when a police dog ran to his hiding place
is ‘To infinity and beyond’. A thief hiding in and began growling at him.
the bushes after stealing a Buzz Lightyear
toy from a shop was caught after Buzz

The first rule of interviewing is never give up and the second is if one person won’t tell you
the truth, somebody else will. If you want to really find out what is going on in an organiza-
tion, go to the area where smokers congregate, speak to the tea ladies or the chauffeurs or play
golf with the senior managers. The world is full of Buzz Lightyears who blurt out the truth and
all you have to do is to recognize it at a conscious level and then deal with it.