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Having had a chaotic schooling, Thierry Martin was employed by the supermarket of a small provincial town to sell trees and fruit outside the shop. His obvious sales talent quickly showed through, and in the space of a few years, he moved up the hierarchy and ended up by performing the duties - if not earning the salary - of shop manager. Intoxicated by this meteoric rise up the ladder, he adopted competitive and sometimes shady management methods which he was compelled to adopt by the owners. Eventually, the day arrived when he was no longer wanted, and decided that he had had enough. He resigned from the company just before he was made redundant. Today, having opted for a professional activity and a management style which are radically different, Thierry Martin wants to talk about his experience in order to help others to realise that, according to him, these methods are counter-productive even from a strictly economic point of view.