An industrial cocktail - Bob Haslam

Lord Haslam - formerly Sir Robert and always Bob to his many colleagues - was a giant of British industry. Widely acclaimed by business and political leaders, he had a remarkable record of reaching the top of the management ladder and staying there. Completing his memoirs while dying from cancer, he tells a compelling business story of the unexpected. Though without academic brilliance or burning ambition, he was singled out as a high-flyer, rising to the top triumvirate of ICI, in its heyday as Britain's leading blue chip company. He exposes heart-searching decision-taking for multi-million pound projects, precariously balancing risks and rewards. His humour always breaks through. Asked how he chaired at the same time the two contrasting businesses of sugar and steel, he disarmingly replied: 'With difficulty'. New light is cast on reorganizing of the coal industry after the bitter year-long strike. It was his biggest challenge, taking over from the tetchy Ian MacGregor and sidelining militant union leader Arthur Scargill. Contrary to conventional wisdom, he makes a convincing case for the resurgence of coal in Britain.;There are negotiations with prime ministers and secretaries of state and trenchant views on the euro and energy policy, complete the potent mix of "An Industrial Cocktail" with the author's posthumous invitation: 'Try it for taste'.