How many times in your life have you had a great boss?

You're unlikely to need lots of fingers to count them.

Your hand may well remain bald into a fist.

It doesn't have to be this way.

The ingredients of a decent manager are not a secret.

They can be learned. If you'd like to become a better boss

or just pass on some advice to the idiots above you, there's hope. I'm Andrew Palmer and I write

the Economist's weekly column on management. I'm back with the second season of Boss Class.

In the first season, I learned how to hire a team,

how to motivate staff, and how to run a meeting well.

This time, I've been gathering tips from inside some of the world's best-known companies.

I'll learn about innovation at Google, culture at Novo Nordisk, and decision-making at

Levi's. I'll hear from CEOs about how they handle crises. I don't think there's any

textbook telling you that it's a great idea to reorganize the whole company two months into a

pandemic, how they test new ideas. I would say for every pumpkin spice latte, there were 10 other drinks that are no longer on the

menu board.

I get expert advice on how to negotiate.

I don't generally get too angry.

I get tough.

How to give better presentations.

Listen, I am deaf, and I'm deaf because I have listened to so many sheddy

speeches from Silicon Valley tech executives. And I'll be forced to have a go myself.

...