Dancing with the Bull

by Matthew Simon

The corporate odyssey of Luke Glass: a reluctant journeyman.

Set in a busy world with neither mobile phones nor computers, Dancing with the Bull is a humorous, yet thought-provoking tale exploring the machinations of modern corporate life, as seen through the eyes of Luke Glass; a Master of the Universe and ​incredibly important person who has it all. However, when Luke unexpectedly loses his job, his incredibly busy life comes to an abrupt end, and he suddenly finds himself a mere mortal at home alone with only his unsympathetic dog for company. It is not until Luke meets Manifesto, a mysterious archetype, that he can move on and re-enter the world of power and influence he so desperately craves. Only this time it’s different, all is not what it seems, and, in the end, Luke needs to choose between the corporate games he has always played and the story of a boy in search of a bull he discovers by chance.

‘Confronting. Dancing with the Bull challenged my views on management. It affected me.’
-Senior Executive, Major Australian Bank.

We choose the Bulls with whom we dance . . .

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 20, 2017

About the author

On April 1, 2011, Matthew Simon walked through the revolving doors of a towering city office building for the last time. After having spent the best part of 25 years working in senior executive roles for the likes of JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Standard Chartered and the NAB; Matthew, a once, proud career banker walked away from the profession he loved, but no longer believed in. At the age of 50, Matthew had seen enough.

Since leaving banking and the corporate world, Matthew has spent much of his time reflecting, writing and speaking. Dancing with the Bull is his first serious literary undertaking.

Residing in Melbourne, Australia, Matthew lives with his extremely patient wife, daughter, (his two sons have left home) and dog, Frankie.

Reviews

[Gavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting effort, but DNF from me (p137). The writing style is very plain yet other-worldly. For example, even though the first 100 pages are about his work, his redundancy and his efforts to find a new job, we do not know what role Luke Glass actually does: "Having recently made a series of incredibly important decisions, I was about to pick up the phone to discuss yet another crucial matter, but I didn't." He spends time at home, but only ever refers to his "family" or similar generic terms, not actual names. The office is the same - his colleagues are The Stooge, The Jackal, The Font of All Knowledge, the Extremely Busy Person, the Very Busy Person, etc. I know that this is meant to create an aura around the satire - but I just found it tiresome.

[Leanne Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think it matters if you are in the public or private sector or even self employed, Matt has managed to articulate the work world. I recognised every character in the book, every situation, every bit of confusion and reckoning. My work place has just got rid of many of the brains trust, been there too long apparently, go figure! Amazing how those that feather their own nest using fancy new words and phrases escape all this. Matt’s book outlines the exact game of work life. It made me laugh, I nodded a lot in recognition, a few ah ha moments and I also realised it’s everywhere public and private workplaces. Very funny read.

[James Jeffries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I left the corporate world, I have been unable to enunciate my misgivings with that world - and the games that are played therein. Matthew Simon has had no such difficulties. He has in "Dancing with the Bull" brutally described the dilemmas faced by the 'enlightened' who are struggling to understand their place within their Ivory Tower.

Anyone who has ever worked in a large corporation should read this book. No doubt you will see similarities. Perhaps, you will be challenged. You should be, because "You choose the bulls with whom you dance".