The team doesn’t normally require a full time hustler, but it does need people who know how to hustle: that can talk their way through security check-points or sweet talk customs officials; negotiate a good price for anything from a bi-lingual driver for a day to fuel-supplies for a generator; to knowing when to turn on the charm to chase down a lead; or front those that need confronting. Think of it as social engineering with good intentions.

The corporate researcher’s instinct is to quell the inner hustle lest it is taken as unprofessional, a disease that might be contagious to other more formal duties. The trick is knowing when to turn it on, and when to keep it tamed.

What other roles do you have in-field?

Photo: the Lagos crew doing the business.