Word: salesman
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...behave with moral myopia. Can't Isabelle see that the European author (Jeroen Krabbe) who courts her is just one more serpent-eyed wordsmith who would flatter a pretty woman's intellect to soften her resolve? Can't she tell that sweet-souled Sam Posner (Peter Riegert), a pickle salesman from the old neighborhood, is the guy for her? Isabelle's Yiddishe grandma (Reizl Bozyk) can tell, in cliches that fall from her lips like ripe plums...
Imagine Clark Gable anchoring one of Frank Capra's psychodrama parables of Americana and you get a hint of Jeff Bridges' performance in Tucker: The Man and His Dream. The roguish, can-do smile looks welded on. No boardroom backstabbing, no political malfeasance can wipe that salesman's grin off his face. It is the smile of a cockeyed optimist whose tragic flaw is that he refuses to believe anything can go wrong. And it is attached to a mind racing with ideas and a mouth that motors even faster. Bridges' Preston Tucker is a man in perpetual motion -- gesticulating...
...moment miss their life at Nomura. Says one: "It's a rare Nomura man who has a good career and a good family life. Now I have time for my family." To many current employees, however, working conditions seem to be getting less harsh. Says a veteran salesman: "We're gradually becoming an ordinary company, moving from the dark ages to the medieval period...
...victors in Nomura's internal competition go big rewards. A 35-year- old salesman may earn $90,000 a year, a slightly older branch manager $110,000. Those amounts may seem puny by Wall Street standards, but they are princely sums in Japan, where in most firms only high-ranking executives earn more than $70,000 a year. Unlike many Japanese companies, Nomura does not promote employees solely on the basis of seniority. If a young salesman or trader shows unusual dedication, he can move rapidly to a managerial post. Says a competitor: "For many people, it is painful...
Behind the firm's drive to become the world's unrivaled financial heavyweight is Yoshihisa Tabuchi, 56, a forceful and intensely competitive 32- year Nomura veteran, who became its president in 1985. A former salesman and retail-branch manager, Tabuchi believes Nomura's aggressive style of selling and dealmaking can work in any market, no matter what the language or currency. Nomura, after all, has a big advantage over foreign rivals -- and Tabuchi knows it. Says he: "Japan has simply become the world's source of capital...