Word: salesman
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...factories to EMS companies is especially appealing. "We used to have to fight and plead for companies to divest assets to us," says Dave Fargnoli, a director of finance at Flextronics. "Now we're in the driver's seat because they are rushing to off-load them." Marks, a salesman to the bone, tells potential customers: "You can be a market-leading company and not make a single thing." Why not, he adds with a grin, let Flextronics make your products for you? "The venture-capital guys won't even give you money for a factory these days," boasts Marks...
...That mentality dates back to colonial times. "Black people used to be looked down upon so now they see white people as better," says Peter Ngumo, 23, a Nairobi clothing salesman. "They believe being light is the only way they can be appreciated." West African mothers still pinch their babies' noses in the hope they will grow thinner and more European-looking. Modeling pageants still shun African shapes and stipulate slim hips. Add the influence of advertising and television and, "as much as a lot of people don't like to admit it, the belief that light skin is more...
...family don't find it easy. Two decades of infanticide and sex-based abortions have drastically skewed the nation's gender balance. There are now 117 boys born for every 100 girls. "Every girl I meet has already had several marriage offers," says Gong Min, 24, a computer salesman. In some rural areas, a trade in abducted brides is burgeoning. Last year 110,000 women were freed during a crackdown on human trafficking, but most will never be found. "When we started our family-planning policy 20 years ago, we had no idea of the social problems that would follow...
...same ones who can afford more but shop at Target because their stuff is hip but inexpensive." That kind of thinking drove decisions like JetBlue's choice of leather seats instead of the less expensive cloth. "It's a nicer look, a better feel," says Neeleman, in full salesman mode. "Of course, it's also easier to clean when people puke...
...fact, my job also co-opts several of these possibilities. I often feel like a bedding salesman-cum-Wal-Mart greeter, as my employer believes strongly in greeting every customer who crosses an employee’s path. This is a wonderful policy, and most customers appreciate the gesture, though it’s a surprisingly difficult one to follow properly. First, there is the eternal question of what constitutes acceptable greeting range. I believe the official policy is a 10-foot radius, but its working definition is dependent upon a number of transient conditions—time...