CORPORATEHUMBUG

SALESMEN AND GENES by Iqbal Sachdeva                                                     ‘Salesmen are born and not made’, I argued with Henry, the regional sales manager of our company in Calcutta. ‘No,’ said Henry, ‘You can make anything out of anybody.’  Henry, a 6'3" tall American with a quarter century of experience in several countries of Asia, was known for his skills,  dress sense and mannerism. As the clock struck 10.30 am, Henry got up from his chair and said:    ‘Excuse me, I have to be with my boys before they leave for the market.’ And he walked out of  the room expecting me to come trailing behind. Out in the main hall, about a dozen city salesmen stood in a row waiting for...

AUCTION ROYAL SALUTE by Iqbal Sachdeva                                                                                                               Vijaywara, the coastal town of Andhra Pradesh, was abuzz with two news items the day I arrived – one a liquor bottle had been recovered  from a state minister’s car and he was going to be tried under the Prohibition Act, and the second that a bottle of Royal Salute Scotch Whisky had arrived in thi...