Jim O?Neill, head of global economic research with Goldman Sachs, also credited with the ?Bric? moniker, is an ardent Manchester United fan. On a visit to India, he revealed that he had served as a non-executive director of this football team once. Little wonder then that O?Neill loves using sport analogies in economic talk. Plus, he?s also watching the DLF-IPL scene. It?s a vibrant example of globalisation, he feels, with players from different countries playing for Indian cities, with multinational cheerleaders, too. What?s more, Washington Redskins, the American football team, has asked for cheerleaders from Bangalore. The clincher came when O?Neill compared Chelsea with the German economy. ?They?re both boring, and yet they keep moving ahead in their league,? he quipped.
Take two
Sanofi Aventis has given its sales representatives, whose job is to visit medicos and update them on new drugs, an additional role. Many of them carry saplings as part of their visiting kits. ?This is to ensure that we regain our lost forests over time,? explained an executive. Often, reforestation is easier to sell than a new formulation.
Pen is mighty
At the launch of Sanofi Aventis?s insulin pen, renowned doctors were ushered in to extol its virtues. One doctor even had one of his patients with him, a diabetic whose survival was dependent on daily insulin shots. ?I?ve brought the patient along not just to demonstrate that you can lead a normal life with diabetes,? said the doctor, ?and I also wanted him to get a complimentary gadget from the company.?
