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Darth Vader

David Prowse is a 6'6", 266 pound former heavyweight wrestling champion. George Lucas saw him in A Clockwork Orange and offered him his choice between two parts - Chewbacca or Vadar. Prowse chose Vader because he didn't like the idea of going around in a "gorilla suit" for six months. (James Earl Jones who was Darth Vader's voice, and David Prowse never met.)

R2-D2

Kenny Baker, 3'8" tall, was hired simply because he fit into the robot suit. "They made R2-D2 small because Carrie and Mark were small.My agent sent me down. They looked at me and said, "He'll do!" "I thought it was a load of rubbish at first. Then I though, "Well, Alec Guinness is in it; he must know what's going on."

Ace Bandages

When World War I broke out in 1914, the Becton Dickinson Company had to stop importing German elastic bandages and start making them in the U.S.A. They held a contest to give the new product a name. The winner: a group of doctors who called it ACE, for All Cotton Elastic.

Alpo

The original canned dog food, introduced in 1937 as All-Pro. Shortened in 1944 to Alpo.

Source: The B.R. Institute Reader,The B.R. Institute, PO Box 1117, Ashland, OR 97520

Some Thinking for a Change

In Thinking for a Change, author Michael J. Gelb notes that the old organizational pyramid put management at the top, employees in the middle and customers on the bottom.

Then, it was inverted to place customers at the top, associates in the middle and managers on the bottom. Now, Gelb says, that model gives way to the "amoeba" organization.

The amoeba design places customers in the middle--surrounded by loose layers of associates and managers. Teams form to solve problems, then slip back to their layers. Everyone, including employees, must cultivate thinking.

Thinking for a Change teaches you to use images, color, key words and "mind mapping" to generate and organize your ideas. With new thinking you'll run effective meetings, write reports and mission statements easily and offer knockout presentations.

You'll find chapters that focus on problem solving, effective communication and powerful presentations. Here's a sampling:

• Change "I can't" to "I can." Supplant fear-based, authority-pleasing, rule-following work with mind-freeing, team-building, can-do production.
• Eliminate brain grooves. You generate about 60,000 thoughts a day, and about 95% follow the same association paths. Cut new grooves. Read novels. Try different foods. Use a new route to work.
• Brainstorm with purpose. Follow four stages: Visualize what you need. Question your assumptions and assess obstacles. Plan backward--start with the end product, work backward through tactics and improvise. Accept responsibility for results.

Gelb also suggests that you try his PROPAR method for effective presentations:

• Primacy. Connect with your audience, communicate your key points, and frame those points as benefits for the audience.
• Repetition. Never overestimate your audience. Repeat key points several times. Use memorable phrases.
• Outstanding. Make your presentation unusual. Use stories. Creatively use visuals. Use pictures worth a thousand words, not thousands of words.
• Personal Association. Interact. Start with a quiz or rhetorical question. Connect the audience with your topic.
• Recency. Review your key points. Ask--or show--your audience members how to apply the points to their lives.

Source: Thinking for a Change, by Michael J. Gelb, Harmony Books, 201 E. 50th St., New York, NY 10022--$23.