Memory Makes Money - Lorayne, Harry

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H'
Memory
Makes
Money
Also by Harry Lorayne
How TO Develop a Super-Power Memory

Secrets of Mind Power
Instant Mind Power
Miracle Math
Memory Isometrics Course
Mental Magnetism Course

Good Memory — Good Student!
Good Memory — Successful Student!
The Memory Book
Remembering People
The Magic Book
The Page-a-Minute Memory Book

Memory
Makes
Money
by
HARRY LORAYNE
Little, Brown and Company

Boston Toronto
• London
•
COPYRIGHT © 1988 BY HARRY LORAYNE, INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED IN

ANY FORM OR BY ANY ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL MEANS, INCLUDING
INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS, WITHOUT PERMISSION IN
WRITING FROM THE PUBLISHER, EXCEPT BY A REVIEWER WHO MAY QUOTE
BRIEF PASSAGES IN A REVIEW.
FIRST EDITION
Artwork by Robert E. Lorayne
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lorayne, Harry.
Memory makes money.
1. Mnemonics. 2. Memory. 3. Business — Psychological
aspects. 4. Executives — Psychology. 1. Title.
BF385.L7553 1988 153. r4 88-9494

ISBN 0-316-53267-3
10 987654321
RRD-VA
Designed by Jacques Chazaud
Published simultaneouslyin Canada

by Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

For Renee and Robert
There can be no better memories

than those they've given me
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
1 The Memory-Handicapped 3
2 Learn from Top Money-Makers 9

A Super Memory Gives You an Invaluable Edge in
Your Business or Profession
3 An Interview with Mel Brooks, CEO 16
4 How Good Is Your Business Memory? 24

Test Your Memory in Twelve Important Business
Situations
5 The Biggest Little Nuisance in Business:

Absentmindedness 41
Save Precious Minutes Searching — A Simple Trick
Ends Absentmindedness
6 The Trick That Makes Numbers Easy to Remember 53

For Prices, Stock Quotations, Sales Reports, Style
Numbers, and More
7 No Paper! Your Mind Is Your Daily Planner 63
8 Memory Makes for Effective Time Management 73

Remember to Save Time in Business by Spending It
Wisely
Vll
1
via Contents
9 Decision Making / Problem Solving / Memory 78

A Key Component in the Success Equation
10 Continue Making Numbers Easy to Remember 85

Juggle Them as Never Before
1 Memory Power — Pyramid Power 97
12 The Name Game 101
Remembering Personnel by Name Equals Administrative

Power; Remembering Clients by Name Equals
Money-Making Power
13 In Business, It's Who You Know and What

You Know about Them 112
Spouse's Names, Titles, Corporate Affiliations
14 Learning and Retrieving Business-related Codes

and Letters 118
Stock Symbols, Style Numbers, Computer Codes,
Business Spelling, and More
15 Remember Speeches and Sales Reports Easily and

Confidently 127
Read or Listen and Remember Any Business Material
16 "Staying/Graying" Power 135
Double the Memory Power You Had at Twenty!
17 How the Ultimate Wall Street Pro Turned

Memory Power into Money-Making Power 147
18 Razor-sharpen That Business Edge: Numbers 154

Prices, Style Numbers, Stock Quotations, Financial
Data, Telephone Numbers, Intercom Numbers,
and More
Contents ix
19 Meetings of the Mind 167
Leave a Meeting with All the Facts in Your Mind

(Remember What You Hear the First Time You Hear It)
20 Memory Leads to Creativity — in Any Business 174
21 Specific "Day/Hour" Appointments 182
The Weekly Appointment Calendar in Your Mind!
22 Place That Face! 190
In Business, You Must Force Each Face to
Tell You Its Name
23 Voices Are People Too 202
Recognize and Remember Telephone Voices; Plus,

More "People" Information
24 Memory and Management 207
25 Law, Tax, and Insurance 213
Remember Important Information as You Read in a
Fraction of the Time It Now Takes — Precedents,

Law Section and Internal Revenue Code Numbers,
and More
26 Medicine and Related Fields 220
Rx for Remembering "Trade/Generic" Names,

Journal Articles, and Other Medical Information
27 Last Word 225

Acknowledgments
My thanks to all of the following — none of whom I'll ever forget:
My editor, Fredrica S. Friedman, who made me sound better than
I really do; Frank V. AtLee; Phyllis Barr; Evan R. Bell; Philip A.

Bossert; Mel Brooks; Joseph V. Casale; Edmond E. Chapus; A. S.
Clausi; Steven A. Conner; Ralph Destino; Gerald S. Deutsch; Alan

Greenberg; J. K. Hartman; Ellen Hassman; George J. Konogeris;
Peter Kougasian; Arlie Lazarus; Harvey Leeds; Cy Leslie; Arthur
Levitt, Jr.; Dr. Sheldon Lippman; Saundra Malvin; Dr. Jesse

Manlapaz; Scott Marcus; Ruth Mass; Charles Nelson Reilly;
Stephen Rose; Richard Roth, Jr.; Vincent Sardi; Richard Schlott;
William Seco; Bemadette Skubly-Butts; Victor Sperandeo;
Michael K. Stanton; Luna Came-Ross; Lois de la Haba; Debbie
Roth; Michael Brandon; and, of course, my wife, Renee.
XI
It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing
is to use it well.
— Ren^ Descartes, Les Discours de la Methode

Memory
Makes
Money
1
The
Memoiy-Handicapped
writer looks for a hook. A hook with which to grab the

Every
reader, and make him or her continue reading. want you to I
continue reading, perhaps even buy this book if you're

browsing in a bookstore. So, here's my hook:
Vm going to make you hate me!
That should make you continue reading, because I'm sure you want to
know how I'm going to make you hate me.
You're going to dislike me because I'll berate you for not taking
advantage of — for not using — the greatest God-given ability pos-
sessed by man: the ability to remember, to use your memory. You'll

MEMORY MAKES MONEY
dislike me for telling you that you don't do what you already know how
to do, or already can do — that is, use your memory. We all have great
memories — but I know how to use mine, and I do. You don't. Many
use their supposedly bad memories as an excuse, an excuse for not
producing at peak efficiency. That's a cop-out. I'll teach you to close
that gap between "knowing" and "doing." Then you'll be able to
stop pretending that you can't remember (and, also, stop pretending
that you're not pretending)! I'll make you think a bit differently, get
you out of the thinking rut, and I'll do it without causing you any pain.
You might even enjoy it. If you like to see results, as I do, I guarantee
you'll enjoy it.
You may think you have an adequate memory now. The problem
is that memorizing or learning data by rote is a drudgery and a bore —
so you usually rely on notes. I guarantee to take that drudgery out of
learning/memorizing. Not only will you remember anything you want
to in a fraction of the time it now takes you, but it will be imaginative
and fun to do.

A great memory gives you the edge you need in business. The more
you impress, the more of an edge you'll have, and the more business
you'll do. Just try to visualize the impression you'll make when you can
quote prices, style numbers, premiums, and interest rates {facts) without
referring to lists; accomplish every one of your daily errands and chores
and keep every one of your business appointments without ever search-
ing through pockets or purse for lists or schedules; deliver sales talks or
speeches or business reports while making eye contact with your audi-
ence because you don't have to look down at notes; recognize the face
and know the name of all your clients; remember corporate affiliations
easily; never waste time and money searching for misplaced files,
letters, memos — and much more.

It boils down to being noticed. Most of your business counterparts
probably have basically the same skills and education that you do.
Acquiring the incredible, computerlike, steel-trap mind the systems in
this book will enable you to acquire will set you apart, put you in
command. You will have utmost confidence in yourself, because you

know you know all the data. Confidence exudes power, and power and
recognition are what it's all about — because they lead to making
money!
The Memory-Handicapped
Yes, that's the edge everyone is searching for. In an article about

the drug industry, Fortune magazine said, "Next to new cancer
therapies, the quest for memory-improving drugs is the hottest area of
medical research."
Most books on how to succeed in business offer general advice.
They make you nod your head, and think, "Gee, that sounds good."
But that's usually it; they don't really teach anything. I'm much too
result-oriented for that, and so are the many corporations that make
sure my methods are taught in their training programs. They're not
about to spend big bucks for theory; they want (and get) results.
That's what you're offered here. When you have more knowledge
than others in your business, which means you remember more about
the business — more facts, more detail, more data — you are the one
with that extra edge. Apply the systems I'll teach you and you will
acquire perhaps the most useful, concrete, and essential business/man-
agement tool.
Give yourself that business edge! As Raymond C. Johnson, former

Vice Chairman of New York Company, pointed out:
Life Insurance
"It takes just a little more than ordinary effort to move ahead of the
herd. We do not achieve success by being twice as good as the other
fellow. The moment a person adds jw^r a little extra, his accomplish-
ments and his income increase in geometric proportions."

You'll be amazed at how much more than "just a little extra" you
can add when you apply my trained-memory systems — and you'll add
it with just ordinary effort.
Would you hire someone who was always bumping into desks and
other people, knocking over computers, or crashing into the water
cooler because he didn't see well and refused to be fitted for glasses?
Or someone who continually said, "Sorry, what was that?" or "Speak

louder, please," all because she refused to wear a hearing aid?
I don't think so. Few people in the business world would put
themselves at such a disadvantage when it wasn't necessary. Of
course, we hire the handicapped. But not someone who handicaps
himself deliberately.
The point? Why hire — or why not fire — someone who is
memory -handicapped when he or she doesn't have to be? And, there's

MEMORY MAKES MONEY
no need for vom to be one of the memory-handicapped. Believe this: It
is easier and more fun and cheaper to acquire a fantastic memory than
it is to be fitted for eyeglasses or a hearing aid!
There is, always has been, a wide gap that needs filling in
business. We live in an era often referred to as the age of the

information explosion. And that flood of data shows no sign of
lessening; as a matter of fact, it is accelerating. Besides the obvious
data that business people have to remember — like names and faces of
clients and potential clients, style numbers, telephone numbers, names
of places and products, and so forth — think of how businesses have
expanded. Automobile companies used to put out one car each year.
Now they put out numerous models each year. Your bank offered a
savings account and a checking account years ago. Today you can
choose from among perhaps twenty different kinds of accounts. Think
of all the new data involved — the additional knowledge needed to
service clients in these and practically all other business areas.
Technology and data keep coming. Somebody has to remember some

of that data: You do!
That's the memory gap, and the time has come to fill that gap for
yourself. You are not locked into the lousy memory with which you
were bom. Double fallacy there; you weren't bom with a lousy
memory. You have a great memory right now — just try forgetting
something you already know! And — check this out with any trial
lawyer — when the judge instructs the jury to disregard (forget) a

remark just made, they remember it better, longer, and more clearly
than most of the other testimony.
Have I impressed upon you the importance of memory in business? If
not, let's see if Arthur Levitt, Jr., Chairman of the American Stock
Exchange, can:
All kinds of negotiations take place when one runs an exchange —

negotiations with contractors in the construction of facilities,
negotiations with firms in pricing various services — so if you've

forgotten various ingredients that go into those negotiations, it can
be very costly to you.
I think also that it's a highly political environment. We
The Memory-Handicapped
constantly depend upon the assistance of Congress and the

Securities and Exchange Commission. To forget what has been
agreed upon in those areas, in the political arena, can be extraor-
dinarily costly, not so much from a dollar-and-cents point of view
as from a practical business point of view.
Also, if you forget that you've given a waiver to a particular

listed company to do something, that can be extremely costly in
terms of your credibility. I think that's the major issue. So much

of this business depends upon one's word, one's bond, one's
integrity, that the line between forgetting and misleading is a very
narrow one, and the danger you run into by forgetting pledges,
commitments, agreements, understandings, is that your credibility
would be impaired. That would be a critical failing for people who
operate in this world which depends so much upon personal word,
personal bond.
Arthur Levitt obviously places high priority on remembering — or

on not forgetting, if you prefer. So does every executive I interviewed
for this book. When I asked where the importance of memory should
be rated on a scale of 1 to 10, I received mostly lO's and 9's. No one
thought it rated below 8. Think about your business, your position, or
the position you'd like to reach in the corporate world. Think of all that
you have to learn, know, remember. Where would you rate the
importance of memory on the I -to- 10 scale?

Cy Leslie (Chairman and CEO, MGMIUA Home Entertainment
Group): A successful business person doesn't want to releam, relive,
reinvent wheels. The knowledge I had — what remembered from
I the
mass-market recording business I started — enabled me to start the
business I'm in now, in which I make much more money. The

techniques of marketing merchandise and the interrelationship with
people are no different. In my opinion, remembering is the key to
success — because the fact is, where we succeed or where we fail is a
product of memory.
Scott Marcus (President, Evan-Picone Shoes, division of U.S. Shoe

Corporation): I find "I forgot" to be an irresponsible answer for a
professional businessman to give. I think a professional doesn't forget.
Our salesmen are always presenting the tangible shoe. They can refer
to a book at any time, but it certainly aids their ability to sell if they
remember the style name and/or number, as well as the material that
the shoe is made of, its heel height, and so forth. When dealing with
buyers, the salespeople must remember these things in order to talk
about the shoe — in order to sell it. The names and styles change
seasonally, so it's a continual memory problem. Those who remember
all the data always sell better, sell more —
and therefore make more
money.
Memory is the key enhancing factor to someone's career.
2
Learn from
Top Money-Makers
A Super Memory Gives You an Invaluable Edge
in Your Business or Profession
Recently I personally conducted a poll of corporate CEOs (chief
executive officers), which included some of the top people I
. interviewed for this book. It showed virtually the same results
as a poll I conducted for an article in Nation's Business magazine some

years ago. One of my questions was "How important is a good
memory in your business?" Eighty-five percent in the new poll
answered that a good memory is "essential" in their businesses. The

remaining 15 percent of the responses were divided among "im-
portant" and "very important." No one checked off the "not
important" box. The interesting, and only, change is that a higher
percentage answered "essential" in the more recent poll.

10 MEMORY MAKES MONEY
Frank V. AtLee (Executive Vice President, American Cyanamid

Corporation): If you have a poor memory, you just can't keep up
with the work. An executive needs a system to help him remember.
In order to compete and survive in today's business world, the

executive (and the person striving to reach executive level) needs not
only the hide of an elephant, but the proverbial memory of an elephant
as well.
CEOs and COOs (chief operating officers) don't want their
managers spending hours searching for their eyeglasses (which are
probably perched on their heads). Not on company time. Multiply a
thousand managers each searching for his or her glasses — or pens,
appointment books, telephone numbers — for an hour, and that's one
thousand hours (that day). That costs money!
Memory is time is money. So, one of the techniques taught in this
book will enable the manager/executive to eliminate all the absent-
mindedness that costs — wastes — time at the office. And — Memory

instills confidence, which creates sales. Suppose that you're sitting
opposite a potential client trying to sell him an insurance policy. After
you've talked for some time, he says, "Oh, I want my

seventeen-year-old daughter to be covered, too. How much more will
the premium be?" You can say, "Okay, let me check," and search
through your rate book (the insurance agent's bible) for the answer —
finding it after anywhere from one minute to half an hour.
Or . . . you can answer, "Good idea. It would cost you another
$18.75 per quarter to cover her up to age twenty-one." You know that
because you've applied my trained-memory systems. You can give the
answer immediately. That instills in your client a confidence in your
abilities. That impresses. That, very likely, will clinch the sale.
And —
Memory makes you memorable. In our competitive world, just
about all products and services are comparable. So you've got to sell
>'OMr5'^// before you can sell your particular product or service. Calling
a prospective client "Paul" when his name is Sam is not the way to
sell yourself. If Sam has a choice, he's going to give his order to
the salesperson or executive who calls him Sam — not "Paul," or
"Captain," or "Buddy," or "Sweetheart," or "Darling." The ability
Learn from Top Money-Makers 11
to remember people and facts about them has obvious practical benefits
in business — it brings in business.

A management group that works for you and with you offers a
huge personality plus. In this computerized age of big business, of

impersonal business, make your people feel as if
it's a strength to
they're part of family. What better way to make them feel that way
di
than to remember/know details about their families. Check any

statistics you like —
the companies whose people consider themselves
a part of a "family" are the more productive, excellent companies.

And by remembering subordinates and clients and facts about them,
you will be remembered. When you're remembered, more business —
more money — must come your way.
A little edge can make an awfully big difference. Successful
people are not necessarily smarter than nonsuccessful people. They
simply use what we all have more effectively. They have the same
memory: there are only trained and untrained memories. Train your
memory, and you'll acquire that edge.
You probably invest a large chunk of your time and effort into
career, profession, position. I can make it so much easier for you —
free up so much of that time for you. Because, with your newfound
ability to remember, you will accomplish more in less time than you
ever dreamed possible.
Dr. Jesse Manlapaz (Neurosurgeon, Danbury Hospital, Dan-

bury, Connecticut): Without memory I'd lose every patient. When
I'm doing brain surgery, I have to remember everything in order to
know what I'm doing.
And, Mr. or Ms. Executive, you don't think twice about getting
help in any and all "acceptable" areas. You'll go to a golf pro to learn
how to swing a golf club and you'll get help from a tennis pro. But
society has taught you — told you since your school days — that the
memory you're bom with when you reach adulthood, you

is it; that
also reach the limit of your mental capacity, the limit of your memory
capacity. Well, that simply isn't so. Robert Frost would have told you
it isn't so, as would Pablo Casals, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Cari
Sandburg. George Bums and Helen Hayes will tell you it isn't so.
These are only a few who did or do some of their best work, and had
or have great functioning memories, in their eighties and nineties.
You can train your memory to work at peak efficiency no matter
what your age. And it's easier to learn to remember to a fantastic
degree than it is to leam to swing a golf club correctly.
Scott Marcus (President, Evan-Picone Shoes, division of U.S.
Shoe Corporation): A good memory has always been essential in
business — from sales to management to running divisions to
running companies. Memory keeps me in control of my business.
In business, the thinking on the subject of memory has changed.

Years ago, when I wanted to get my systems into corporate/industrial
training programs, I arranged an interview with the CEO of a large
manufacturing company. I talked about how great my memory
techniques were, and what a good teacher I was. The CEO listened,
but not with rapt attention; a sheer curtain had dropped over his eyes.
When I finished, here's what happened (it changed my life, career-
wise):
He picked up an ashtray, held it up in front of my nose, and said,
"Harry, it cost me one dollar to make this ashtray. How can you help
me sell it for a dollar and a half?" The point: profit money — — is
what interested him, and that's where I had to grab him. I didn't (and
don't) know anything about the manufacturing or the selling of

ashtrays, but I'm pretty good when my back is against the wall. So I
asked, "How much do you spend training your personnel each year —
ballpark?" He answered, "About a million dollars." I said, "Don't
you realize that about 75 percent of what you're teaching your people
is forgotten? That means that $750,000 a year is going right into the
porcelain file!" The instant I mentioned losing $750,000, the curtain
lifted; I had his undivided attention.
"Let me teach your people how to remember j^rjr, before you put
them through any other training. Then, they'll remember everything
they're being taught — and you've saved $750,000!" That he under-

stood. And that is what got me involved corporate — in the area
because what I made up on the spur of a panicky moment ended up

being true.
Learn from Top Money-Makers 13
I no longer have to prove anything; business people are aware

of the importance of memory. As Philip A. Bossert — Director of
Sales, Advertising, and Publicity for Business Week — said to me,
"Memory? You're dead if you don't have it!" We're talking about
profitable memory power. "Money" memory. Oh yes, business is
aware of the importance of a high MQ memory quotient. —
Victor Sperandeo (Managing General Partner, Hugo Securities
Company): Once a person has the desire to succeed, he or she has
to memorize (learn) everything he can about his business. . . .
People must know how to memorize large quantities of informa-

tion, to program their minds as they program a computer. . . .
And how to make remembering fun. (I'm a good example of your

teachings; you're my guru, Harry.)
Ruth Mass (President and Owner, Humbert Travel, one of the

larger U.S. travel agencies): Everything is memory! My business
revolves around memory and remembering — we're using our
memories every single minute of every business day. I have to
remember who to call at what telephone number in order to get
specific information fast, what code to feed into the computer,

who's the sales representative for which airline, fares, airports,
charters, clients' names and telephone numbers and travel
preferences — it's all memory.
The executives I interviewed for this book represent many areas of

the business/corporate world, and range from account executives to
partners, to vice presidents, to presidents, to chairmen of the board.

They will help me impress upon you just how important — essential,
critical, urgent, crucial, vital (I'm using some of their adjectives) — a

good memory is in every business area.
Michael K. Stanton (Partner, Weil, Gotshal and Manges, among

the top twenty law firms): Memory is critical; you'd better
remember the facts of your case. You've got one shot in front of
the judge — that's opening and closing night.

And philosopher William James said,' in an essay on the subject of

memory, "The man whose acquisitions stick is the man who is always
achieving and advancing, whilst his neighbors, spending most of their
time in releaming what they once knew but have forgotten, simply
hold their own."
Your capacity to remember and retain data (and, of course, to use
that data) sets the level of achievement in your business and profes-
sional life. Applying the systems and techniques taught in this book
will greatly increase your learning capacity. And, as most top
executives agree, learning capacity has a direct relationship and effect
on earning capacity.
Philip A. Bossert (Director of Sales, Advertising and Publicity,
Business Weekj; I think that remembering well is the mark of a

professional; the fear of a professional is forgetting. The fear is that
people will think you're not interested if you forget. Interest level is
measured by how much you remember.
Ralph Destino (Chairman, Cartier. Inc.): You know what's interest-

ing here, Harry? Someone has got to say how important and vital an
outstanding memory is to business success — that a great memory
distinguishes you immediately, makes you noticeable. Harvard Busi-
ness School doesn't say it — you are saying it!

5
An Interview with
Mel Brooks, CEO
preparing this book, I interviewed many executives at length on

In the role memory plays in business. I'm including only two of
these interviews in virtual entirety. I chose these two because
both of the subjects come from humble beginnings and are now very
successful, and because their words are representative of the general
business tone and spirit I felt during all my interviews.
Most people think of Mel Brooks as an outrageously funny man.
He is that. He is also an astute and brilliant businessman, the President
and CEO of Brooksfilms, Inc. (producers of such goodies as The
Elephant Man, Frances, The Fly, and 84 Charing Cross Road). I sat
Mel down (not an easy feat) and turned on the tape recorder. The
16
An Interview with Mel Brooks, CEO 17
interview reveals a little bit of both sides of this extremely talented

person. Read, learn, enjoy.
HL: Do you feel you're different from most people?

MB: I'm shorter! And I'm more Jewish than Jews. My nose —
and my accent you know — —
there's a lot of things that make me
unique.
HL: I'm short, too — you're not that different.
MB: I always have something hanging out of my nose.
HL: That's unique.
MB: Well, three-year-olds often do too, but for somebody in his
late fifties to have something hanging out of his nose — yeah,

that's unique.
HL: Is it important to have the facts in mind when discussing a

business deal? No notes?
MB: Absolutely. Without those facts in mind, I'm not going to do
well. It's like working on stage or in the movies. I rehearse a little
and remember significant details to help me make the deal. If the
meeting is in my office, I can have the fact sheet on my desk.
Where you have been a great help to me is when the meeting is
elsewhere; I can't sneak a look at a piece of paper then. And I gotta
seem like I'm knowledgeable, like I've done my homework, like
I care.
HL: Why do you think that's important, Mel?
MB: You're trying to raise between 60 and 100 million dollars for
ten movies. You're meeting with money people. They don't want
to see you looking down at something; they like you to have facts
at your fingertips. That's very important.
HL: You're not only a businessman; you're one of our comic

geniuses. Is memory involved? Do you have to remember what
came before comedy?
in
MB: It's critical to remember what came before. I go back to the
Joe Miller joke books to know what something is based on. So that
I don't repeat, and so that I know it's rooted in something good.
And, when I'm doing the Carson show, I can't look at idiot cards,
I can't read — that's bad. They see your eyes moving on a

close-up. I've got to listen backstage and hear what Johnny is
saying, and remember it — so I can refer to it later, make fun of

him, make fun of the previous guest. I've trained myself to grasp
significant clues to help me remember the sentence, the paragraph,
the story or concept.
HL: Mel, how would someone move up in your organization?
MB: He or she would have to have an overview of Brooksfilms, of
course. And I try to have people who can give me fountains of
information when and where I need it. Either by having remem-
bered it or by having done the right research. For a movie, we
sometimes do a year of research. I need people who can retrieve
information, among other things.
HL: Is there one person whom you depend on more than others?
MB: Yes. Leah Zappy. She's been with me for eleven years, and
she knows where the key to the toilet is! She just made me $16,000
in a minute by remembering — by remembering — to check with
NBC about my show Get Smart. My accountants didn't remember
to check. And when you have a piece of a syndicated show, the
broadcasting companies don't always automatically send moneys
come due. A
that little reminder is sometimes necessary.
HL: And do you lose faith in people who use "I forgot" as an
excuse?
MB: I've fired people who consistently said "I forgot," because
that's a very bad bottleneck and stumbling block. "I forgot" is no
excuse. "I forgot" once — maybe, but "I forgot" three times?
And where it's critical? And if it costs the company money (which
it usually does)? No way.
I met a kid named Arthur Levitt III. He's the assistant to
Michael Eisner, who runs Disney. Michael met Arthur when
Arthur was selling furniture. Michael was so impressed with the
kid's knowledge of the catalog that he hired him. Of course he has
a good personality too. But a good and efficient business person-
ality is nothing without memory. Memory is the cornerstone that it
stands on. It helps you build that personality.

I need people who can give me answers in a fraction of a
second. Time is money. I'm on a set, and somebody says, "You
need this-and-this shot," and Ezra Zwerdlow, my coproducer
An Interview with Mel Brooks, CEO 19
says, "No, you have that shot, Mel; I remember that you shot it as
a close-up. Someone lost it." It was lost in the editing room. We
both remembered we had made the shot. The script supervisor had
forgotten to list it. It saved an awful lot of money and time,
because we remembered.
HL: Do you think you could have reached your position if you
didn't have such a good memory?
MB: It's critical. It's critical. The most difficult thing I do is learn
character lines. But I remember when you were working with

Annie [actress Anne Bancroft, Brooks's wife] and she had a
particularly difficult play to do, a Bill Gibson play — John and
Abigail. And there were no cues. The two actors couldn't cue each
other. That's important, because when an actor gives you a line,
you can return it. But these were non-sequitur letters; there were
no cues, no continuity. I was there when you helped her with one
line.
HL: There were many. The one you mean wasn't that tough. The
line was "... whether the soldiers cross the bridge." Annie kept
saying, ". . . //"the soldiers cross the bridge," during rehearsals.

She said me, "Harry, for God's sake, how do I remember that
to
it's not 'if "? I asked, "What's the first thing that comes to mind
when you think 'whether' "? Annie said, "Snowstorm!" (She

thought "weather.") I said, "Fine, visualize the soldiers crossing
that bridge in a snowstorm." That did it. Once she "saw" that
image, she always said "whether," not "if."

MB: I took a page from your book; when I study lines, I always
visualize "pictures" because without them the lines just won't
stay in my head.
HL: So, on a scale of 1 to 10, where would you rate the
importance of memory?
MB: It's a 28! For the CEO of a company, it's essential. For an
actor, it's critical. It's $92,000 a day — you can't forget lines!
Besides, if you're not on top of your lines, something's wrong

with your eyes, something's wrong with the tone of your voice,
something's wrong with the rhythm of your performance. It
shows. I can't afford to have actors forget lines. Costs too much
money. I tell my actors to read me their parts — without looking
at idiot cards. They must know their Hnes; that's part of my

contract. Not approximately, exactly. I'm also proud of the words
I've written; I don't want anyone changing them.
HL: I enjoyed helping you and Annie remember the Polish lyrics
to "Sweet Georgia Brown" for your movie To Be or Not to Be.
MB: Absolutely. We couldn't have done it without you. It was

like charades — you helped us break it down into sounds, textures,
meaningful pictures.
HL: The way it was shot, you couldn't look at idiot cards.
MB: No. So we did what you taught us. We visualized pictures for
each sound. Much easier than trying to remember foreign sounds
by rote.
HL: Mel, give me one instance where forgetting cost you money.
MB: I forgot the bottom line on a price and came in too high for
the movie rights to a property. An agent had mentioned to me that
$62,000 was the bottom line, and would have bought it. I forgot
that — and bid $1 10,000. The property was The Elephant Man. It
turned out all right, but I could have saved the $48,000 if I had
remembered that one piece of information.
HL: And an example where remembering something helped?
MB: Yes, definitely. My first deal with Alan Ladd, Jr. — I
remembered some of the obscure pictures his father (Alan Ladd)

had made, and it warmed the cockles of his heart. Because of that
we got along. He loved me, and he took Young Frankenstein away

from Columbia Pictures. He didn't love me only because of that,
but it sure helped. Most would remember 5/2an^, but I remembered

that Alan was in The Goldwyn Follies, that he was a tenor, and had
about a minute in that film. Alan Ladd, Jr., was thrilled. He said
I was the only one who remembered that. It won big points for me.
By the way, Alan Ladd, Jr., and I have gone from Young
Frankenstein to Silent Movie to High Anxiety, and now [at the time
of this interview] we're doing Spaceballs. So it was critical for me

to win him over.
HL: If you could make your memory utterly fantastic in one area,
which would you select?
MB: Good question. I would chose to remember facts and
figures — actors' prices, films' earnings. To have those facts at my
An Interx'iew with Mel Brooks, CEO 21
fingertips when I'm selling, convincing. To quote correct prices.
It's very important. What a car costs, I don't care — but I have to
apply your systems to help me remember lines, and business
figures. If a picture did over $100 million, I've got to know it. For
instance, when I offered one director IDavid Cronenberg] more
than he had asked, he was flabbergasted. I knew he was worth it.
He asked for an amount. I said, "That's the wrong figure." He

was ready to walk, and I said, "I'm giving you $250,000 more
than that!" You see, I knew/remembered his track record. I knew
exacdy what he'd done at the box office.
If I hadn't remembered those box-office figures, I wouldn't

have known his true worth and I wouldn't have offered that
much — and I might have lost him. The movie I hired him for was
The Fly. It turned out to be a $100-million movie. And for an extra
couple of hundred thousand dollars, I had secured the services of

a genius with a box-office track record.
HL: Well, Mel, what have I not asked that I should have asked?
MB: You haven't asked me if I love you!
HL: No, I mean in the area of memory, and money — money is
the key here.

MB: Yes. What you should stress is the fact that when you have
knowledge at your fingertips you multiply your worth, you
multiply your value. When you don't have that knowledge, when
you're "vamping till ready," it's apparent. And what we who run
companies do is — we're very polite, but we say "good-bye,"
and never see that person again. Arthur Levitt III remembered
everything in that catalog; he quoted prices without checking.
Because of that he is now a vice-president at Disney, and doing a
great job, and if I could steal him, I would. So, I'm telling you,
knowledge is power, and memory does make money! Memory is
the critical ability to retrieve knowledge. You fail or succeed by
your retrieval capabilities.
HL: Mel, you're a terrific person.

MB: Well, I love you, too, Harry. Because your methodology has
helped me to be more successful. You also make me laugh and
lend me money!
HL: Annie once wrote to me, saying, in part — "I want to thank
you for making the drudgery [learning scripts] part of my creative

art."
MB: Yes, I know.We both use your methodology for that. We do
exactly what you taught us to do. We make pictures in our minds,
and see them, insane ones — sometimes we see Picassos in our
heads. That's not bad!
HL: As long as it works.
MB: Exactly. And it sure does.
HL: Is memory important in business?
A. S. Clausi (Senior Vice President, General Foods Corporation): It's
very, very important; in fact, it's critical. Obviously, remembering as

much information about your business as possible is important. In my
particular area of research, aside from remembering basic office
procedures, I need to remember pa^r research. I have to remember the
research I'm involved in at the present time — which steps have been
taken and which haven't — and I want to remember the research yet to
be done. It's a continual memory situation. Things can be looked up,
but that takes time. It's better to remember them. In fact, that's
precisely what we do — remember most of the material. It becomes

part of our "fabric."
HL: Would you say that you and others at your level became the senior
executives you are because you remember more than others — more
than those who have not reached that level, those who always have to
look things up?

ASC: I like to think I became the successful executive am because of
I
a whole range of things, a very important part of which is my memory.

4
How Good Is
Your Business
Memoiy?
Test Your Memory
in Twelve Important Business Situations
asked the same questions of most of the executives I interviewed

for this book. One was "What would make you notice someone
I in your employ? What would make him or her stand out?" Most
of the answers contained the word results.
To A. S. Clausi, Senior Vice President of General Foods Corpo-
ration, I said, "I have a silly question: How often would you put up
with, if at all, the excuse 'I forgot'?" His answer:
No, it's not a silly question. I wouldn't put up with it very often
from any one employee. I think you'd get the same response from
any of my peers, no matter which department. Generally, if you
keep forgetting things, you're not going to reach executive level.
24
How Good Is Your Business Memory? 25
You know why? There's no way to achieve results when you're

forgetting!
Results come to the attention CEOs and managers. Well, then,

of
I want you to see results. That's why I'd like you to test your memory
now, before I teach you anything.
Another thing I learned from the interviews is that all top
executives have excellent memories, even those who seem to think
they do not. Chrysler Chairman and CEO Lee lacocca said in a

Fortune interview, 'Tf you care, you remember." A similar point was
made during my interview with Phyllis Barr, Administrator for the
Manhattan law firm of Pavia and Harcourt.
PB: If a client owes a million dollars — something like that, you

remember.
HL: When a lot of money is involved suddenly everyone's —
memory is terrific! Interest, motivation.
PB: People who are driven will remember.
HL: You're in an executive position are you driven? And are —
you saying that most executive-level people are driven?
PB:/'m driven, absolutely. And in my opinion, most executives are.
We're talking about ego and power. Money goes along with that.
And, because they're driven, they'll remember what they have to.
Because they don't want to fail, don't want to look foolish. Also,
it's evident that you have the interest when you remember.
HL: Are you saying that if you remember well — which, in turn,
shows interest — you're impressing those who may further your

career? Promote you?
PB: Correct.
Saundra Malvin is Director of Administration and Executive

Assistant to the Chairman at General Instrument Corporation, a
Fortune 500 company. She intimated to me that she thought she had a
bad memory. I told her that most people in high executive positions,
even those who say they have lousy memories, have great memories.
Otherwise, I don't think they'd have reached the positions they're in.
I didn't believe she had a bad memory. I doubt if she'd have reached
the executive level she has reached if she didn't have a

better-than-average memory. "I agree; I do agree, of course," said
Saundra. "Everything is relative. I just feel my memory could be
better." Sure; everyone's can. That's my function.
So, I'm assuming that (a) you have a good memory and (b) you like
to see results. I want to show you how much room for improvement there
is — even for your good (or great, or lousy, or indifferent) memory. I
think it's important to see almost immediate progress in order really to

learn. Help me show you that progress, those results. Invest the few
minutes needed to take the tests that follow. Each one is business-
oriented; each represents a memory problem that I'm sure you face
almost every business day. You don't have to take all the tests at the same
sitting; rest between tests, if you like. And do them in pencil. You'll
want to erase the answers so that you can take the tests again. Write your
present score in the space provided at the left at the end of each test. The
space at the right — labeled "Second time around' ' — is where you will
put your score when you retake the test later on.
Test 1
Assume that each of the following items represents an errand you have
to do or an appointment you have to keep tomorrow. Give yourself
about three minutes to study them. Then (without looking, of course)
try to write them in correct sequence. If one is out of sequence, all
those remaining would also be incorrect. Give yourself 8 points for

each one listed properly.
calculator, dress, key, book, flashlight, pin, table, cigar,
note pad, river, diamond, stapler
Score: Second time around:
Test 2
Give yourself m minutes to try to remember the spouses' names listed
below. Then cover the top list with a piece of paper, and fill in as many
blanks below as you can. Give yourself 8 points for each correct
answer.
Paul Corrigan/Mary Richard Gardner/Hortense
Albert Cohen/Estelle Betty Yost/Bill
James Smith/Beatrice Fred Peskowitz/Rita
Bernard Sheridan/Alice Philip Karpel/Marilyn
Helen Sitkowski/Carl Martin Hamilton/Delia
Gordon Fieldston/Sylvia Lucy Battaglia/Andrew
{cover the above after six minutes)
Mr. Yost Mrs. . Fieldston
Mrs. . Peskowitz Mrs. . Smith
Mrs. . Karpel Mrs. . Corrigan
Mrs. Cohen Mrs. _ Gardner
Mr. Battaglia Mrs. . Sheridan
Mrs. Hamilton Mr. . Sitkowski
Test 3
You want to remember some prices of items integral to your business.
What you need to do is to connect the numbers to the item. Look at the
price list on page 28 for about six minutes. Then cover it and fill in the
blanks that follow. Score 12 points for each correct item.

crude oil: $18.96 gold: $460.10
pork bellies: $60.77 corn: $1.94
lease car: $541.20 coffee: $127.50
Polaroid: $42.12 computer system: $994.98
corn: Polaroid:
lease car: coffee:
gold: crude oil: _

computer system: pork bellies:
Test 4
Look at the following list of "hidden objects" for about four minutes.
Each item listed is followed by its hiding place — the pen is hidden
under the plate, and so on. Try to remember what's hidden where.
Then cover the list and try to fill in the blanks that follow. If the item
is listed, fill in the hiding place; if the hiding place is listed, fill in the
item that's hidden there. Score 10 points for each correct answer.
pen/plate credit card/desk blotter
nail file/drinking glass gold cuff links/steel file cabinet
stamp/matchbook cover extra eyeglasses/behind picture frame

birth certificate/vault bracelet/tucked in glove
address book/under bed lipstick/shirt drawer
[cover the above after four minutes)
credit card: cuff links:
matchbook cover: address book:
vault: nail file:
shirt drawer: pen:
glove: eyeglasses:
Tests
Here are ten of the items from Test 1 . They're in a different order and
they're numbered. They may represent the ten points you want to make
during a sales presentation. Try to memorize both number and item.
Give yourself about seven minutes. Then cover them, and fill in the
blanks on the next page. Score 10 points for each correct answer.
7. diamond 2. river
5. book 9. key
10. pin 1 . note pad
4. table 6. cigar
8. flashlight 3. dress
[cover the above after seven minutes)

.
1: 6:
2: 7:
3: 8:
4: 9:
5: 10:
Teste
Give yourself 5i> minutes; try to connect each person's name (only the
surname is fine) and position to the corporate name. (These are all real
people, positions, and companies.) Then cover the information and fill
in as many of the blanks as you can Score . 1 points for each correct one
Al Clausi, Vice President, General Foods Corporation
George Konogeris, Vice President, Kinney Shoe Corporation
Ralph Destino, Chairman, Cartier, Inc.
Philip Bossert, Director of Sales, Business Weel<
Scott Marcus, President, Evan-Picone Shoes
Harvey Leeds, Vice President of Promotion, Epic Records
Ellen Hassman, President, AC and R Direct, Inc.
Frank AtLee, Vice President, American Cyanamid Corporation
Bernadette Skubly-Butts, Account Executive, Air France
William Seco, Vice President of Sales, EDP World, Inc.

Mr. AtLee: Ms. Skubly-Butts:
Mr. Marcus: Mr. Leeds:
Mr. Seco: Mr. Clausi:
Ms. Hassman: Mr. Bossert:
Mr. Konogeris: Mr. Destine:
Test 7
If you solve these out-of-thinking-rut tests within the given time slots,
give yourself a hug. You won't be taking them again — but you will
be making business friends take 'em, I'll wager. The solutions are
elsewhere in the book. You'll find them as you read, study, learn.
Can you add only one symbol to the following Roman numeral
a.
and thus change it to an even number between 5 and 10?
IX
You should solve this within four minutes.
b. Make the following line shorter without erasing, without

cutting or tearing, without using opaquing fluid or tape, and without
folding the page, covering it, or reproducing it in any way. Think
about it for no more than six minutes.
c. Shown below is the one martini you had during your business
luncheon. Use four matches to lay out the martini glass. The head of
a fifth match can be the olive or Gibson onion. Challenge: Move only
two matches to bring the olive outside the glass. Do not touch the
"olive." The glass must end up shaped exactly as shown. (Hint: It
need not necessarily face in the same direction.) You've got five
minutes.
Tests
Here's a sixteen-digit number. You've got about two and a half

minutes to memorize it. Cover it, then write it; try to get all the digits
in the correct sequence. Score 6 points for each digit you place
correctly.
7514326803592113
Test 9
You enter a room in which you will momentarily be giving a

presentation of your new advertising campaign. You're introduced to
twelve new people, important people. Here they are. Take about eight
minutes to meet them all. Try to remember who's who, of course. I'll
have them walk by you at the end of this chapter — in a different order
and without their name tags — so you can try to fill in the correct name
for each. Give yourself 8 points for each person you remember.
Your Business Memory? 33
How Good Is
e€^.
MR. WEBB MR. WOODBURY
MS. SPEERS DR. KAISER
MS. BEACON MR. WITHERSPOON

MR. CAMPBELL MS. PATTERSON
MR. ASHBERG MR. PIERCE
MS. PETROVSKI MR. EISENBERG

When you reach the end of this chapter — not now — fill in the
blanks where these people are shown again. Then come back to this
test, check your answers, and fill in your score.
Test 10
You're an executive for a department store. Different items have
different style codes — just letters, or letters and numbers. You'd like
to remember them. Try with these ten. Take about four minutes. Then
cover this information and fill in the test blanks. Give yourself 10
points for each correct answer.
men's suits: HI computers: RN1
diamond rings: BC86 bill clips: L2R
cordless telephones: DF pottery: EM4
lingerie: WR furniture: SL8
wallets: GW luggage: 7LR
{cover the above after four minutes)
furniture: wallets:
luggage: cordless telephones:
pottery: _ computers:
men's suits: lingerie:
bill clips: diamond rings:

Test 11
Take about nine minutes to try to memorize these telephone numbers
and to whom they belong. Then cover them and fill in the ensuing
blanks as best you can. Give yourself 10 points for each entirely
correct number. (One digit wrong or out of sequence and you'd be
dialing a wrong number.)
garage: 243-6340 watch repair: 557-0947
stationery: 914-5631 doctor: 292-1821
library: 641-4414 bank: 324-7892
Mr. Forrest: 474-2936 meeting planner: 741-1248
tailor: 389-9484 restaurant: 534-9625
{cover the above after nine minutes)
meeting planner: library:
Mr. Forrest: restaurant:
doctor: tailor:
watch repair: bank:
garage: stationery:
Test 12
These are legitimate area codes. There are eleven of them, because one
may be yours! No fair; that one shouldn't be considered or scored. So,
try to memorize as many as you can in about four minutes. Then, cover
them and fill in as many blanks as you can. The areas will be listed in
a different order. Score 10 points for each one you remember correctly.
.
West Virginia: 304 Pittsburgh, Pa.: 412
Manhattan, N.Y.: 212 Topeka, Kans.: 913
Toronto, Canada: 416 Nashville, Tenn.: 615
San Diego, Calif.: 619 Los Angeles, Calif.: 213
Milwaukee, Wis.: 414 Wyoming: 307
Spokane, Wash.: 509
{cover the above after four minutes)
Nashville: Toronto:
Pittsburgh: Manhattan:
Topeka: Spokane: _
Los Angeles: San Diego:
West Virginia: Milwaukee:
Wyoming:
Don't be discouraged by your bad scores; don't get too excited

over your pretty good scores. When you take the tests again (when I
tell you to), no matter what your scores were this first time, you'll
amaze yourself. You really will.
Coffee break is The twelve new people you were introduced

over. to
earlier walk by you as they reenter the room. You would really like to
put the right name to the right face. Turn the page and give it a try.
^
'^^^^^
l\^^
.-Trhr
An article about Alan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Bear Steams
Company, appeared in Forbes, on September 7, 1987. Headline: "To
many on Wall St., Alan Greenberg is one of the shrewdest players
around. " The feature story in the August 31 1987, issue of U.S. News
,
& World Report mentioned that Alan earned $5.7 million in salary in
1986. Headline: "Alan Greenberg can't help it if he's making too
much money!" Alan said to me:
Someone with a good memory absolutely just plain stands out.
Yes, it would come to the attention of the people at the top,
including me, because a good memory is so important in this

business. My salespeople must remember investors' names, how
to reach them quickly if they need a fast buy or sell okay. They
have to be able to remember changing prices of certain stocks,
which client owns those stocks, stock symbols, computer codes,
appointments.
The essential thing when starting out in any job is to get
recognized, noticed, by your superiors. If you have a terrific
memory, if you remember something that somebody else forgot,

supervisors and managers pick up on that very quickly — at least
if they're intelligent, and most superiors and managers are.

5
The Biggest Little
Nuisance in Business:
Absentmindedness
Save Precious Minutes Searching —
A Simple Trick Ends Absentmindedness
"I Just Had It in My Hand!"
started my career as an entertainer, performing feats of memory.

I wrote the whole act in ten minutes. It was simple: I just listed
I the major memory problems. Then I devised a demonstration to

show that each of those problems could be solved. The number-one
memory problem came to mind was "names and faces." I
that
thought, "I'll remember the names and faces of all the people in my
audience to demonstrate that it need not be a problem." I did — and
still do whenever I do a personal appearance.
The next problem I thought of was that of hiding valuables in a
"safe place" and then forgetting which safe place. I devised a
demonstration called "objects and hiding places." People would call
out an object, a silly (or difficult) hiding place, and a number. The
41
information was written in that numbered space on a blackboard. Then

someone would call out a number, an object, or a hiding place and I'd
instantly supply the other two items. "What's hidden in the mattress?"
"The Ping-Pong ball, and it's in number fifteen!" People would test
me at any time throughout my performance.

Now what in the world does remembering/knowing where you hid
a favorite pair of cuff links or earrings have to do with raising the level
of your productivity in business? With helping to give you that

business edge? With making you a better executive, manager, foreman,
employee? It has quite a bit to do with it. (First, of course, there are
times when you can't separate your personal life from your business
life.)
In the July 1987 issue of Self magazine, an article appeared

purporting to show how to find hidden items. It was based on research
done by Eugene Winograd, Ph.D, and Robert M. Solo way. The
research suggested that people hide things in strange and unlikely
places because they think it's easier to remember such places. This is
because they've heard — perhaps from me! — that "unusual events

are remembered better than ordinary events." I've said it (written it,
screamed it, engraved it) for over three decades: It's the mundane,
everyday things that we tend to forget. The unusual, the violent, the
obscene, the extraordinary, the bizarre, the ridiculous are easily
remembered.
But now these researchers tell us that it isn't so. They talk about
the "generation-recognition strategy." What that means is that you

generate (mentally) the places the vital item can possibly be, hoping
that when (and if) you hit the correct one you'll know it. But, they say,
if it's an unusual place, you may never hit on it.
So they decided that no matter how "unforgettable unusual

locations seem, they are harder to remember than common ones."
They give reasons for this, the first one being that "there's no
association trigger." (They're absolutely right!) If you hide an extra
key in an antique vase, when you need the key, you think, "Where's
the key?" not "What's in the antique vase?" (Absolutely right!) They
go on to say that unless someone happens to say "antique vase,"
you'll never think of where you hid the key. (Absolutely wrong!)
I could have told them that the simple concept upon which all
The Biggest Little Nuisance in Business: Absentmindedness 43
memory is based —
the reminder principle can be brouglit into —
play. You don't have to wait until someone "happens to say 'antique
vase' " —
no, you simply have io force "key" to remind you of
"antique vase" whenever you ask yourself, or think, "Where's the
key?"
The principle of original awareness is automatically applied at the
same time. We're talking about an absentmindedness problem here.
And the way to solve absentmindedness in any area is to be originally
aware of the usually unconscious action. I'll get into that more
specifically later. Right now, the point is that you can remember
unusual things and locations better, once you know how to use the
reminder and original-awareness ideas. The way I remembered

made-up — hypothetical — objects and hiding places during my act is
exactly the way you can remember where you've hidden an actual item
that's important to you.
Of course you need an "association trigger." All that really means

is that you need a reminder. Follow this simple rule: Make one thing
remind you of the other. How? At the moment of the action, form a
silly picture (association) in your mind connecting the two vital pieces
of information — the object and the hiding place. Make it a silly,
ridiculous, or impossible picture. As you place the extra key into the
vase, visualize yourself sticking that expensive vase into a keyhole

(shattering the vase) and opening the door! (You're using the vase
instead o/the key.) Really see that picture in your mind's eye and you
will have accomplished a great deal. You've used a bit of imagination,
and you've focused your attention, which means you've paid attention;
you've pinpointed your concentration at that moment onto the problem
of the moment: you've forced yourself to be originally aware of where
you're hiding the key. It's the ridiculousness, the impossibility, of the
picture that takes the information out of the mundane, that makes it
work.
And it took a split second. Now, days later or a month later, you
ask yourself, "Where did I hide that extra key?" If you originally
formed a silly, impossible picture in your mind connecting key and
antique vase, just thinking of key will automatically make you think of
vase; one must remind you of the other. The "generation-recognition

strategy" no longer applies — it becomes pure psychobabble. There's
.
obviously no earthly reason to "generate" different possible places.

None at all. Thinking of the important item itself tells you where you
hid it!
You hide an expensive pen in your lingerie drawer. Visualize the

ink squirting out of that pen, all over your fine lingerie, ruining it all.
I assure you, you'll always know where that pen is; all you have to do
is think "pen"! You want to put two special concert tickets in a safe
place. How about under the typewriter? Good idea. Same problem.
How will you remember? At the moment you place those tickets form
an association. See (visualize, imagine) two large tickets typing. Or
see a typewriter (all dressed up) entering Carnegie Hall, or wherever.
Or see a gigantic typewriter p^r/brmmg the concert, playing the piano.
I'm offering more than one choice for silly pictures, as I'll continue to
do. All you really need is one picture, and you're better off thinking of
it yourself. I mean that you should try to conjure up your own silly
pictures for any similar situation, even one that exactly matches one of
my examples. That's the point: you' xt forced to think about it.
Three more important points:
1 Be sure the picture you select involves only the two vital items
whenever possible. It is not necessary (or wise) to make up an
"action story." You do want action — but just between the two
vital items, in one quick (but vivid) picture.
2. Although "thinking" the picture will probably do it for you,
it's make the slight

best to extra effort actually to see the picture
you select. The odds are that thinking it will be the same as
seeing it in your mind's eye. That's so for most people. But

until you're sure, make that minimal effort to see the picture.
The truth is, that little bit of effort is what makes the technique
work! It forces you to pinpoint your concentration as you never
have before.
3. Form the association at the moment you hide the item. If you
wait to do it later, you may have forgotten where you hid the
thing when later rolls around.
Right now, at this moment, even if you didn't consciously make

the associations (just reading them was probably sufficient), don't you
know where the key is hidden? The concert tickets? How do you think
I memorized the objects and hiding places during my performance
years ago? Exactly as I've just explained. How could I possibly forget
that the Ping-Pong ball was hidden under the mattress when I "saw"
two mattresses playing Ping-Pong? (I also remembered a number; it's
easy. I put one other item into my picture, an item that represented or
meant a number to me. That is explained elsewhere in this book.)

And if you don't believe, yet, that this technique works, works
perfectly, go back to chapter 4 and retake the test in which this
technique should be used — Test 4. I want you to see your progress.
Peter Kougasian (Assistant District Attorney, Director of Legal

Staff Training, Manhattan, New York): Absentmindedness is
aggravating and it's time-consuming. The reason it's so aggravat-

ing is because it's so time-consuming — at the office, but also at
home.
Quite a few of the executives I interviewed told me that often they
came late to an early morning business appointment because of time

spent searching for a personal item (a wallet, keys, eyeglasses, concert
or airline tickets, and so on) that they'd either "just had in their hand"
or had hidden "in a safe place. " So even what you do on your time can
affect you business-wise, efficiency-wise. And of course these memory
techniques work the same at home, at the office — anywhere.
When I asked whether absentmindedness was also directly a
problem in the office, in business, most all my interviewees replied that
indeed it was.
Phyllis Barr: Absolutely; time is money. I don't want to take the
time to search for glasses — or anything else.
Ruth Mass: Yes, it's definitely a problem. Always looking for my

glasses, pen, purse. It's the interruptions that usually do it. Oh,
yes — teach us to remember where a thing is put when we're
interrupted. Every minute lost, costs.
J. K. Hartman, Managing Director and CEO of Scudder, Stevens

and Clark, the investment-counseling firm, feels the same way — that
absentmindedness is aggravating and timie-consuming. He does, how-

ever, have his own little tricks. And these tricks eliminate certain
additional kinds of absentmindedness.
My policy is if I'm thinking of something, do it then. If I'm

shaving and I think, "I should have written down so-and-so to
remember it," I'll stop shaving and write it down then. People
think I'm crazy sometimes, stopping what I'm doing to do this

thing I don't want to forget. I may be crazy — but I don't forget!
So, one of my tricks is do it then and there.
I use another little trick. When I do a mundane little thing, I
say out loud, to myself, what I've just done, or what I'm doing.
And that'll help me remember, a week later, that I did it. If, when
I use my deodorant in the morning, I say out loud, "I am using my
deodorant," then I don't have to wonder later, "Did I use my
deodorant this morning?" I know I did.
The same idea would work for things like "I am turning on my
telephone answering machine"; "I am unplugging the coffeepot"; "I
am locking my door." Jerry Hartman says, "I'm just too busy to take
the time to worry about whether or not I used my deodorant, unplugged

the coffeepot, or other mundane little things. I manage a corporation
that invests millions of dollars for clients. My mind has to be on that.""
Jerry is on the right track. Although these problems are not exactly
the same as remembering where you hid a valued item, they are
related. And he is following one of my rules for eliminating absent-
mindedness: Make sure your mind is present, not absent, at the
specific moment during which a mundane action is taking place.
Saying to yourself, out loud, just before putting down a business
report to answer the phone, "I've stopped reading the report on page
twelve," will most likely eliminate dog-eared pages. You'll know that
you have to open to page 12 when you want to continue reading that
report. Saying (out loud), "I've just turned on my answering

machine," is forcing your mind to think of that action at that instant.
At that instant, you're eliminating absentmindedness via the simple

expedient of forcing yourself to be presentmindtdl
Saundra Malvin: Absentmindedness is bothersome and time-

consuming, and time is money.
One bank manager (who prefers to remain anonymous) exagger-

ated a bit, I'm sure, when he complained:
Harry, I must be getting old. I waste three months out of every

year, lately, searching my desk, my files, my office, my secre-
tary's desk, for something I just had in my hands. Often it's an

inconsequential thing like my pencil or a rubber band, or it can be
an important piece of paper. You say you can teach me to save that
time? You'd also save my life!
I doubt that he wastes three months of every year — but I'll go along
with a few weeks. "Getting old" doesn't have much to do with it,
since young executives complain of the same problem. Recently, a

Harvard Business School study revealed that the average executive (no
matter what his or her age) wastes about thirty minutes a day searching
for things on his or her desk. Add a bit of time wasted searching
through locations other than desks and, yes, that totals a few wasted
weeks.
Well, the way to save that time — the solution — can be to shout
where you're temporarily placing something, just to force yourself to
think about what you're doing at that particular instant, to force your
mind to ho. present. But I don't know how many offices would continue
to function normally if a number of my students were there shouting to
themselves!
No, there's an easier way to eliminate any sort of absentminded-
ness — a silent way. And that way again is to form an association, to
see a silly picture in your mind's eye, which is the same as forcing
attention.
Michael K. Stanton: In a law firm, in this law firm, a strong

memory is crucial.
HL: You just took a long phone call about a case and I heard you
use names of people and places. You referred to dates and events
without looking at a file. Can you do that with other cases?

MKS: When I have deadlines and cutoffs and particular items in
particular cases, I know them.

HL: How many cases do you handle at one time? For example,
now?
right
MKS: Forty-five.
HL: You're personally involved in forty-five cases?

MKS: Directly responsible for, not just personally involved.
HL: Does that mean that right now if someone came in and asked
you a question about any one of those forty-five cases, you'd have
an answer?
MKS: I'd better. I'll tell you what that takes, and what I needed
as I worked my way up to my present position — what I need now,
and what every person at executive level, or working toward
executive level, needs. And that is to know how to apply effective
attention.
Here's how to apply effective attention the silent way. Let's say you're
holding Mr. Forrest's file in your hands. You're interrupted and your
attention is diverted. You reach to your attache case and slip the file
inside — a mundane, habitual action that you don't think about at all.
When the problem that interrupted you is attended to, you might look
for the Forrest file immediately or a bit later. Since your mind was
absent when you automatically slipped the file into your attache case,
you have no idea where it is. Therefore the cry, "I just had it in my
hand!" (You can't say, "I forgot where I put it," because you never
remembered in the first place!)
Solution? Make sure you do remember in the first place — that you
are originally aware. Take one split second at the instant of the
ordinarily automatic action to form the association; see a mind picture
that will work as an automatic reminder. For example, as you slip the
Forrest file into the case, see di forest growing in your attache case. Or
hundreds of attache cases growing like trees, in a forest. Be sure to
really see the picture you select. It takes no more than a split second;
no need to break mental or physical stride. But you have forced
yourself to think of the action at the moment of the action — you've
made yourself originally aware of it. That's the rule. And that's
effective attention.
I guarantee that when you next think of the Forrest file, you'll
think forest, forest growing in your attache case! You'll simply reach
into the case. You will hardly be aware that you've applied a system
that made you "presentminded," that eliminates absentmindedness.
If you drop the file into your outgoing mail bin, you might
visualize a forest growing out of that bin. If you drop it onto your office
coffee table, see a forest growing on that table, or see tables, instead
of trees, growing in a forest. If you see that picture in your mind,
you've forced a second's worth of effective attention, and that's all
that's necessary.
Joseph V. Casale (President, Active Concern, Inc., representing
Phoenix Insurance Companies): Oh, that "I just had it in my

hand" thing. I do wish I could eliminate that problem.
Are you always searching for your eyeglasses? Form a simple

habit — and that's all it is, habit — by forming associations three or
five times. Simply connect eyeglasses to where you re putting them via
a silly picture. Example: You're rushing out and leave your glasses on
the table next to a potted plant. Keep on rushing, but as you put them
down, visualize a pair of eyeglasses watering your potted plant! Or see
yourself wearing a potted plant over each eye instead <?/ eyeglasses.
You've paid effective attention for a split second to that split-second
action — which means you thought about it for that little slice of time.
You never stopped, no time has been wasted. And no time will be
wasted when you need your eyeglasses. The instant you want them,
you will have a built-in reminder. Think "eyeglasses" and you'll
"see" them watering a potted plant. You'll just know that they're
there, near the plant.
Sticking your pencil into your hair takes no time at all. Trying to
remember where it is, could. The solution is the same. Think about it
at the moment you put it there. But don't you see? That's the problem.
It's difficult to think of a fleeting, automatic action. That's why you
need a technique X\\d^ forces that instant's thought, which amounts to
paying effective attention. I've taught you the technique. As you push
the pencil into your hair visualize it {feel it) going into your head,
point first! Now you couldn't forget where that pencil is if you tried!
It boils down to original awareness. "Our thoughts are so

fleeting," wrote Henry Hazlitt. '"no device for trapping them should
be overlooked." Don't overlook the device I've just taught you for
trapping those fleeting thoughts!
That same device is used for the mundane "little aggravators" — the
"Did I turn on the answering machine?," "Did I lock the office

door?" kind of thing. Grab your mind by the scruff of the neck, force
it to pay attention, by forming a silly association. See yourself turning

on your answering machine w ith your ear. See yourself putting your
head or your foot or your eyeball into the keyhole when you lock your
door. That's all. It's the same as, but more effective and quieter than,
shouting it out loud. You've forced yourself to think about the
mundane action, to be originally aware of it; you've forced your mind
to be present for that split second — and that's all it takes.
Do you want to be sure to take, say, your passport when you leave
your office ? Associate it with the last thing you pay attention to or
notice when you leave. Make this last thing remind you of your
passport. If it's the elevator, visualize the doors of that elevator
opening and a million passports falling or flying out. Or see the
elevator being a gigantic passport. That will remind you to run back
and get your passport, or to check if you did take it. If it's very
important, use a backup: associate passport with one other last thing —
for example, your ta.xi. Visualize a gigantic passport driving it. You'll
still have time to go back for the passport. This technique w ill help you
remember anything — an umbrella, a book, theater tickets — you
need to take from office or home.
Do you get great ideas in the middle of the night? Are they usually
gone in the morning? Is it too much trouble to turn on the light and jot
something down or to scribble indecipherable notes in the dark? Tell

you what — the next time you're hit with that creative thought in the
middle of the night, reach over and turn your clock face-down, or
dump your cigarettes on the floor, or toss a slipper to the other side of
the room! Do anything that will grab your attention in the morning.
That's your reminder.
Are you thinking that this will remind you that you had a thought
but not what that thought was? Make the out-of-place thing tell you. If
The Biiiiii'sf Little Nuisance in Business: Ahsentniituiediwss 51
the thought has to do with computers, as you toss your shpper,

associate shpper to computer with a silly picture (a computer wearing
slippers, perhaps), and go back to sleep. You'll remember not only that
you had a thought but what that thought was about.

All these techniques require immediate action, sometimes physical
(tossing your slipper) and always mental (forming the association).
That's not a unique idea. Just about every executive I interviewed uses
the "briefcase trick" to remember to take certain papers from office to
home (or vice versa). That trick is to put the papers (or whatever) into
your briefcase beforehand. They all said something like, "My brief-
case is an extension of my arm, so 1 never forget that." And they all
agreed that the papers must be placed into the case the instant you think
of them. That is the key. If it isn't done at that moment, you'll forget.
Don't let that fleeting thought escape.
What do you do if you're on your way to the office and you think
of something that should be put into your case immediately? You can't
do it if the item is in your office and you're not there. Perhaps it's a
letter from John Zimmerman. Visualize a man simmering (boiling —
simmer man) on your desk, on your secretary, in your office coat
closet — any place that you'll notice when you arrive. That will
remind you to put that letter into your case immediately.
This technique for applying effective attention enables you to be
presentm'mdcd, which, of course, must eliminate absentmindedness.
The visualization concept, the silly mental pictures, are basic tools for
remembering — and they will be applied in slightly different ways,
throughout this book.
Fredrica S. Friedman (Vice President, Associate Publisher, and
Executive Editor, Little, Brown and Company): There's no doubt that
you need a very good memory to be a good editor. After all, an editor
must hold an entire book in her head. She must remember the author's
theme and subplots to know if he sustains them throughout the story —
and this is as true for nonfiction as for fiction. And an editor must
remember that a character has black hair on page 3 1 in order to know
that something is askew if the same character is a blond on page 108;
a male character can't be a great lover on page 14 and totally

inadequate (at least not without an explanation) on page 96. Since
continuity of the entire book is essential, an editor needs an excellent
memory.
And while manufacturers may deal with widgets, an editor deals
daily, hourly, with people — authors, agents, her publishing col-

leagues. In fact, her success in this personal-service business is directly
related to these human relationships. It is important, then, that she
remember her author's former books, and their references to future

books. It is crucial in personal relationships to keep in mind the details
of authors' and agents' lives. I'd better not say to you, Harry, "How's
your wife, Alice?" when your wife's name is Renee. And when you
call me to inquire about your first printing and your advertising
schedule, I need to recall all the distinguishing attributes and plans for
your book. When you add to this that I may be involved with several
dozen books at one time, and as many authors and agents, I could not
maintain my level of productivity without a highly trained memory.
6
The Trick
That Makes Numbers
Easy to Remember
For Prices, Stock Quotations, Sales Reports,
Style numbers, and More
We live in a number-oriented society;

important things
numbers. How
we have to remember
probably the most
could the business wheels continue to turn

in business are
without somebody remembering vital information such as prices, style

numbers, stock quotes, and so forth? Yet, where memory is concerned,
numbers are like quicksilver — the more you try to grasp them, the
farther away they spurt! For most, numbers are the most difficult things
to remember because they are abstract and therefore cannot be

visualized. A number is a concept: 5 is one less than 6 and one higher
than 4. Well, I'll start to show you in this chapter that numbers can be
visualized.To begin with, let me assure you that . . .
We, human beings, do not — repeat, do not — forget. What we
53
do is we don't remember in the first place. Therein lies both the

problem and the solution to the memory enigma: Remember in the first
place, be originally aware, and there simply is no forgetting! "Sure,
easier said than done," you're mumbling. "Just how in the world do
I do that? With me things usually go into one ear and right out the
other." Yes, usually, but not always, right? If Chicken Little ran up to
you and shouted, "Come with me — I want to show you where the sky
is falling down," there'd be a stop somewhere between your ears, and

you'd remember it. And if you did see the sky falling down, you'd
certainly remember that — forever!
Well, okay. Of course you'd remember a chicken telling you that

the sky is falling. You'd be originally aware of that unless you were
dead. Problem: Most if not all of the information you need to
remember doesn't fall into that category. Certainly business data is not
usually part of the Chicken Little sky-is-falling category. Aha! But you
see all, any information and business data can be placed into that
category by making it interesting, different, unique. And the first step
in that direction is to make meaningless things meaningful. It's
obviously easier to remember something that makes sense, that is

meaningful, than something that's not.
A client mentioned to me that he just couldn't remember the letters
of the alphabet his firm uses as part of its style number system. HN
stands for men's shirts, DR means ladies' slacks, and so forth. I wrote
the following on a piece of paper:
ZAYBXCWDVEUFTGSHRIQJPKOLNM
He said that he saw no rhyme or reason there. I explained:
Well, what I did was to write the alphabet, as quickly as I could,

forward and backward at the same time! Follow along. Start with
the second-from-left letter. A, and move to every other letter. You

see? It goes to M, in proper sequence. Now move to the left the
same way — starting with N and following every other letter.
You'll go from N to Z in proper sequence. Problem is, I've yet to
find a practical use for it!

The Trick That Makes Numbers Easy to Remember 55
It'll seem weird, but here's how I memorized this particular
sequence. I made up and visualized a silly story a long time ago: I was
talking to a bee and a few eggs; I said, "Say, bee [ZAYB], eggs, see
water? [XCW] The view? [DVEU]" As I indicated the view, someone
gashed my foot — a foot gasher [FTGSHRj. I told him that he had the
IQ of a jeep [IQJP] and that I'd call him a bad name call name —
[KOLNM]! Look at the sequence now:
Say bee eggs see water the view
ZAYB XCW DVEU
foot gasher IQ jeep call name

FTGSHR IQJP KOLNM
Seems silly, I know, but visualize those sillinesses in order. Give it a
few minutes, and you'll know the alphabet forward and backward.
There are better ways to remember specific letters of the alphabet,
based on "sound-alikes." The basic idea, though, is to make mean-

ingless things meaningful. That's one of the greatests aids to memory.
But we often do form acronyms to serve as memory aids. That's okay,
up to a point.
HL: So you consider the facts you remember your professional

body of knowledge?
Philip A. Bossert: Yes, everything is. And mentioning an acronym
reminds me. There's a formula in this business —
AIDA. Attention,
Interest, Decision, Action. Advertising has to get attention, grasp
interest, force a decision (that's why ad offers usually end on a

specific date) and then action — make the reader buy.
Years ago (I don't know if it's valid now) home insurance brokers
would sell "extended coverage." When asked what that covered, they
were able to answer promptly because they remembered the fictional
name W. C. Shaver: wind, commotion, smoke, hail, aircraft, vehicle,
explosion, riot. (Joseph V. Casale told me that he, and many other
insurance brokers, remembered a strong selling point by thinking of a

meaningless group of letters: WWYDIYIST — What would you do if
your income stopped tomorrow? Good selling point; it just seems to
me that trying to remember a meaningless group of letters is not much

of a memory aid. )
A technique similar in concept but more effective in its application

can be used to remember numbers. As a matter of fact, the acronym
AIDA describes my systems: they force attention, force interest, make
you decide to remember, then show you how to associate (as you'll
see). Okay; you know that certain retail businesses mark their items
with a letter code to tell the employees of the firm the price without the
customer's knowing. It's a simple coding device. All that's needed is
a word or phrase consisting often letters, with no letters repeated. Ten

letters because you want each letter to represent a different one of the
ten possible single digits. A nine-letter word or phrase is just as good;
an X is used as the tenth Any word or phrase

letter. will do, so long
as all the vital people remember it (and know how to spell). Check
these:
1234 5 67890
M I C R O W A V E S
B L A C K S M I T H
P I C K L E D H A M
M A R Y C. J N E S
N A K E D G I R L S
C O S T P R I C E X
Assume that "microwaves" is the code word; then WCC would

represent the price $633. Or, $6.33, according to the business, the
item. It's a matter of simple substitution: MAS — M is the first letter
(1), A is the seventh letter (7), and S is the last letter (0). What else can
MAS mean but $1.70 or $170?
VRM is, could only be, 841. Now, that's not a bad way to
remember that three-digit number. For a five-digit number you would

have, for example, EOVIA (95827). And so on. Not bad. Not very
good either. Why would it be easier to remember VRM than 841?
What makes EOVIA more meaningful than 95827? Both are really
meaningless. The idea, however, has merit. Letters can be used to
represent numbers.
One of the old (also not very good) systems for remembering
numbers, using letters, is to use words containing the equivalent
number of letters to represent the individual digits. You'd have to
come up with a phrase or sentence consisting of words with the right
number of letters that somehow related to what you wanted to recall.
For example:
WITH PICTURE TUBE

(4 letters) (7 letters) (4 letters)
might help you remember that a television set retails for $474. To
remember pi to five places (3.1415), you might use:
MAY I HAVE A PIECE?

(3) (1) (4) (1) (5)
It's an interesting but not very practical approach. What would you
come up with for, say, 7471075042732 — no matter what it repre-
sented? There's got to be a better way. And there is. A great way! A
fascinating and fun way to use letters to enable you to remember
numbers. And I mean to remember numbers as no one ever could
before — practically to read them off your mind as if reading them
from a computer screen.
It's so easy. Just make each of the alphabet's main consonant
sounds represent one of the ten numerical digits from 1 to 0. Let the
sound that the letter T makes always represent or mean the digit 1 . The
letter D makes basically the same sound, so that, too, means 1 . Let the
n sound represent the digit 2, the m sound the digit 3.
I'll teach you to remember all the letters of the alphabet easily —
in any combination, that is — later. Right now, remembering these
specific letter sounds and their numerical equivalents is child's play,
literally. Play this game: Think of the letter T made up of digit I's.
One 1 is perpendicular, the other (the crossbar) is lying on the first one.
Or, if you like, think of the typewritten letter T as having one

downstroke.
A typewritten n has two downstrokes — so the sound of n means
2. A typewritten m has three downstrokes; count 'em. Or, turn an m
on its side and it looks exactly like a 3. Or, think of one of our large
firms — the 3M Corporation. These little reminders work even for
children because they're so easy and obvious.
R is 4. Just think of the last sound in the word fouR. Or look at a
printed R; with only a small stretch of the imagination it looks like a
stick figure of a golfer about to tee off — and he yells, "Fore!" Think
of that for a second or two.
L is 5. The Roman numeral for 50 is L. Or hold up your open left
hand, thumb extended to the right, as if signaling "stop." Those 5

fingers form the shape of an L. Or, visualize an el (elevated) train with
5 cars.
J is 6. The digit 6 is almost the mirror image of a J:
O U
Silly? Yes. But think about it for a second or two, and you've set a
reminder. A soft g (as in "general") makes the same sound, so that,
too, represents 6, because, it's the sounds that are important here. Ch
and sh also mean 6, since they're virtually the same sounds. When
making all of these sounds, the tip of the tongue curls downward and
touches the inner side of your lower teeth.
The sound made by the letter K will always represent 7. Want a
memory aid for that — which you'll need only at first to register the
information? You could visualize a 7-layer cake. I like this better: a
right-side-up and an almost-upside-down 7 will form a K. Look:
K or hard c (as in "crazy") or hard g (as in "go") mean 7.

And, a handwritten small f has two loops, one above the other, just
as does the digit 8:
Put a "tail" at the center of that 8 and it looks like a handwritten f. If

you prefer, think "I ate (8) food." So, the sound f — or v or ph (same
sound) — represents 8. The digit 9 is easy; look at it in a mirror and
So
you'll see a P. the sound P — or B (same pursed lips, or blowing
sound) — means 9.
The last one, (zero or cipher), is represented by the s, z, soft c

(as in "cent") sound. Your reminder is that zero and cipher both start
with the hissing sound. That's all there is. If you paid attention to the
reminders, you should already have them memorized, and that's the
same as knowing them.
Go over these once or twice, going by the sounds not the letters.
Use the sounds because individual letters can make different sounds in
English, like the hard or soft c, or the different t sounds in "hot"

(meaning 1) and "caution" (meaning 6). Once you know this Phonetic
Number/ Alphabet, you'll always know it, since you'll be using it all
the time.
1 = T, D 6 = J, sh, ch, soft g
2 = n 7 = K, hard c, hard g
3 = m 8 = f, V, ph
4 = R 9 = P, B
5 = L = z, s, soft c
If you had trouble with any of them, even slight hesitation, just go
over the reminders, the memory aids, I gave you. And you'll know
them. You'll also know them out of order and inside out. That means
that you should be able to fill in the blanks at the top of the next page,
quickly. Try it.
.
4 = n = sh = 1 = or
- P,B = 7 = V =
6 = L = 5 = T =
3 = 8 = 9 = 2 =
R = s = soft g = D =
hard g ^ ch = m = hard c =
That's all there is to the Phonetic Number/ Alphabet. Plus these

few points: The vowels, aeiou, are "wild cards," the connectors.
They have no numerical value; they just make it easy to form words
and phrases, as you'll see. For example, belt is 951. The "soft"
consonants w, h, and y {why) have no value either (although the h, of
course, changes the sound of some letters, as when it follows a c). The
th sound is considered the same as t: it represents 1
Double letters represent only one digit because they make one
sound. "Butter" is 914; "pillow" is 95. The word "attention"
breaks down, or transposes, to 1262 (tt is 1, n is 2, t [sh sound] is 6,
n is 2). Silent letters have no value, because they have no sound. So,
"climb" is 753, not 7539; the b is silent. "Knot" is 21 and "bomb"
is 93. Got it? If you do, you've learned one of the most important
things ever when it comes to remembering numbers. You simply can't
imagine how helpful it will be. Stay with me.
Here's a short quiz, just to make sure you've "got" it. Transpose
the following to the proper digits:
printer = aggravate =
desk = clearing =
collar = ashen =
tenement = placed =
crayon = special =
elbow = gigantic =
Lorayne = silliness =
You can check whether or not your answers are correct in a

moment. I just want to touch on two letters — q and x. The q is always
pronounced "k," so it's a 7. The x is transposed to a number
according to how it's sounded in a particular word. Example: The x is
pronounced "gs" in "egsample," so it transposes to 70. That's usually

the case. Not in "anxious," however; that's "ankshious" — the x
transposes to 76. Don't worry about it; you won't be using q or x.
Make sure you've got these right:
printer == 94214 aggravate = 7481
desk = 107 clearing = 75427
collar = 754 ashen ^ 62
tenement = 12321 placed = 9501
crayon = 742 special = 0965
elbow = 59 gigantic = 67217
Lorayne = 542 silliness = 0520
All right; you've just acquired the basic tool for remembering
numbers. I don't mean to use this as a cliff-hanger, but I have no
choice. There's a thing or two I have to teach you before I can really
show you how to apply this idea, how to memorize numbers, of any
kind and of any length. I'll soon cover that "thing or two," but don't
you "lose" the Phonetic Number/ Alphabet. It's much too important.
Set it into your mind, practice it. It's easy; you don't have to take
"time out" in order to practice. When you see a word or phrase on a
billboard or sign, mentally transpose it to digits. And vice versa. When
you see a number (perhaps on a license plate), mentally tranpose the
digits to sounds. Before you know it you'll be doing this as if you've

done it all your life. The digits/sounds will be locked in. In the
meantime . . .
Evan R. Bell (Partner, Cogan Bell and Company): A person with a
fabulous memory makes herself or himself more indispensable to me.
Of course, that person is also very capable. Difficult to separate the two
things. With occasional exceptions, I find that people with exceptional
memories are also quite capable.
Arlie Lazarus (President and COO, Jamesway Corporation): Wipe

away memory and there is no experience.
Peter Kougasian (Assistant District Attorney, Director of Legal Staff

Training, Manhattan, New York): The difference between an effective
professional, effective executive, and a noneffective professional is
that effective professionals do not forget. . . .
If a person in my office kept forgetting, that person wouldn't go

very far. We can't accept forgetting because that person would not be
professional; nonprofessionals do not do their jobs properly — and that
wastes money.
7
No Paper!
Your Mind Is
Your Daily Planner
ust about every executive considers it important to know exactly

—
J what he or she has
today or tomorrow.
to accompHsh during a particular day
Harvey Leeds (Vice President of Promotion, Epic Records,

division of CBS): Remembering things to do each business day?
That's a large part of the lifeblood of my position. That's so for all
the executives I know.
Evan R. Bell (Partner; Cogan Bell and Company, financial

management): Yes, it's vital that I remember things to do. I write
'em down.
63
a
HL: What if you lost that paper?

ERB: I'd be out of business!
Mel Brooks: If I'm supposed to call, say, a Mr. Carpenter —

money man, a backer — who has his checkbook ready, and I
forget to call, it's possible I've given him too much time to think.
He may change his mind. You simply don't forget to make a phone
call in that position. You've got one shot.
Some of the executives I interviewed were not aware of the fact

that errands and appointments can be remembered, and that pieces of
paper aren't really necessary (except as backups, perhaps).
Peter Kougasian: Boy, I'm like the fellow who sets four alarm
clocks. I write my errands in my pocket diary, and in my desk
diary, and my secretary reminds me, and so on. I don't want to
forget any. If I could remember daily things to do, confidently and
definitely, that'd be fantastic —a lifesaver!
You can remember errands and appointments by number in —

other words, so you'd know the fourth thing you want to take care of
tomorrow (or today), and the eighth thing, and so on. You can
remember daily or weekly appointments; that is, you can remember
appointments by the hour {today) or by day and hour (all week). I'll
ultimately teach you how to do all that, of course, but before you can
swim you've got to get into the water. So right now, I'll show you the
easiest way to remember various unnumbered things you want to do

tomorrow.
Philip A. Bossert of Business Week told me that he usually has
"about six things to do each business day. I'd love to be able just to
remember them rather than put them on paper. I also number them; I
want to remember them in order, or sequence. I always list what I have

to do the next day on the night before. " I assured him that I could teach
him to remember unlimited errands per day, in order or by number, and
asked him what he would think of that. Said he: "I'd feel I can walk
on water!"
No Paper! Youi Mind Is Your Daily Planner 65
If you feel even a little bit like that you'll appreciate this! Let me
invent a list of things you may need to do, at the office and outside of
the office. I'll use only tangible objects for this list. But each will bring
to mind an errand. For example, if I told you to think "hotel," it'd be

because one of the things you must do tomorrow is arrange for a
conference room at a certain hotel. I'm assuming that you really know
what you have to do — you just need reminders. Here's your list:
book (pick up particular one)
radio (discuss planned radio commercials with advertising

agency)
accountant (meet with accounting personnel)
airplane (order airline tickets for business trip)
carpenter (must call Mr. Jason Carpenter)
dentist (mustn't forget dental appointment)
gift (send to hostess)

hotel (arrange for conference)
speech (must do research for planned speech)
telephone (check estimates for new office telephone system —
decision due today)
HL: Ralph, what's your trick to help you remember things to do

tomorrow?
Ralph Destino: I write them down on these little pieces of paper
and stick them on my mirror at home. In the morning, I'm knotting
my tie in that mirror. There they are. One problem, though. I've
missed a thing or two to do occasionally because two of those
pieces of paper were stuck one on the other in my mirror — I saw
only one of the two.
Throw away the pieces of paper. They're not needed! Let's

remember these ten errands in sequence. You won't necessarily do
them in sequence, nor have they necessarily come to mind in any
particular order, but let's remember them in sequence. Begin by

visualizing a book. That is, see a book in your mind's eye.
New information is remembered by connecting it to something you
already know. My rule: In order to remember a new thing, you
must associate it, in some ridiculous way, with something you ,
already know/remember. We'll assume that you already know/re-

member book. We'll start applying the rule of association with the next
item —radio. What you want to accomplish is to force the thing you
already know (book) to remind you of the new thing (radio). Form a
silly, ridiculous, bizarre, impossible image or picture in your mind —
imagine it — connecting those two, and only those two, things.
Do not form a logical picture. A book lying near or on a radio is
too mundane, everyday, logical. It is exactly the sort of thing we don't

remember. It doesn't slap your face. If you see yourself turning on a
radio and having millions of books fly out of it and hit you — that'll
slap your face. If you turn a knob on a gigantic book and music comes
blaring out because it's a radio — that'll slap your face. And so will
opening a book only to have radios fly out.
I'll suggest two or three pictures for each entity of two, but you
need only one, and the technique works much better if you think of the
image yourself. Then you'll be forcing yourself to concentrate on those
two things as you never did before, and without pain. Right now,
though, I have no choice but to make the suggestions. Select one of the
silly pictures, or one you think of yourself and — here's the most
important step — be sure you really see it in your mind. See it for at
least a split second, then stop trying. That's book to radio.
Next, associate radio (don't use book now — that's done) to

accountant, or anything that'll remind you of accountant. You might
see many radios {millions of an item helps to make your picture crazy,
impossible) bent over their desks, working on the corporate books. Or
see your accountant writing numbers on a gigantic radio. (Imagining
things as larger than life also helps to form an impossible picture.) Or,
you're counting radios. Select the image you think is most ridiculous
or one you thought of yourself. See it — really. Radio and accountant.
Accountant must now remind you of airplane. Airplanes (many)
are doing the books, or millions of accountants are boarding a plane,
or you're counting lots of airplanes. You can visualize the same basic
picture as for the preceding, but with airplane{s) now. Select and see.
Accountant and airplane.

Airplane to carpenter. Beware of logic: A carpenter working on a
plane is not impossible or ridiculous. But an airplane sawing wood.
No Paper! Your Mind Is Your Daily Planner 67
hammering nails, is. You could also see a carpenter flying (spreading
his arms) instead o/an airplane. (See one item doing what the other
should do.) Airplane and carpenter.
Carpenter to dentist. Almost obvious. A carpenter is working on
your teeth — with hammer, chisel, saw, and so on. Or see your dentist
being a carpenter (building a tooth in your mouth). Incorporating
action is another aid for forming silly pictures. Use either image, or
one you thought of, and see it. Carpenter and dentist.
Easy, isn't it? And it doesn't matter how many errands there are.
Let's do the rest. Dentist has to remind you of gift. See your dentist
pulling a gift out of your mouth! If you usually send flowers, he's
pulling out a gigantic bouquet. Or see a large gift being a dentist,
working on you. See one picture. Dentist and gift.
Gift to hotel. Bouquets of flowers, gifts, are sitting around a
conference table, or entering a hotel. Or you're giving someone a gift
of a hotel. Visualize it wrapped with ribbons. See it. Gift and hotel.
Hotel to speech. A gigantic hotel is making a speech — or you're
delivering a speech to an audience consisting of hotels!

The illogical, silly pictures come to mind easily. But I want you to
think of them a little bit, apply a bit of effort — that's what forces the
concentration. That, and seeing the picture you select. Right now, see
your picture of hotel and speech.
Speech to telephone. A gigantic telephone is making a speech. Or
a man making a speech is flying out of your telephone as you pick it
up. Speech and telephone.

If you've seen all the pictures, you're in for a pleasant surprise —
or shock. Think of book (if at any time that first item doesn't come to
mind right away, just think o^ any item and work backward), and that
must remind you of . . . what? Radio, of course. Try it on your own —

all the way to the end.
Did you get 'em you had trouble with one or two, it was
all? If
only because your picture for that wasn't silly enough or, more likely,
you didn't really see it in your mind. So go back and change the picture
or see it do both. You'll even know them backward!
clearly or
You have formed a Link of those errands you have Linked —
them. This is the Link System of memory. It is used to help remember
sequential information.
Practically speaking, you should foitn the Link the night before —
as the errands come to mind. In the morning, go over the Link
mentally. It takes no time, because you do it while you're doing
something else — having your coffee, exercising, showering, shaving,
dressing. If another errand comes to mind, add it on to the Link —

associate it to the last item, that's all. During the rest of the day, simply
go over the Link every once in a while. Do the errand that's
convenient, and so on, until you're through.
With this system, there's no way you can "forget" even one of the
things you have to do. You may decide not to do it today (add it to
tomorrow's Link, or start tomorrow's Link with it), but you won't
forget it. Go over the Link before you leave for home, just to be sure
you've accomplished everything.
I've told you that I'll mention how to remember specific appoint-
ments, but I know that for many executives this simple Link technique
serves the purpose admirably. You can use the Link System for many
things: for sequential pieces of information that you don't need to
retain, like this one-day errand list, which will be wiped out as you
Link your errands for another day, and for pieces of information, lists,
that you do want to retain — if not forever, perhaps for a week, month,
or a year. Retention is set by use — the more often you use the
information, the longer you'll retain it, of course. (You might want to
teach the technique to your spouse; it may be used, quite effectively,
to remember a shopping list.)
Bernadette Skubly-Butts (Account Executive, Air France): For-

getting things to do, in my business? Like I got a letter from a VIP,
I mean a VIP, requesting a ticket on the Concorde. I dropped the
letter on my desk, and proceeded to forget to take care of it. I
remembered just in time — the day before he had to fly. I could

have lost a very, very, important account. Teach me, show me,
help me!
I just did!
Before you continue reading, and learning, please turn back to chapter
4 and take Test 1 again. It's important to you, and to me, that you do
so. I want you to compare scores — before and after. Then, you can
make up and try to remember some lists for practice. But the best
practice is to start using the technique, on the job, now.
Some important points: Understand that actually forming a Link in

your mind takes di fraction of the time it takes me to teach you how to
do it. Once you get into the swing of it, you'll do it faster than you can
write out a list, although speed is not necessarily a factor. The pictures
you see in your mind will evaporate as the information becomes

knowledge; by the third or fourth time you've used the information,
the associations are no longer necessary. They are simply a means to
an end. That's why you can make as many Links as you want to or
need to.
There are many ways to use the Link System in business; I'll touch
on a few later. The following usage, for lawyers, will give you a sense
of the wide applicability of this technique. Herald Price Fahringer is
one of the best-known trial attorneys in New York. He defended

socialite Claus von Bulow during the first of von Bulow's widely
publicized murder trials. In Fahringer' s opinion, jury selection is the
most important part of a criminal trial. In an article on this subject in
the A^^vv York Law Journal, he lists the "topics of inquiry" that an
attorney should know and pursue in order "to gain the necessary
knowledge to make an enlightened choice." He talks of having a
written list but adds: "On the other hand, to be effective . . . counsel
should try to avoid the use of notes. Being 'pad bound' is distracting.
A good trial lawyer wants to establish a great deal of eye contact with
the jurors." Fahringer then suggests employing my Link System. He
uses it.
I've selected nine of his "topics of inquiry" to show how the Link
method works with this kind of information. When selecting a jury,
you want to know about each juror's /am/Zy background and circum-
stances: spouse's occupation, number of children, their age and sex.
You want to know his occupation: how much authority he has, how
many positions held in the past. Education: high school, college,
degrees, which schools. Does he have a relationship with any law
enforcement agencies? So far, if I were forming a list/Link, I'd have
culled from these larger questions four points of reference: family.
occupation, education, and relationship (you may prefer to use "law

enforcement" here, or, preferably, a relation who is a law enforcer),
because each word brings the whole thought to mind. That's all I'd
need. Let's continue.

What newspapers and magazines does he read? How
Publicity:
much has he read or heard about the case?And another topic: Has the
juror ever been the victim of a crime? You'll also want to know about
prior ywry service, if any. Criminal or civil case? What are the potential
juror's hobbies? How does he spend his leisure time? Favorite

television show? Has he done any military service? Branch, rank,
combat?
Fahringer's list contains more topics of inquiry, of course, and
even so, he says that it is by no means complete. Topics are added to
the list, or taken from it, to meet the specific needs of each particular
case. I'll show you how to Link these nine; exactly the same technique
is used to Link any number of concepts. Here's the list of reminders:
family, occupation, education, relationship, publicity,

crime, jury, hobbies, military
Form a Link exactly as you've just learned to do with concrete,

distinct, items. Now you're working with concepts, but they too evoke
images — and that's what's important. All you have to do is focus on
the visual image that each conjures up in your mind.
I wanted "family" to remind me of "occupation." So I visualized
people who looked exactly alike {family) being occupied. They were
all busy, paying no attention to each other. (Work along with me for
practice.) "Occupation" must remind me of "education." Form a

completely separate association. People of all different occupations —
see hardhats, painters, white-collar workers, and so forth — sitting in
a schoolroom being students {education). See that picture.

Education to relationship with any law enforcement agency.
Imagine many policemen (law enforcement) rushing into the school-
room and hugging, kissing, the students —
because they're relations.
See that silly picture.
Relationship io publicity. See your relations being interviewed by

newspaper reporters. If you don't want to visualize your own relations.
use the police, since they represented relations in your last association.
Or see your relations (real or police) reading lots of newspapers and

magazines. Your choice — but see it, and you already know the first
few topics of inquiry.

Publicity to crime. See many thieves stealing reporters' cameras
and notebooks. Thieves = crime; reporters = publicity. Crime to
prior jury service. A crime is being committed in the jury box, against
all the jurors, at the same time. Or twelve murderers are sitting in the
box — they are the jury.
Jury to hobbies. All members of the jury are collecting stamps,

participating in other hobbies — paying no attention to counsel,
witnesses, or judge. Hobbies to military^ You might see millions of
gigantic stamps (hobby) carrying rifles, marching off to war (military).
If you were using this technique as Fahringer does, as you

interrogated the juror, one topic would automatically lead to the next.
Even if you were interrupted, for any reason, you would be able to get
right back into your Link. Stop for a moment; see if you know all the
topics.
I want you to see that you can Link and therefore remember
concepts such as these topics of inquiry. Apply exactly the same
techniques to help you remember, say, the questions you want to ask
during a business negotiation: When can this contract go into effect?
Will the deal be worldwide? What percentage of the agreed-upon

money changes hands on signing? Can we have at least two of our own
people closely involved at all times? And so forth. The technique can
also be used by doctors to remember the list of questions to be asked
during a patient's physical checkup. Do you have any allergies? Does
anyone in your family have allergies? Are you on any medication? Do
you smoke? Drink? When did you last have a complete physical? And
more, of course.
The Link method of memory is a strong weapon to use in your
battle against "forgetting"!
J. K. Hartman (Managing Director and CEO, Scudder, Stevens and
Our business has two hats
Clark, investment counselors): one is the —
investment stuff, the other is the cHent side. Both sides are heavily
rooted in memory. We think of people like Bernard Baruch and John
Templeton as having the "nose," a "smell" — having intuitive skills,
hunches. It boils down to memory. They remembered facts. It's all
experience, knowledge, memory — an associative process. They think

of a stock or industry and long histories of industry movements, special
ratios, how it does in up and down markets, and much more flashes
through their minds. It's all associative; that's why memory is really
the key to their seeming intuitive or genius response. You have to
remember the history before you can come up with an "intuitive"
response.
HL: So without memory you couldn't really advise a client properly —
you'd be shooting fish in a barrel.
JKH: Sure. The difference between an unseasoned beginner and one

who's been through it is the buildup of the memory bank, experience.
To apply any analysis to the stock market, you must remember the
history of the stock market.
8
Memory
Makes for Effective
Time Management
Remember to Save Time in Business
by Spending It Wisely
read it in every book on achieving business success — the

I've"million-dollar idea" for managing time: Don't let a piece of
paper go through your hands more than once. That is, handle it,
delegate it, throw it away. Well, that's a pretty good timesaving idea,
but the truth is, it's more of a memory aid than anything else.
actually
You see, too often it's when you drop that piece of paper somewhere
on your desk, thinking, "I'll take care of it later or tomorrow," that
you forget about it. You may come across it a week or a month later
and it's the smack-palm-on-forehead moment: "Damn! I forgot all
about this."
The "million-dollar idea" is really the do-it-now concept. Do it;
that way you can't forget it — it's done. I asked a few executives
73
whether they agreed that the handle-it-only-once idea was really a
memory aid, and a very good one at that.
J. K. Hartman: The million-dollar idea. Sure. It's an oversim-
plification, of course, but I agree that it's a memory aid. Thinking

you"ll do it later is the killer. That's when you forget it. And one
of the biggest infringers, offenders, and negators of time manage-
ment is forgetting!
William Seco {Vice President of Sales and Engineering, EDP

World. Inc. }: Of course. And the more time my people can save by
remembering things — not forgetting — the more money they can
make.
Doing it at that moment is a great time-saver — because it
eliminates forgetting. It's the put-it-into-your-briefcase-n^/ir-«mvrule.
Go into a Sloppy Joe diner during lunch hour. Watch the short-order
cook use time effectively: No matter what order the waiter calls, the
cook immediately takes out one key ingredient that will remind him of
that order. That's a double-edger; it's a do-it-at-that-moment trick that
doesn't allow forgetting! Think about it. That strip of bacon instantly
tossed onto the grill is much better than the proverbial string around
your finger, because the string will only remind you that you wanted
to remember something. The strip of bacon reminds the short-order
cook of a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich!
Richard Schlott (President. Schlott Realtors — 150 offices, 6,000

employees): Ever}' top executive I know always
is in a time
bind — feels he can't possibly get it alldone — always. Sure, that

million-dollar time idea is really an aid to remembering. Abso-
lutely: leave it for later and it's forgotten.
Plutarch wrote that "the greatest of all sacrifices is the sacrifice of
time." There's no question that this is the one area where we're all
equal. Each minute contains sixty seconds, every hour consists of sixty
minutes, and every day made up of twenty-four hours, no matter

is
who is usmiz that minute, hour, or dav. No matter who vou are or who
Memory Makes for Effective Time Management 75
you know, there's no way to squeeze an extra second, minute, or hour

into that minute, hour, or day. So, the only way to gain or save time
is to spend it wisely, to use it effectively.
One time-saver that everyone I interviewed agreed on is planning

your day. In many cases, of course, that's automatic — your day is
filled with appointments, perhaps. Fine. But if it isn't, if that's not the
way your business operates, plan your day. I've already given you help
in that department. Form a Link that tells you the things you must do
today — the daily planner in your mind! Forming that Link does three
things for you:
1. It enables you to remember the things to do.

2. \i forces you to plan your day; just thinking of all those things
to do begins the planning for you.
3. It's a commitment. The act of forming the Link implies that you
are committing yourself to that plan.
I learned an interesting rule from a few executives I interviewed

for this book. It's the "80-20 rule." In most businesses, 80 percent of
the accounts receivable are from 20 percent of the clients.
That 80-20 rule applies to quite a few areas, including time

management. It's easy enough to memorize, say, twenty-five things to
do tomorrow now that you know how to form a Link. The problem is,
there's no way you'll make the time to do them all. The 80-20 rule is
sometimes referred to as the vital fewI trivial many concept. Cull out
the trivial many, keep the vital few on your list — plan properly — and
you'll save time.
Stick to your plan for the day as closely as you can and you're
probably using time effectively. Of course, you know that you must
leave some unscheduled time in your plan, for relaxation and for
emergencies that have a habit of arising. (Every time you make plans,
life happens!) But while some flexibility within your plan is necessary,
unlimited flexibility is a time-waster. Using the Link should both

organize your time more efficiently and act as a motivator.
There's more. It's difficult to plan the things to do in a day without
deciding what your goals are for that day. So in making a Link you're
forced, without realizing it, to do that, too — to get your goals clear in
your mind. Once those goals are clear, the plan becomes a list of
actions that will lead to the attainment of those goals. Planning to meet
those goals by doing certain things within a specified time frame is
good time management.

I follow another time-saving subrule, which may just be the
antithesis of yours, and, again, it's also a memory^ aid. Under most
circumstances I do the things that can wait^r^r, then I do the urgent
ones! You see, the urgent things are — well — urgent; they get done
because they're urgent; you have to take care of them, and those are
newer forgotten — they're too urgent! It's those chores that can wait
that usually do wait and wait, and linger, and cause aggravation and
indecision, and waste time because you don't get to them for one
reason or another. One of those reasons is that you forget them. When
you know there are urgent duties waiting, it's amazing how quickly
the minor decisions are made, and the things that "can wait" get
done!
Make it a habit to start things on time. That habit alone can save
you hundreds of hours a year. Make up your mind to start on time, and
it becomes habit. It's the "laters" that do you in: most "laters" are
forgotten, and forgetting wastes time!
Another simple time-saving truth: Most everything takes more
time than you think it will. Leave yourself cushions of time, to take
care of that. If you think you can handle a particular chore in half an
hour, schedule forty-five minutes. You can't lose. If it takes forty-five
minutes, you've scheduled for it. If it takes less time, do something
else, something you'd have had to keep until tomorrow. (I don't read
the six-month-old magazines in doctors' offices — I bring work with
me. I'm sure I've written at least two books during flying time, train
time, waiting in offices, airports, and on-lines time. It's a great feeling,
too. I haven't wasted time, nor have I let delays or other people's
inefficiency waste it for me. It's my time!)
And when the boss asks you to do something, just try saying
either, "If I remember," or "If I have the time." If he or she is
anything like me — and those I interviewed are — you'll hear "Just do

it," or something that means exactly that.
That's my number-one time-saving device, advice, remark, cliche:
Just do it!
HL: Richard, what's important to remember when you're an architect?
Richard Roth, Jr. (President, Emery Roth and Sons, architects — the
firm that helped design the World Trade Center, the Pan Am Building,
and the Citicorp Building, among others): [After a long silence.] The
reason I haven't answered you yet is because memory is important in
just about every area in this business. Besides the normal "people"
things like remembering names, faces, phone numbers, appointments,
and so forth, architects have to remember blueprints, differences in
edifices, building codes and landmark dos and don'ts in different cities,
"ball-park" contractor, service, and supply prices, and so much more.

You also asked about forgetting. Generally speaking, the person
who forgets is too often worthless. The person who has a great
memory, in all areas, has made himself indispensable to us.
9
Decision Making/
Problem Solving/
Memoiy
A Key Component in the Success Equation
Sometimes I find it awfully difficult to decide what to order

when I'm dining out! (Even though I've usually memorized
I
the entire menu.) My wife and guests squirm impatiently as I
struggle to make that decision. My excuse is, "Gimme a break; when

I write, every word is a decision! I've made thousands of decisions
today, so it's difficult to make one when I'm not working not —
writing." This is usually said half facetiously. I found out, via the
interviews for this book, that most CEOs view their lives as being
equally decision-filled. They spend their days, and perhaps nights,

making business decisions and solving business problems (and then
can't decide what to eat!).
78
Decision Making I Problem Solving I Memory 79
Ralph Destino: I couldn't make business decisions without my

memory. I don't like to agonize over decisions. I make them
quickly. I make them instinctively. What allows them to be
instinctive? It's a direct outflow from memory. It's fundamental —
all the things I remember help me make those "instinctive"
decisions.
I've heard it said that Lee lacocca makes snap decisions — too
quickly. Well, because of his memory, his vast body of knowl-
edge, he can do that. He's usually right!
HL: As we've agreed, everyone in a managerial position is a
decision maker. You too.
Cy Leslie: Every hour of every day. The more I remember about

a situation, the faster and better each decision can be made. It's a
store of information that's absolutely vital in making my decision.
To know, to commit to memory, to be able to pull out of memory

is very vital.
Interesting — when my secretary told me that you had called

to interview me, Harry, I remembered that we'd done some
business together twenty-six years ago. I remembered you kindly,
in a good sense. That memory helped me make the instant decision
to see you.
All executives are decision makers and problem solvers. There are
rules, dos and don'ts, to aid the executive in making decisions and
solving problems. It's difficult, sometimes, to separate those two
areas. The basic difference between the two is that in decision making
there is usually a choice whereas in problem solving there must be a
solution. A few of my interviewees used almost the same words when
they described the importance of memory in these areas. Peter
Kougasian must make decisions in his work. "Without memory," he
said, "how could I make them intelligently? I couldn't. The more I
remember, the more intelligent, and usually right, is my decision."

And Philip A. Bossert said, "You have to remember all the facts. The
more facts you remember, the more intelligent your decision will be —
the better and faster your solution to a problem."
Of course. It's important for us to remember what occurred in the

past in order to make a decision in the present that's going to be used
in ihe future.
There is a theory you should know about. Most of the executives

I interviewed did not know about it. It's the minimax theory.
Duehng with pistols — ten paces, turn, and fire — is what gave
birth to the minimax theory. The duelists, pistols in hand, stand back
to back, then walk away from each other counting off ten paces — then
whirl and fire. It would seem that the best thing to do would be to whirl
and fire rapidly, before the other person does. But wait. Each person
has only one bullet in his pistol. What if you whirl, fire quickly — and
miss?
You haven't solved a problem, you've created one. You've
enabled your opponent to take the time to aim and fire. Well then,
what's the right thing to do — let your opponent shoot first, hope he
misses, and then take your time to aim and fire? But what if he doesn't
miss? What if he has second-guessed you? He believes you intend to
let him fire first, so he'll take his time to aim before he fires.
Is a puzzlement!
Theoretically, it's best to whirl and fire — but to do so at the
proper instant. That instant is the one split second where chance of
failure (missing) is at its minimwxn and chance for success (scoring a
hit) is at its maximum. That's the instant during which to fire; that's the
minimax instant. When exactly is that instant? I don't know, and I
don't think you'll get the answer from anyone but a great duelist! The
answer would entail thorough knowledge of the entire situation. The
facts you remember would help toward pinpointing that elusive instant:
Is your opponent an experienced duelist? Has he dueled before and
won? Was he ever wounded? Is he a hunter, or is he afraid of the sport?

What's the rate of speed of your whirl? His whirl? How does your
marksmanship rate? His marksmanship? And so on.
It's nice that you will probably never have to decide when to fire
at an opponent. But we do make business decisions every day. Be

aware of the minimax theory when making these decisions, because
there is always, in every situation, that one fleeting instant within
which you have the minimum chance of failure and the maximum
chance for success. That "fleeting instant" could be as short as a
moment or as long as a month. But just knowing that the minimax

instant exists and that memory^ is a great help toward pinpointing it will
make you reach for it with more awareness, and perhaps more success.
Bear it in mind and you'll be a better decision-maker: you will
eventually know just when to pull the trigger! As Joseph V. Casale
said to me during our interview, "Making intelligent decisions is my
business, my profession. Without memory it's a gamble."
Thinking in the past is remembering; thinking in the present is
often problem solving, decision making. (Thinking in the future is
anticipating.) Now, a few quick problem-solving rules; memory is a

large part of the second rule, but first things first. The first rule for
problem solving is: Define the problem precisely — "precisely"
meaning to weed out the unessential incidentals. List only the
essentials of the problem — exactly what is wrong, where it is wrong,
and, if you can find out, why it's wrong. Most problems precisely
defined are already partially solved. And in some instances, when you
can find out exactly what's wrong and why, the problem is solved.
If not, list all the obstacles standing in the way of solution. Beside
each obstacle note any and all solutions for just that individual
obstacle, no matter how farfetched. Use my memory systems to
memorize these obstacles/solutions, if you like, and you'll be accel-
erating toward the decision-making moment (perhaps the ''minimax''
moment) — the solution to the main problem — at top speed.
What you've done is search out the core problem within the overall
problem; you're ready to attack the octopus, not just its tentacles. I
remember being told by a student of mine who designed bridges that

the actual construction of a bridge is not usually the core problem, nor
is that the matter about which most of the decisions have to be made.
Foreseeing the traffic is the main problem. Deciding, judging, such
things as where most of the traffic will be coming from and where it
will be going is key. How heavy will it be at peak hours, and how
much heavier will it get in the future? The traffic is the core problem,
not the bridge itself. As always, remembering past similar situations
would help to find the core problem and get to the answers to these
questions faster.
The second rule: Know the facts you need to solve that problem.
That means remember them. Facts are the essential tools for any kind
of thinking, certainly for decision making or problem solving. That's

where memory comes in, of course. The more facts you remember about
any specific problem, the easier it is to solve. But if you don't remember
enough facts, you'd better know where and how to get them. Gather as
much information as you can — within a reasonable span of time.
Waiting to get Qwevy possible fact is too close to indecision. The cost of
information must also be taken into consideration.
Scott Marcus: There's absolutely no question that memory is
important in decision making. The ability to remember similar

situations and experiences is crucial. That holds for problem
solving, too.
When you feel you know all the facts, apply the third rule: Keep
an open mind and weigh all sides of the problem. The first step
should be to ask yourself: How in the world did we allow this to
happen? Who or what got us into this predicament? Why did this
become a problem in the first place? Find the causes.
Then, again, your experience, your memory, comes into play.
Thinking clearly is what it boils down to. Consider, weigh, each aspect
of the problem and then, apply the fourth rule: Let your thoughts lead
to action, in order to, figuratively speaking, GOYA (get off your ass),
determine what the outcome of your thinking should be. Try to
visualize what solution/decision is best for the firm. How soon would
you actually want to see action taken? Within what budget? How much
risk are you willing to accept? Who should you assign to handle it?
Then — act.
So, the decision-making, problem-solving rules and subrules:
1. Define the problem precisely.

• Get to the core of that problem.
2. Know the facts you need to solve that problem.

• Gather all the information you can pertaining to the problem.
3. Keep an open mind and weigh all sides of the problem.

•How and why was the problem caused?
• Who or what caused it?
4. Let your thoughts lead to action.

• Visualize what you'd lilce the outcome to be.
• Make your decision, reach your solution — and act on it.
Your intuition, instinct, and experience will come to bear through-

out this process. To me, and to all the top-level executives I discussed
it with, there can be no intuition or experience (and probably no
instinct) without memory.
HL: What qualifications are needed to be successful in your business?
William Seco (Vice President of Sales and Engineering, EDP World,
Aside from the ability to establish credibility and salesmanship
Inc.):
and all that good stuff, memory is very important. I was promoted to
my position because of who and what I remember. Wipe out my
memory and I couldn't hold this position. If I can't remember the
computer executives I have available, what their qualifications are, on

which computers they're expert, which firms need executives with
what expertise — what good am I? Without my memory, the company
doesn't need me!
HL: Are you saying that if a new person in a similar company could
remember fairly rapidly the things you already know, he or she would
reach your position?
WS: Sure. And we're an information business. It's okay to say, "I'll
look it up," but only a couple of times. You'd better remember the
answers.
HL: Has forgetting anything ever cost you an opportunity?
WS: Oh, sure.
HL: Can you tell me what?

WS: I forgot!
10
Continue
Making Numbers
Easy to Remember
Juggle Them as never Before
A
practice
on
few chapters back, you made
during your business day.
in
list.
sequence only.
But
that list?" could
if I
Most
asked you right now,
you tell me
a Link of ten things to
You remembered
likely, you
"What
still
is
instantly? Without counting

the ten things
remember
the sixth errand
on your
do
that
fingers? I don't think so; you must count to it in order to know

its numerical position. That's okay; knowing them in sequence is
computerlike. But, in this chapter, we'll eliminate the ''like" — and

really make your mind work better than a computer!
85
Harvey Leeds: Being able to remember well is essential in my

business. There are other essential areas, but memory has to be
way up there.
Harry Lorayne: I know you have to remember telephone num-
bers, which radio station call letters go with which city, and the
names of program or music directors at specific radio stations.
Leeds: And appointments.

Lorayne: You said something that interested me in that regard.
You said that when you write down things to do for each business
day, you find it "sets" more firmly in your mind if you list them
by number.
Leeds: Yeah; I don't know exactly why. I don't necessarily handle
them in that numerical order. But for me writing reinforces
remembering for certain information.
Lorayne: That's good. You use writing as an aid to memory, not

as a substitute for it. Many executives tell me the same thing. But
what would happen if you lost or misplaced that paper?
Leeds: I'd remember a lot of the things to do. Those I'd forget
would cause aggravation.
You'll eliminate that aggravation if you simply remember the

information. And you do not have to write any data next to the
numbers 1 to 10 in order to know that data from number 1 to 10. No,
you don't! Back, then, to numbers and the Phonetic Number/ Alphabet.
Think of your (or any) tie — a man's tie — and that will tell you what
the first thing is. There is only one consonant sound in the word "tie,"
and that one consonant sound (t) can represent only one digit: I . So,
if you see yourself wearing a bicycle around your neck instead of a tie,
or a bicycle wearing a tie, or a gigantic tie riding a bicycle, that would
tell you that the number-one thing you have to do tomorrow is, say,
check on that shipment of bicycles!

You could also use other words: tea, aid, dye, toe, ade, hat, ate,
hot, and so on. Seeing any one of them in your mind would work as
well. I've selected the words I think are easiest to visualize, and easiest
to fit into associations. Obviously, a thing can be visualized; abstract
numbers cannot. But it's basically an arbitrary selection on my part.
I'll be teaching you the Peg Words (that's what I call them) that I've
Continue Making Numbers Easy to Remember 87
used to represent numbers for many years. And let me anticipate a
question. Yes, you can choose a word to represent any number when
you need it, and you may end up doing just that with larger numbers.
But it's important at the start simply to know a Peg Word for smaller
numbers. Then, they'll be there, ready to work for you instantly.

I'm not advocating or using rote memory. If I gave you any ten
words, that'd be rote, but that's not the case here. The Peg Words must
follow the simple pattern of containing the proper consonant sounds.
Look:
1. tie 6. shoe
2. Noah 7. cow
3. ma 8. ivy
4. rye 9. bee
5. law 10. toes
Go over them; be sure you understand why each one can represent
only its specific digit. And form a basic picture for each. For Noah, I
picture a long, gray beard (he was an old man) or an ark. Rye can be
whiskey or bread; law can be a cop, a judge, or a judge's gavel; ivy is
a green plant that grows on walls. It's what you see in your mind that
counts.
The first nine Peg Words each contain only one consonant sound
because they each represent a one-6\g\\. number. Toes contains two
consonant sounds; 10 is a rwo-digit number. There's that simple
substitution concept again.
I want you to know these ten Peg Words. If you know the sounds,
you probably already do know the words. Something additional to bear
in mind: all the concepts, all the techniques I'm teaching you are being
used to solve one specific memory problem at the time of teaching. It's
the only way to teach them. But all the techniques eventually blend,
work together, to solve all memory problems. That's why you can't
bypass any part of the techniques. Each is a stepping-stone to a higher.

more important, plateau. Right now, knowing the ten sounds of the
Phonetic Number/Alphabet (in any order) makes it a snap also to know
the ten Peg Words. Go over them for a few minutes. Then, fill in these
blanks as a simple drill; do it fairly rapidly.
1 is 8 is cow is no 2 is
rye is no 9 is ivy is no 3 is
Sis 10 is bee is no 6 is
4 is 7 is 6 is tie is no.
toes is no law is no 1 is Noah is no
3 is 8 is ma is no shoe is no
1 is 2 is 3 is 4 is
Sis 10 is 9 is 8 is
7 is 6 is 5 is 4 is-
You got 'em!

Now, you're wondering: So what? Why do I need those words?

You've just made a deposit in your memory bank. Probably the
most important deposit you'll ever make. The "principal" will always
remain in your account; you'll live off the interest for the rest of your
life. You'll want to show your spouse, friends, children, business
how to make the same deposit in
acquaintances, relatives, employees,
theirmemory banks! Have I made it seem important enough to you?
And are you now wondering how much more you have to learn to
know/remember/memorize things by number? Nothing. You already
know all you need to know. Just work along with me that's —
essential.
The sixth item on tomorrow's agenda is to arrange to buy 500,000

envelopes for the spring mailing. "Envelope" is all you need as the
reminder. Well, let me lay out the problem, specifically. You can
visualize an envelope, no problem there. But how in the world do you
visualize 6? Ordinarily, you really couldn't. But now — I've been
teaching the idea for decades, and it still me
excites — you can picture
6. Because you have a word — your Peg Word — represents

that 6,
means 6, is the same as 6!
I told you that in order to remember to an unparalleled degree, you

must learn to make intangibles tangible. Now you've done it! The
number 6 is intangible to almost everyone, but not to my students, not
to you. The Peg Word shoe is easily visualized; it's certainly
tangible — and it's the same as 6! I've just rolled this little concept
("tasks" by number) into one tight little ball for you.
All you have to do is make an association between two things —

and you already know how to do that. In this case, connect shoe to
envelope — associate envelope and shoe. Same as you've already
done — a silly, illogical, impossible picture. You're wearing enve-

lopes instead of shoes; you're sealing a shoe and mailing it; a gigantic
envelope is wearing shoes (walking). No problem thinking up an
association, is there? You want one picture, and you can think it up
yourself. (I'm not only training your memory, I'm forcing you to
exercise your imagination and creative thinking. You're using your

imagination and ingenuity — your imaginuity.) That's shoe to enve-
lope.
The third thing you have to do tomorrow is finish negotiating with

the new trucking company. Truck is enough to remind you of the thing
to do, and your Peg Word, ma, is 3. Put 'em together. Not too much
imagination (or time) needed; just see your mother driving an
enormous truck. (Unless your mother really does drive a truck, this is
a ridiculous, though not necessarily impossible, picture!) Or maybe a

truck packed with hundreds of women; they all look (or are) your
mother. See the silly picture. Ma/truck.
Task number 9: call your stockbroker. A gigantic bee is working
on the floor of the stock exchange, or your stockbroker is being
attacked by millions of bees. See bee/stockbroker.
I've already discussed the first thing you want to do — check on
the bicycle shipment. Tie is number 1; associate bicycle to it, as per the
examples I gave you. Tie/bicycle.
Number 8: make train reservations. Visualize, imagine, see —
think — trains growing all over a wall like ivy. Or, millions of pieces
of ivy are boarding a train. Don't get overconfident — see that picture.
(You won't remember it if you don't.) Ivy/train.
The fifth thing to do is attend a meeting. You can see lots of

policemen (law) breaking up a meeting. Or judges' gavels are
attending a meeting. See it: law/meeting.
Number 10: straighten out the shipping-room problem. Millions of
toes are being shipped, or toes are your shipping clerks. See the image
you selected, or one you thought of yourself. Toes/shipping room.
Number 2: you have to arrange for more security guards. Noah is
2. A few long, gray beards (in uniform) are guarding your premises.
Or a security guard is hiding in a man's beard, or a guard is hanging
from someone's chin instead of a beard! (I don't care how ridiculous
you get — let yourself go! The sillier the better.) See the silliness:
Noah (beard)/security guards.

Number 7: plan, delegate, for the office Christmas party. A cow is
decorating a Christmas tree; a cow is being decorated instead of a

Christmas tree; you're milking a cow and Christmas ornaments come
out. Cow/Christmas.
Number 4: place a magazine ad. A magazine is drinking rye
whiskey from a bottle, magazines pour out of a whiskey bottle, a
whiskey bottle is reading a magazine. Picture one of them. Rye/mag-

azine.
I gave you the things to do in haphazard order. Your computer

memory, the one you're cultivating at this moment, can put them into
correct numerical sequence! No programming is necessary, no keys

need be struck, no disks have to be put into the disk drive. Your mind,
the best computer of all, simply does it — it already has. Check it out.
Think, merely think, tie. Do you see? Do I have to say anything

else? Thinking tiemade you think of bicycle.
Think of Noah. What does that bring to mind? Security guards!
You have to hire more of them.
Think of your ma. That should immediately make you also think
of . truck, and, of course, that automatically means "negotiating
. .
with the new trucking company."

Think of your Peg Word for number 4 (you should "see" ryê
immediately). Rye reminds you of . . . magazine; arrange for that

full-page ad.
Number 5: the Peg Word is . . . law. Cops or judges' gavels make
you think of . . . your meeting, of course.
Number 6 is shoe (this is the first example I used). What is the
sixth thing you want to do? Envelope — arrange to buy 500,000

envelopes.
Number 7: cow. Delegate for the Christmas party.
Number 8: ivy. Let's see, what was growing on a wall like ivy?
Trains. Make your train reservations.
Number 9: bee. Bees were attacking whom? Your stockbroker. —
Call him.
Number 10: toes. Shipping-room problem to straighten out.
Of course you knew them all. If you didn't, think back and
strengthen the weak (not-c/âr-enough) associations. But you know
them better than you realize. You put them into correct order
automatically. Now, try this test, and work for speed. Just fill in these
twenty-four blanks as quickly as you can.
Shipping room: No. 3:
Truck: Stockbroker:
No. 5: No. 10:

No fi- No. 9:
Nn A- No. 8:
Rinynlfi- No. 7:
Ruarrls: No. 6:
Nn Q- No. B:
nn 1- No. 4:
ChriRtmas party: No. 7^:
Train rfisfirvatinns: No. 2:
No 7- No. 1:
We both know that if the Peg Words were second nature, you'd
have filled in the blanks as quickly as you can write. When they are
second nature, do this drill again — see for yourself. And after you've
rested, please take Test 5 again (page 29). See the progress you've
made! Then, turn back to this page.
Now I want to anticipate another question: "What if I had twenty

things to do?"
Sure; obvious question. Obvious answer, too. If you can form a
Peg Word for 10, a two-digit number, why not form Peg Words for
numbers 11 to 20? Stay within the "sound" rules, and it's easy.
11. tot 16. dish
12. tin 17. dog
13. tomb 18. dove
14. tire 19. tub
1 5. towel 20. nose

.
Go over them, and be sure you see how each one stays firmly
within the Phonetic Number/Alphabet rules. When you think you
know them, try to remember the following, exactly as you did with
numbers 1 to 10. Each item again represents a thing to do in your
business.
1 1 scissors 1 6. kaleidoscope
12. blotter 17. window
13. corrugated carton 18. transparent tape
14. rubber band 19. check
15. lamp 20. brochure
Test yourself on tasks 11 to 20. Then test yourself (or have

someone you don't mind impressing do it for you) on tasks 1 to 20. Do
it in order and out of order. Think of any number and the thing to do
should come to mind; think of anything to do and you'll know its
numerical position. Try it.
When you use this technique in real life, form your Peg List the
night before. Say your mental list contains twelve things to do. During
your business day, every once in a while, go over your Peg Words, 1
to 12 — tie to tin. That's all. You'll know what things remain to be

done!
Now, I doubt if you'll ever want to remember 100 things to do in a
day. (You can if you want to.) But you may want to remember 100
other things by number. In any case, there'll be plenty of times when
you'll want to remember a two-digit number greater than 20 — for
prices, telephone numbers, specific appointments, and so much more.

The best and fastest way is to have a Peg Word ready. So on page 94
I have listed the words I use from 21 to 100. Knowing the Phonetic
Number/ Alphabet makes it easy to learn them. Do it — you'll be glad
you did.
21 . net 41. rod 61 . sheet 81. fit
22. nun 42. rain 62. chain 82. phone
23. name 43. ram 63. chum 83. foam
24. Nero 44. rower 64. cherry 84. fur
25. nail 45. roll 65. jail 85. file
26. notch 46. roach 66. choo-choo 86. fish
27. neck 47. rock 67. chalk 87. fog
28. knife 48. roof 68. chef 88. fife
29. knob 49. rope 69. ship 89. fob
30. mouse 50. lace 70. case 90. bus
31 . mat 51 . lot 71 . cot 91. bat
32. moon 52. lion 72. coin 92. bone
33. mummy 53. loom 73. comb 93. bum
34. mower 54. lure 74. car 94. bear
35. mule 55. lily 75. coal 95. bell
36. match 56. leech 76. cage 96. beach
37. mug 57. log 77. coke 97. book
38. movie 58. lava 78. cave 98. puff
39. mop 59. lip 79. cob 99. pipe
40. rose 60. cheese 80. fuse 100. disease

thesis
Select a mind picture for each one. Go over them a few times, and
you'll have them. You'll be amazed at how handy they'll be. Once
you're familiar with them, you'll have a concrete image to represent
any two-digit number. Suppose someone at a meeting mentions that
he'd like to see the file on store number 49. Immediately see yourself
opening a file to find lengths of rope flying out! How can you forget it?
To quote Benton Love, of Texas Commerce Bancshares (Fortune,

August 1978): "The executive who tells me he can't remember
numbers tells me that he can't remember the significant part of his
business and is operating on quicksand."
Finally, if you've been using the Link method to remember sequential

information, you may have stumbled across one minor problem: not
remembering the^zr^r item of a Link. Well, I did mention one simple
solution when I originally taught you the Link System. If you can't
think of the first item, start with any item near the top, and work
backward. There's nowhere to go but to the first item. Another way to
solve this problem would be to associate the first item to yourself. But
now that you have a way to visualize the number 1 , you can use that
image to begin your Link. Simply associate the first item on any list to
tie. When you have to use that list, that information, think "tie." That
immediately tells you what the first item is — and you're off and
running.
Frank V. AtLee (Executive Vice President, American Cyanamid Cor-
poration): You cannot deal in today's complex business world and be
effective, I think, if you don't have a good memory. In our business,
you need a good memory for numbers, pharmaceutical names,
people's names, and all the business details that need handling every
business day. There's too much happening too quickly not to remember
things.
HL: If I could give you a photographic memory in one area, is there

one you'd select?
F\A: No. The term is "general manager" — he should have a good
general memory across the board: people, facts, figures.
11
Memory Power —
Pyramid Power
my systems are based on, and perform natural

To recap,
phenomena.
all
There are three main principles

"Twilight Zoney" about them; they're not ephemeral, vague
like,
— with nothing
thoughts. They're definites. They are the Reminder Principle; the
Slap-in-the-Face Principle; and the principle ox fact that what can be

visualized is easy to remember. The Reminder Principle is based on
that natural associative process which enables you to see or think of
one thing and have make you mentally snap your fingers, and
that thing
say, "Oops, that reminds me!" —

it reminds you of another, different
thing. And I've been showing you that reminders can be derived from
conscious effort instead of through an automatic (but not necessarily
reliable) subconscious process.
97
The early Greek philosopher-teachers (Aristotle, Socrates, Simon-

ides, Plato) would slap a student's when they imparted an
face
important piece of information! That made the moment (and the
information) memorable. It pinpointed attention. I've taught you to
slap yourself in the face mentally. That's principle two.
And Aristotle wrote, "In order to think we must speculate with
images." He knew, thousands of years ago, that we must see,
visualize, images in our minds in order to think and, therefore,
remember.
When I told you that the way to remember a new piece of informa-
tion is to associate it with something you already know or remember,
I wasn't just whistling "Dixie." There was once (perhaps still is)
a "pyramid" craze, which made about as much sense as believing

in a Ouija board. I've told you, I'm interested in results: spe-
cifics, definites. But I do have my own pyramid theory. Visualize
that pyramid upside down, balancing on its point, and you'll
have a diagram or schematic of how knowledge, or progress,

happens.
Knowledge (like memory, because those two magnets really can't
be pulled apart) is acquired in only one way; new

facts, new
information, new knowledge is attached to, connected to, what we

already know. Not until you know the alphabet and the sounds that the
letters make can you read. Not until you know where the D key is on
a computer keyboard, and with which finger you hit it, can you add
another piece of knowledge: "The E key is above the D key; I can hit
it with the same finger if I move that finger up one row." A fact is
rarely in limbo; it does not stand alone.
We begin knowing very little — the narrow point of the
upside-down pyramid. As information is attached to that very little bit
of knowledge, the original base expands, in all directions — creating

the upside-down pyramid. The older and wiser we grow, the higher
and wider becomes the pyramid. If you think about what I've taught
you up to now, you'll see that that's just what's been happening. You
acquired one piece of knowledge; that enabled you to acquire another
Memory Power — Pyramid Power 99
"byte" of knowledge, which enabled you to acquire another . . . and

so on. That's "pyramid power."
New knowledge is acquired by being connected to something we

already know. New "things" are remembered by being associated to
something we already know.

Same thing — same principle.
Ellen Hassman (President, AC and R Direct, Inc. , subsidiary of Ted
Bates World Wide — one of the largest advertising agencies): How can
someone get ahead in my company? By being knowledgeable — that
comes first. The person with a great memory will definitely come to
my attention.
HL: And how about yourself where memory is concerned?

EH: I have to gather and know my own information, more so than a
male executive. I have to remember everything about a client's
product, advertising campaign, his likes and dislikes, all we've talked
about at various meetings. He may be one of fifty clients that I'm
juggling at the same time, but he doesn't care. So far as he's
concerned, he's my only client. I simply have to remember — I'd
better remember.
12
The name Game
Remembering Personnel by name
Equals Administrative Power;
Remembering Clients by name
Equals Money-Making Power
love to continue my discussion of numbers. And that'd certainly

I'dseem to be the logical thing to do. But all memory problems are
entities oi two. No matter how complicated they may seem, they
break down to that. Indeed, a memory problem can't be an entity of
one. Nothing is remembered in a vacuum; eveiything is connected to
something else. The point is that before we can proceed with numbers,
you have to learn how to connect that entity (a number) to the other
entity.
What's the point of remembering a telephone number or an address

if you don't remember name of the person or company that the
the
number or address belongs to? Or what's the point of knowing a style

number or a stock price without knowing which product or stock it
101
pertains to? There is no point. Just as, in most cases, there's no point
in remembering a name if you don't remember iht face it goes with!
I have no choice, then, but to teach you how to visuaHze names (of
people, places, corporations, things) before I continue with numbers.
It's also important for you to learn how to handle people's names
before we discuss faces.
HL: You deal with highly situated politicians. Is it important for

you to remember names of politicians?
Arthur Levitt, Jr.: And of anyone else. And it's important for
politicians to remember names.
HL: Quite a few use my systems. But I'm under oath not to use
their names or to publicize it. I guess they don't want it known that
they have good to great memories — they'd never again be able to

say to an investigating committee, "I forgot," or "I don't
remember' ' ! But they are well aware of the fact — they made me
aware of it years ago — that to remember a voter's name is
statesmanship, to forget it is political oblivion.
AL, Jr.: Of course. I think remembering names (among other

things) furthers my career to this very day. Forgetting things is, I
think, very dangerous in terms of personal relationships. If you

forget a person's name, you tend to diminish his importance in his
own eyes and, in a people business, that's a very unfortunate

characteristic.
HL: I know how hands-on your position is. For example, do

don't
you go down to the floor of the exchange at all?
AL, Jr.: Yes. I think that's an important part of my situation.
HL: You feel you have to be there physically?
AL, Jr.: Yes.
HL: Why?
AL, Jr.: They're my flock; they're my constituents. serve at their I
pleasure. They're the people we're really working with, so I spend

a lot of time making my presence known, remembering their
names, acknowledging them.
HL: You said remembering a messenger's name is important to

you?
The Name Game 103
Michael K. Stanton: Remembering the name of a million-dollar

client is, of course, of utmost importance. But sure, so is
remembering the name of the messenger boy on the thirtieth floor.
That's critical in the chain of events that goes toward servicing a

client. First of all, that messenger boy is a human being, probably
a nice person, and probably someone who works very hard. And
he can accomplish your project on a priority basis, he can do it in
a half-baked manner, or he can put it at the bottom of his briefcase
and make it wait until Monday morning. Yeah, I want to
remember his name.
Cy Leslie: Remembering names shows thoughtfulness. Thought-

fulness is a very important component to building relationships.
And you absolutely can't be thoughtful without memory — that's
thought/^55^ness.
Take my word for it — we don't really "forget" names. We don't

remember them in the first place, because we usually don't hear them,
or we don't pay attention to them, which is next door to not hearing

them! (Semantics in platitude form: Something, anything — a name —
must be gotten before it can be/orgotten.)
The idea I'm about to teach you, all my ideas, head inexorably
toward one and only one goal, and that is to "trap a fleeting thought,"
to enable you to, force you to, get a name (or any information), hear
it, pay attention to it, be originally aware of it, register it — remember
it in the first place!
1 started you on this idea when I taught you the first Link some
chapters back. One of the things to do (after "airplane" and before
"dentist") was to call Jason Carpenter. Without discussion, 1 simply
made "carpenter" part of the list/Link.
You did it without questioning and without my having to go into
whys and wherefores —
picturing a carpenter (the noun) simply,
automatically, and unconditionally, told you that you had to call Mr.
Carpenter! And before that it worked as well when, in the chapter on
absentmindedness, I suggested you use "simmer man" to remind you
of Mr. Zimmerman. That is the basis of my Substitute Word System of
memory. It will be an important part of the artillery you'll need in your

battle against forgetfulness.
It's such a simple concept. You substituted a thought that

reminded you of the name. I selected two examples that entailed only
an easy, direct segue, of course. All I had to do was to use a name that
already had meaning. There are plenty of those — Wells, Fox,

Rockman (rock man), Lyons, Horn, Taylor, Shepherd, Cook, Mailer,
Hope, Fine, Hart, Glass, Underwood, Forrest, Coyne, Rivers, Post,
Craven, Duncan (dunkin'). Storm. I could fill up pages with examples.
I could also fill up pages with names that have no intrinsic meaning
perhaps, but that do conjure up an image in your mind. Any name
that's the same as or similar to that of a famous baseball player, for
example, will make you think of baseball! DiMaggio, Ruth, Gehrig,
Mantle, Mays, Snider. Graham might make you think of cracker and
Campbell might make you see soup, although camp and bell do also
have their own meanings. Lipton would certainly make me think of
tea, McDonald of a hamburger (or a farm "Old MacDonald" had —
one), and Caruso or Sinatra of a singer. Hudson and Jordan would
make you think of a river. Easy.
Arlie Lazarus (President and COO, Jamesway Corporation): We

stress that our people remember other people's names. I think that
gives us a competitive advantage over other chains, where they
don't know/remember anybody. Knowing a person and remem-
bering, if possible, the spouse's name is important. And to this
day, when I visit one of my make sure beforehand
stores, I to
check the names of the people who work there.
Ralph Destino: I know all my store managers' names. It would be
desirable to know all the salespeople by name. And we cannot

afford to forget a client's name. Not when you're dealing with a
luxury clientele, the kind we serve. These people expect that when
they come into Cartier's they will be appropriately treated and —
that they will be remembered. They don't expect this, perhaps, in
a department store; here, they expect it. They don't spend
$100,000 in Macy's; they do, and more, at Cartier's.
The Name Game 105
HL: Do you, as chairman, still want to remember names of Cartier

clientele?
RD: Oh, yes. Nothing pleases me more than to go down on the
floor and greet clients — by name; many by their first names. I
love that. And clients they — important

love it. It's within the
firm, too. Ken Watson became president of Cartier, Inc., when I
moved up to chairman. He's very talented, with all the skills of a
modem executive. He has something extra, though — a wonderful

way with people who work for us. One of the first things he did
was to find out the names of all our people. He attaches a lot of
importance to that — and rightfully so.
HL: Would you say, as chairman, that that (among other things,
of course) had something to do with his becoming president?

RD: Sure! Sure! I think so.
George J. Konogeris (Senior Vice President, Kinney Shoe Corpo-

ration): I know most of the names of our store managers — that's
a lot of stores, a lot of managers. It's really important for me to
remember them; it's a great characteristic. We just promoted a

young man from Crystal Lake, Illinois, because customers always
asked for him. Why? Well, among other things, he made it his
business to remember all of their names, their spouses' and their

childrens' names. He'll go far with our company.
Philip A. Bossert: I have to remember all the details of my

position, and then there are people. I want to remember names
(and other facts) of my employees, but also of the people I deal
with — printers, producers, designers, agency people, writers —a
whole range of people. There's so much to remember because of
the complexity of society.
"Complexity of society." It reminds me that many thousands of

years ago, when there weren't too many people, only a few within each
village, tribe, or clan, it was easy to identify a person. People were
named after a characteristic. Mr. Bent Arm had a bent arm! Just
looking at him told you his name. The same for Mr. Hanging Ear,
Miss Wide Nostrils, and Mr. Short Leg. American Indians also used
—
descriptive names: Bald Eagle, Running Deer, Big Mouth, Sitting
Bull. Later, other names started out as descriptions of a skill or

occupation — Hunter, Cooper, Carpenter.
But, as populations grew, so did forgetfulness. Because Bent Arm
and Wide Nostrils may have had an offspring who had neither a bent
arm nor wide nostrils and was called something that meant "son of
Bent Arm." It no longer physically described the person. Such names
are still used, but it is unlikely that today's Mr. Cooper makes barrels
(or that he's even aware of the fact that that's the meaning of the
word!).
All right; my system isn't that far away from descriptive, as you'll
see when we get to faces. But why not make any name meaningful? I
mean now, not at birth! The two categories I mentioned earlier consist
of easy-to-visualize names. But what about a name like Bertrovski.
Ordinarily you'd let that go right through your head, in one ear and out
the other, if it even reached the first ear. Most people simply don't
expect, therefore don't attempt, to remember a name that's more than
one syllable.
But break that name down, make it meaningful, and you can
expect to remember it — and the act of breaking it down, itself, marks
your intention to remember it! That's important. Ber — bear, trov —
trough (or tough); ski — ski. Bear trough ski.
That has meaning! It can be visualized. A bear sees a trough and

ski^ in it! Silly? Sure. But a silly meaning, and that's the point. With
a bit of that "imaginuity" you can break down, and thereby give
meaning to, the most unusual names. Dimitriades — the meat tree ate
E's! Chesnavich — chase no witch, chasin' a witch. Daratsos — the

rat sews. Stretch that imagination. Theodore — see a door. Bartlett —
bottle it (or see a pear). Aronowitz — air on a wits (wits — brains).
Fernandez fern andfern and ass (donkey). Koscelski

S, or go —
sell ski. Maleszewski (pronounced "mal a chev ski") f7iail a chef —
(a) ski. 1 wanted to remember the name of the head of the mine
workers' union in South Africa (as I was reading an article that
mentioned him) — Cyril Ramaphosa. I visualized cereal and ratn a
foe, sir.
To remember the name Hirabayashi, I thought here I buy a she!

Make up your own mental picture. saw an advertisement for a I
The Name Game 107
"Swami Satchidananda," and I overheard someone say, "This guy

should change his name to Smith so people can remember it." Well,
for most, thinking or seeing "satchel down under" would probably
make that name easier to remember than Smith.
Unless I told them to visualize a blackÂn/r/z'shammer for Smith.
Common names like Smith, Gordon, Cohen, Jones, Brown are easy to
lose. Bentavagnia is probably easier to remember (for someone who's
trying) because you have to concentrate on it a bit in order to register
it at all. Smith and Cohen and Lee seemingly take no concentration or
effort, which is why they're easier to lose.
You'll hear them often enough to develop standard Substitute
Words (or thoughts) for them. I always see a blaclcsw/r/z's hammer for
Smith (or Smythe or Schmidt — true memory tells me the difference),
an ice-cream cone for Cohen, a garden for Gordon, owns for Jones, a
meadow {lea) for Lee. Use these once or twice, and they become
standards.
The Substitute Word System: Whenever you hear a name, think up
a word or phrase that you can visualize and that sounds enough like
that name toremind you of it. Suffixes and prefixes are all that remain
for me to discuss. Think of a picture to remind you of each of the
common ones, throw that into your association, and you'll have it.
Berg — — beer — Mc Mac —

(ice berg); stein stein; itz itch; or
Mack witz —
truck; — (meadow); son — son
wits or witch; ly lea or
sun; ger — growling)
grr (lion gar — item
or (fish) or cigar; ton the is
heavy, weighs baum — bum

a ton;bomb; and So, or so on. for
McKinley, you might Mack (Mack

see a For truck in a lea in lea).
Greenbaum — green bomb. a
Evan R. Bell: I have to know a client's wife's or husband's

name —
children's names. Even pets' names!
Richard Schlott: It's important for me to remember names. As

president of the company, I try to remember the 1 25 managers and
the top producers among my other 5,000 employees. want to I
remember them when I see them at a meeting or function. It shows

that I care about them, and makes them care more about me and
about the corporation.

HL: Most every top executive I've interviewed feels the same
way. And Fm a corporate speaker; I'm at a lot of business
functions, and I always see that. I see the top-echelon people
remembering the names of the lower-echelon people. I think all
top management finds that to be very important. They make it a
point to use a name, spouse's name, and so on.
RS: I find that to be so with all the corporate heads I know. They
care . . .
HL: Do you have to know which manager is at which particular

location?
RS: Oh sure. I have to connect a name to say, Greenwich,
Connecticut. I also want to remember the secretary's name, and if
I knew the intercom number, that'd help too. I do remember the

manager's and secretary's names in all my offices.
HL: That's why you're the president, Dick!

RS: I don't know if that's what made me president, but it sure
helps!
HL: Can you give me an example where forgetting caused

someone to lose points?
Peter Kougasian: I knew a lawyer who crammed most of the

night to remember the names of the twelve jurors for the next
morning's trial. No faces — she just wanted to use the names as
she spoke and looked in the general direction of the jury. She
remembered all of them except one! That was worse than not
remembering any.
It isn't necessary to spend that much time to memorize twelve

names. Now that you know how to visualize a name (by thinking up
a Substitute Word), you can quickly form a Link with names just as
you did with things! Take these names:
Patterson (pat a son)

Gitwelke (get well, key)
Carruthers (car udders)
Bell (bell)
The Name Game 109
Petrocelli (pet row jelly)
Fleming (flaming)
Tropiano (throw piano)
Smolenski (small lens ski)
Manglanaro (mangle an arrow)

Smith (smith's hammer)
McRae (Mack ray)
Graves (graves)
I've suggested Substitute Words (thoughts or phrases) for twelve

jurors' names. Use those or think up your own. Form a Link. You could
start the Link with (or in) a jury box — that tells you what the Link
pertains to. Really see each picture. There are many ways to go but, as
an example: in the jury box, you're patting a son (small look-alike of
yourself); your son is giving a get well card to a gigantic key; a gigantic
key is milking a car that has udders like a cow's; the car with udders is
ringing a huge bell; your pet is rowing a bell through 7>//v; your pet (in
jelly) is burning, flaming; a piano is flaming — you throw it away from
you (throw piano); a small camera (lens) is skiing on a piano; a skiing
camera crashes into a gigantic arrow and mangles it (mangle an arrow);

a gigantic arrow is swinging a blacksmith's hammer (or you're hitting
an arrow with the hammer); you're smashing holes in a Mack truck with
a huge hammer and a bright ray shines out of each hole; rays are shining
on millions of graves (gravestones).
If you've used Substitute Words that will remind you of the names,
and if you really tried to see each individual picture, there's no way
you cannot remember them all. If you started your Link in the jury
box, that reminds of Patterson. Go from there. Try it.
The methodology applies to names, numbers, anything. One of the

reasons association works so well is that the very act of forming the
picture creates the memory. The same is true for thinking up a
Substitute Word (like car lie L or call aisle for Carlisle), or coming up
with a word to represent a number. In all cases, you're forcing (a)
interest, (b) observation, (c) attention, (d) concentration, and thus (e)
memory. And you're using your imagination, a bit of enthusiasm, and

curiosity. All those good things!
no MEMORY MAKES MONEY
Ruth Mass: It'd be great to remember the name of an established

client and the name of the person or corporation he or she
recommended to us as a client. That'd be a marvelous aid, part of
public relations. I try to see those two people together — to help
me remember that one recommended the other. And if I, and my

people, could remember the sales rep's name for each airline —
what a time-saver that'd be. Those are the people we have to call
for information all the time.

Generally speaking, I find that remembering and dropping
names in business is very important. So if you can wave that magic
wand of yours and give me a great memory in one area, make that
area names!
Connecting one name to another is no longer a problem; you just

did it eleven times. I'll talk about associating a person's name to a
company name in the next chapter. Right now, Ruth Mass's problem
is easily solved. If Al Hepburn is a longtime client and he recommends
Bob Gardner, bind them together with a silly association. You might
see a gardener working (in a garden) while his hip burns. Really see
it, and you've got it. By the third or fourth time you've thought of that
piece of information, it will be knowledge. The picture goes but the
mind knows.
And, as you will see, this is only the beginning. The Substitute
Word idea will be an invaluable aid to you in many ways.
The merchant said in caustic tones:
"James Henry Charles Augustus Jones,
Please get your pay and leave the store;
I will not need you any more.
Important chores you seem to shun;
You're always leaving work undone;
And when I ask the reason why.
You heave a sad and soulful sigh.
And idly scratch your dome of thought.
And feebly say, 'Oh, I forgot!'
James Henry Charles Augustus Jones,
This world's a poor resort for drones,
For men with heads so badly set
That their long suit is to forget.
No man will ever write his name
Upon the shining wall of fame,

Or soar aloft on glowing wings
Because he can't remember things.
I've noticed that such chaps as you
Remember when your pay is due;
And when the noontime whistles throb,
Your memory is on the job;
And when a holiday's at hand.
Your recollection isn't canned.
The failures on life's busy way.
The paupers, friendless, wan and gray.
Throughout their bootless days, like you,
Forgot the things they ought to do.

So take your coat, and draw your bones,
James Henry Charles Augustus Jones!"
— Walt Mason, "He Who Forgets"

15
In Business, It's
Who You Know and

What You Know
about Them
Spouse's names. Titles, Corporate Affiliations
"I^T ot one of the top-level executives I interviewed failed to mention
I
^1 that when down to the nitty-gritty, he or she was in a
it got
X X "people" business. Of course. Whether you sell a product or
a service, you've got to sell it to a person. The terminology is, "Send
ten gross to Acme Manufacturing Company," but it's Joe Doakes who
ordered those ten gross — it's Joe Doakes you had to sell. When I was
invited to the Jamesway Corporation headquarters to interview Arlie
Lazarus (its president), it happened to be "buyer-seeing" day. The

lobby was standing-room-only, just packed with salespeople holding
their sample cases, dressed to the nines, nervous — waiting to see the
buyer for his or her particular product. You can be sure that each
salesperson there wanted to impress the buyer personally.
112
In Business, It's Who You Know and What You Know 113
HL: How important is remembering names in your business?

Alan Greenberg: Extremely. Someone calls, he doesn't want a
dead fish on this end. I'd like to know who it is, what company he
represents. A client wants to know that he's known, that he's
remembered.
HL: Are you saying that it's possible to upset, even lose, a client
if you forget his name?
AG: Yeah! And if you forget his wife's name, you can have real
trouble. There's a secret weapon for your book, Harry. Teach how
to remember wives' names. It's so important when dealing with
important people, because wives are used to being known as Mrs.
So-and-so. Take the time to remember wives' names, and you're
ahead of the competition.
HL: So it would be important to address her by name and also to
ask about her children by name?

AG: She wouldn't forget you if you did. Definitely important,
absolutely makes points for you.
Edmond E. Chapus (President and CEO, Alsthom, Inc. —

French engineering! manufacturing firm with 47,000 employees):
It's very important for me and those who work for me to remember
clients' names, in and out of the office. I don't know if we'd lose
a client if we forgot his or her name, but it's sure a plus when we
remember the client's name and the spouse's name as well.
Vincent Sardi (Sardi's restaurant, New York City): Oscar Ham-

merstein and his wife used to eat here quite often. One afternoon,
Mrs. Hammerstein came in with a friend. I was at the door in those
days, and I recognized her. I said, "Good afternoon, Mrs.

Hammersteen." She stopped, looked at me coldly, and said, "The
name is Hammer^r^m, and don't you ever forget it!" Well, that
was awfully embarrassing and I sure didn't want it to happen
again. Of course, the thing that came to mind was a beer stein.
That solved the problem. To this day, when I think of Hammer-

stein, I think of a beer stein. It's very important to get names right.
First names are handled just like last names. Make them
meaningful. After a while, you'll have a standard Substitute Word for
just about every given name, because you'll hear (or meet) them
often.
For Betty, bet E; Harry, hairy; Jim, gym; Seymour, see more; Bill,
(dollar) bill; Robert, robber; Morton, more ton; Douglas, dug glass or
dug less; Walter, wall tear; Samuel, 's a mule or (just) mule; Wallace,
wall lace; Norman, no man; Prescott, press cot; Dexter, deck stir or
decks tar; Gerard, chair hard; Barney, bar knee; Sandra, sand draw;
Renee, grenade or run hay; Esther, ess (S) tear or yes dear; Mary,
marry (see a wedding); Eileen, I lean or eye lean; Beatrice, beat rice
or bead dress; Abigail, a big ale; Alvira, I'll wire her; Jacob, shake up;
Percy, purse see; Daphne, deaf knee; and on and on.
These are but a few suggestions for Substitute Words for given
names. They're easy to make up; usually the first thing that comes to
mind is best. When I needed a Substitute Word for Ralph, I thought of

rough. I've been using that for forty years!
Associating a spouse's first name to the "important person's"
name should be a cinch for you now. Mr. Hayes's wife is Judith.
Associate hay (or A's) to chewed it. Mrs. Ryan's first name is
Kathleen. A cat is lean because it keeps eating brine. Mrs. Hall's

husband is Mark. See gigantic marks all over a hall. These are
suggestions only; make up your own Substitute Words and pictures.
The best way to assure yourself that this works perfectly is to do

it the next time you want to remember a spouse's first name. Right
now, assure yourself by turning to chapter 4 and taking Test 2 again.
Please dont continue reading until you've done so.
Handle the name of a corporation exactly as you would the name of a

person. So — if the sales rep for Delta Airlines is Ms. Corrigan, get
dealt and car again into one silly picture (I was dealt a car again). If
you want to — Lucy — a

remember Ms. Corrigan's first name get
loose E E)
(or lose American — Mr. Wright;
into that picture. Airlines
see yourself wnring on an American Pan Am — Ms. Nugent; flag. a
new gent shiny gentleman)
(see a cooking pan. United —
is in a large
Bill Warren; bilh are warring, then they get together, they unite.
Eastern — Miranda Beck; see E' s turning on a veranda and pecldng

each other.
In Business, It's Who You Know and What You Know 115
HL: Are affiliations — who is with which company — important

for you to remember?
Michael K. Stanton: It's imperative to remember that. Certainly
in the business arena, but also in a social situation.
HL: So remembering names and faces and affiliations is as
important to a corporate lawyer as it is in any business?
MKS: Of course. It's possible to lose clients if you don't show
them the courtesy of remembering.
HL: In your position, is remembering affiliations important to

you?
Frank V. AtLee: Oh, yes. If you have a mission to accomplish.
I want to, and I want my people to, remember which company

someone is with. And not only his title, but exactly what his
function is within that company. You know, there are chief
chemists and there are c/z/e/ chemists; there are purchasing agents
and there are buyers, so it's not only the title, it's what that person
really does in that responsibility.
shown you how to remember corporate affiliations. And as

I've
Frank AtLee mentioned, you might also want to be reminded of a
person's position within a corporation. Make up a picture to represent
every possible title and use them as needed. To give you the idea, first
using what are not necessarily business titles: For "doctor," get a
stethoscope into your association (a hypodermic needle or thermometer
would work as well; I've always used "stethoscope" to force me to
remember the title "doctor"). For a lieutenant — tenant; captain —

cap; major — amaze yd ; general — picture stars. It's easy, and fun,
to make them up.
To remind you of chairman, picture a chair, of course. For
president, a press or press\xi% clothing. For vice president, all you'd
need is vise or V ice. Director of sales — wreck tore would do it, but
it's as easy to visualize someone directing something — in this case,
directing sailboats, sails.

So, if you want to remember that Mr. Compari is with Xerox (I'm
making up the names), you can see someone sear\vi% E' s on rocks and
comparing them — sear rocks, compare E. He may be director of
marketing. You can see the above action happening in a market; you're
directing it. Mr. Bennett is president of Raffman and Company. See a
man on a raft bending a gigantic net, then pressing it.Bend net, raft
man; press — president. (Please bear in mind, and this warrants
repetition, these need be only instant, but clear, pictures in your
mind — really one picture. It takes me much longer to explain it than
it does for you to see it.) Mr. Lawrence Kuszak is chairman of Home
Insurance Company. Cues in a sack destroying a home, which is
covered by insurance. If you want to get the first name and position
into the picture, lower ants and chair will do it.
Once you're familiar with the concept, it gets easier and easier.
For vice president of sales, you might always use vise sails or a vise
making sales; for comptroller — controller or count roller; for
treasurer — treasure; marketing and research — searching in a market.

And, one more point: You can include your "position reminder" in the
original picture, or you can just associate the person's name to the
corporation. Then, after you have that, form a separate picture

connecting the person's name to his or her position. Either way is fine.
For example, say you've made an association to help you remember

that Mr. Kuszak is with Home Insurance Company. You know that.
Then you form a separate association of cue sack to chair, to tell you
that he's the chairman. Try both ways.
I think you've got it now. Try it. Turn to page 30 and take Test 6
again — before you go any further.
Some executives told me that if they learned nothing else but simply
how to know who belongs with which corporation and exactly what
that person's position is, they'd be thrilled. Well, if you've done as
I've suggested and have taken Test 6 again, you know how easy it is,
how well the technique works. Tests are fine, but actually applying the
technique in your business is a thousand times better. And this is only
a scratch on the scratch of the surface of what you're capable of
accomplishing!
Vincent Sardi (Sardi's restaurant. New York City): Is memory neces-
sary in the restaurant business? Definitely. It's just about essential.
One important thing for a restaurant host to remember is not only
who goes with whom, but never to get personal. A man may not be
with his wife, or vice versa. The best thing is not to get personal at all.
One example: Oscar Levant, the pianist and actor, came into the
restaurant. I said, "Mr. Levant, you certainly lost a lot of weight. . . .
You look really trim." I didn't know he was a dedicated hypochon-

driac. He shouted, "What do you mean? That I'm sick!" And he
walked out — and never, never came back. (Well, he came back only
if he couldn't avoid it, an opening-night party, or something like that.)
I learned a lesson. I certainly should have remembered not to do that,
not to get personal.
117
14
Learning
and Retrieving
Business-related
Codes and Letters
stock Symbols, Style numbers. Computer Codes,
Business Spelling, and More
you want to, have to, remember style numbers consisting of

If letters or of letters and numbers, or stock market symbols, or
anything that consists of or contains letters, you'll need to have
a way to visualize letters — which, after all, are really nothing more
than squiggles with a sound attached.
The idea I've devised is consistent with the ideas and techniques
you've been using up to now. I showed you how to make a name (a
conglomeration of sounds) meaningful by applying the Substitute

Word System, and you can visualize numbers thanks to the Peg System
(Phonetic Number/ Alphabet). The same basic idea works for letters;
they have to be turned into tangible, visual entities.
Use a word that sounds like the letter, or reminds you of it for any
IJ8
Learning and Retrieving Business-related Codes and Letters 119
other reason. It doesn't stretch the imagination too much to decide that
the word (or picture of a) dean (of a college) should represent the letter
d. Or that an eye will represent the letter i, or that hen can represent
(remind you of) the letter n.
Go over the following list once, perhaps twice, and you'll have
another weapon to use in your war against forgetting. I'm listing more
than one letter word for most of the letters. Make your choice, then use
that one all the time (although there's no rule that says you can't use
more than one).
A - ape, hay N- hen, entrance, enema
B - bean, beat O - eau (water), owe, hole
C - sea, see (binoculars) P - pea, peek
D - dean, deal (cards) Q - cue, queue
E- eel, eek (scream) R - hour (clock), argue, aardvark
F- half, effervescent S - ess curve, ass, escape
G -jeans, gee T - tea, tee, T-square
H- ache, age, itch U - ewe, eunuch, universe
I
- eye, I V- veal, V (victory sign)
J -jail, jaybird W - Waterloo, trouble you

K- cake, cane, key X - X-ray, eggs
L - el(evated) train, hell Y - wine, wild
M - hem, ham, emperor Z - zebra
The first word listed for each is the one I usually use. For B, I use
"bean" — not "bee" — so as not to confuse it with the Peg Word
for 9.
That's all you'll ever need for remembering letters — that, or a
word that begins and ends with two vital letters. For instance, if the
'
Style number of, say, a lamp, is BD, see a gigantic lamp sleeping in
bed; or you pull the chain on a bed and it lights up — it's a lamp. The
word "bed" will remind you of BD because you thought of it.
(Bean/dean would do the same.)

This idea can be used in conjunction with the Phonetic Number/
Alphabet, if a style number consists of letters and a number. Perhaps
the style number of theBDl. Well, you can form any of a
lamp is
variety of associations. "Bedded" would do it you'd know that the —

last sound represents 1. Or, "bad tie" see a lamp spanking a bad
;
'
(awful) tie. If the style number is BD47, you can think of "bed rock.
When you actually put this idea to work, you'll see that your true
memory will tell you that "bed rock" is BD47 not 91RK! That's
because you will be thinking up the word or phrase yourself to solve
your specific problem.
If the style number consists of three (or more) letters, make up a

longer reminder word or phrase and associate it to the item. "Leper"
could be your reminder word for LPR. (No, you wouldn't think that
"leper" represented 594 [although it could], because you'd know that
you're dealing with letters.)
But you can always also use the individual letter words. For BD,
you could see a gigantic bean wearing a mortarboard (what I always
see for dean) — it's the dean. If you want to get lamp in there, see
millions of beans flying out of the lamp when you light it — and the
lamp is wearing a mortarboard. For MJ, you might visualize a dress
(what I see for hem) — just the dress, no woman in it — in jail. A cue
(stick) being X-rayed reminds of QX.
So, there are different ways to go to remember letters. Just being
aware of the options will enable you to fall into the way that works best
for you, for your circumstances, automatically. Or try different ways
at first, then use what works best.
Right now, if you're familiar with the letter words, flip back to
chapter 4, take Test 10 again, and surprise yourself. You deserve a pat
on the back for the progress you'll see you've made!
HL: Harvey, you showed me a tracking sheet that listed radio

station call letters in every major city. Do you have to remember
those letters? And the city?
Harvey Leeds: I sure do. Of course, I can look them up on that

sheet, but I'd save a week of man hours every year if I knew them.
Not only that, I'd impress the heck out of my peers and superiors.
(I do impress the heck out of them — thanks to you, Harry.)
Use the Substitute Word System to visuahze, and remind you of,
a city name, and the letter word idea to do the same for letters, and
Harvey Leeds's chore of recalling radio station call letters becomes
much easier to handle.
Just about all the call letters for radio stations in America start with
W or K. Usually, the stations in one city will all start with the same
letter. All the stations in the Los Angeles area start with K. That
becomes a known after a while. (If not, the letter word for K goes into
the picture.)
In Long Beach, the call letters are KNAC. Do you see how easily
that information can be locked in? How you can force one fact to
remind you of the other? See a gigantic hen (N) and a large ape (A)
running along the sea (C) on a long beach. If you needed the K, you'd
put a cake or cane into the picture. In Boston, there's WBCN; boss (or
Boston beans) and bacon did it for me! But you could also associate
boss (and ton, if you think you need it) to bean, see, hen.
J. K. Hartman: It isn't necessary to remember stock symbols

today, but it sure is faster and saves lots of time if you do. You
have to punch the symbol letters into the computer in order to get
the current price. Punch it in without looking for the book in order
to look up the symbol and you eliminate a middleman. It's a
time-management advantage.
You can now visualize the letters of stock symbols. If you see them
along with the company name, they're easy to remember. The symbol
for Boeing is BA. You can see someone bowing (Boeing) while beans
(B) are being thrown at him by an ape (A). Or you could see someone
bowing as he receives his B.A. degree.

The symbol for Marion Labs is MKC. A large dress (hem/M) is
marry in' in a laboratory. It holds up a wedding cake (K) for all to see
(C). Polaroid is PRD; you approach and prod a camera, or a polar
bear. Or, associate pea, hour, dean to camera or polar bear. (A million
peas fly out of a clock and hit a dean, who's taking a picture of it with
his camera.) Schlumberger Limited (French pronunciation, "shlum
ber zhay") is SLB. You can see a slob slumbering; or you're
slumbering on an ess curve (S) of an elevated train (L) covered with
beans (B). Chrysler Corporation is C. See a Chrysler car or Manhat-
tan's Chrysler Building in the sea (C). (You could also see someone
cry in cole slaw — cry enough to make a sea.) Newmont Mining:
NEM. Visualize a shiny new mountain; there's a hen (N) and an eel (E)
eating a hem or aham (M) on top.
Control Data Company: CDA. A lion tamer is controimg dates
instead of lions; he's doing it in the sea, wearing a dean's hat — the
dean is an ape. Philip Morris, Inc.: MO. Moe is the diminutive of
Morris. Or your ma is (Morris) throwing her dress (hem/M) into eau

(water/O). Borden, Inc.: BN. You bought a den full of beans and hens.
(Or associate bought den to bin.)
I've used many words to suggest simple, instant mind pictures. Of

course, if you can picture something that reminds you of a company (a
substitute thought) instead of breaking it down (Substitute Word or

phrase), do so. Picturing a bottle of milk would make me think of
Borden. A ban on milk would really give me the information I need.
It's important to me, and to you, to realize that even if this idea doesn't
work, it has to work! You're forcing yourself to pinpoint your attention
and concentration — without pain. You must remember better than
you ever did before!
Some may not think that spelling correctly is important in business.

Some do. Mark H. McCormack, in his book What They Don't Teach
You at Harvard Business School (Bantam Books, 1984), wrote that he
insists that any communication over his name "is neatly typed and
contains no spelling errors."
Would you have confidence in my teaching if misspelled words
were sprinkled throughout this book? I don't think so, and I wouldn't
blame you. When I receive two resumes for one position, I don't
bother interviewing the person who sent the one containing misspell-
ings, even though he or she may be better suited for that particular
position — I'd never know it. All the executive-level people I spoke to
feel the same way: You can't sell it if you cant spell it!
I can give you some help with a typical spelling problem or two —
because they are also memory problems. One touchy area: Is a word
spelled with an e or an a? Knowing the letter words can help answer
that question. For example, the common error in spelling the word
"separate" is using an e instead of an a ("seperate"). You'll always
remember to use an a if you visualize yourself "separating" an ape —
you're splitting an ape in half. (Or an ape is separating something.)
Ape tells you that it's an a near the center of that word. Similarly, you
can see a gigantic eel going up in an "elevator"; an ape selling
"insurance"; an eel being bom, coming into "existence." See
yourself pouring tea on a "mortgage." See an eel writing on
"stationery" and an ape remaining "stationary."
Another way to avoid common spelling errors is to force one
simple word to remind you of the correct spelling within a word that's
more difficult to spell. My favorite example (I've used it since a
teacher of mine taught it in second grade): Never believe a lie. Think
of that and you'll never misspell the word "believe" again. The same
idea works for other tricky words: To "interrupt" is to err; a
"balloon" is shaped like a ball; tell a secret to your "secretary," all
lines are "parallel," there's iron in our "environment," you miss out
when you "misspell," and so forth.
All right! (Not "alright.")
Bernadette Skubly-Butts: It's important for me to remember

what's in our computers, but more important to remember the
computer formats — what codes to punch in to get the information
I need. For example, I may have to know how many seats are left
in all sections of a particular flight. I'd have to remember the code

letters FG; then I punch in FG, the flight number and date — and
all the vital information would immediately come up on the screen.
There are over twenty of these codes; each brings up different
information. Information like important holidays in France, when
the Grand Prix happens, different meal services, delayed flights, et
cetera. It would be of some great help and save me much time if
I could remember/know all those codes.
Companies know that this type of memory problem exists. Those

that come to me, or use my systems, solve the problem. Others . . .
well, Bemadette Skubly-Butts showed me a pamphlet that Air France

sends to all its offices, about "Francis," the airline's computer system.
The booklet is called Aide Memoire — "aid to memory." The
problem is, as Bemadette said, "Actually, all it is is a list of the codes
and the information to expect when we punch in that code, or format.
It doesn't tell us how to remember them."

Now that you know how to visualize letters, make them tangible,
this problem is easily solved. FG: think of fig, or half (F) a pair of
jeans (G) and associate it to "available seats." Do it any way you like.
If you thought of, and visualized, ^g5 sitting in all available seats, or
half jeans sitting in all available seats, you've got it. By the third or
fourth time you punch in FG, you won't have to think of your silly
picture anymore — it will be knowledge. That's an aide memoire!

Many of the simple computer codes begin with the letter W. One
is WR, for "search." Now, if you already know that all these codes
start with W, all you need to remember is R. Visualize yourself
searching for a clock (hour/R). If you want the two letters, either
searching for someone during a war, or Napoleon (I picture him for
Waterloo!) searching for a clock would do. That's all.
WI is the format code for "print." See words being printed on

your eye, or on Napoleon's eye. WL means "retrieve list." A very
long list is on an e/evated train, or you drop an important list down a
well, or list things on a wall. There are many ways to go; the one you
decide on is usually best for you. (You realize, of course, that if the
computer codes were numbers, exactly the same approach would

apply — since you can use the Peg System to make numbers tangible
and visual.)
There's one format in the airline's computer that has to do with
groups, or, more specifically, "cancellation of groups." Once you're
in that format, a single letter codes the reason for cancellation.
Example: the letter D means "could not confirm space." See a dean
(D) trying to get space, but no one will confirm it for him. See it and
you'll remember it. N means "insufficient number of participants." A

hen (N) is lonely, or can't get enough participants to lay eggs! I don't
care how silly you get — you thought of it; it'll work. F stands for
"competition offered a better fare." Half{¥) fare. (You might see half
a county /«/>. ) Easy, isn't it?
It's also important for airline people and travel agents to know the
three-letter codes for airports in different cities. Yes, they can be

looked up, but when you want to punch an airport code into your
computer, it's so much faster simply to know it. That's what every
travel agent and airline employee tells me.
As a traveler, I like to know these codes also. I want to see MSY
on my baggage claim check and know that my luggage is being
checked through to New Orleans. In many, or most, cases the letters
are an abbreviation of the airport name or city, like ATL for Atlanta,
or BOS for Boston. Those are easy. MSY for New Orleans can be a
problem. But not if you associate oar leans to Missy, or to hem (M),
ess (S) curve, wine (Y). (If you wanted to remember that it's Logan
Airport in Boston, just associate "hello again" or "low can" to
Boston beans.)
FCO is Fiumicino Airport Rome,
in Italy. Associate /(?w or "fume,
gee no' ' to roam in order to know that — remember that — name and
location. "Half sea owe" to Rome does it for the airport code.
Visualize half the sea going to Rome (or roaming) because it owes
itself that trip. An oar landing on an MC (master of ceremonies) who
shouts, "Oh!" tells you that MCO means the Orlando (McCoy)
airport. (An oar lands and says, "Me coy.")
I would like to give you every example I can think of where this idea
of making letters meaningful would apply. There simply isn't enough

space for that. But now that you know the technique (and the letter
words), there's no reason for you ever again not to be able to remember
letters of the alphabet and whatever it is that's connected to them.
Joseph V. Casale (President, Active Concern, Inc., representing
Phoenix Insurance Companies): I went to Jesuit school, and Jesuits
believe in memory. We had to memorize all the soliloquies of Hamlet,
the Greek alphabet, et cetera. They believed in that as mind training,
which, of course, it is — exercising the muscles of your mind. No, I
don't use notes when I speak to an audience. The Jesuits insisted that
you not read; you had to speak from knowledge, from memory. I hate
the idea of someone reading his speech to me.
Arlie Lazarus (President and COO, Jamesway Corporation): I speak

to audiences two or three times a week. I list key words; a key word
for each point I want to make.
HL: Would it be important to you if I taught you to know definitely all
the points you want to cover?

AL: Oh, without a doubt, extremely important and helpful. You mean
I wouldn't need that index card? Great!
15
Remember Speeches
and Sales Reports
Easily and Confidently
Read or Listen and Remember Any Business Material
you know number-one universal fear not death?

Did I
Death is
that the
number three or number four on

is
the Hst. The

number-one fear is facing and speaking to an audience! The
reason for that universal fear? In most cases, iVs fear offorgetting what
you want to say and looking like a fool. This is obviously not so among
corporate executives, since most of them do speak in front of audiences
quite often. I asked those I interviewed if they used notes to help them
deliver their speeches.
Ralph Destino: Never. If I speak on a new subject, perhaps I'd list
key thoughts. I speak about things I know. And when I'm in the
audience and the speaker reads or continually looks at notes, I may
127
not turn him off completely, but I am disappointed, and my

attention span will surely be shortened.
Michael K. Stanton: Rarely. If you go through the steps of
preparing an outline of your speech or a summary of your points,
you'll no longer need the written notes. Most often, you're going
to do it better and more effectively if you just go do it — no notes.
I sometimes tell a story about a speaker who walks to the lectern
after being introduced and reaches into his pocket for his voluminous
notes. They're not there! He searches through all his pockets — no
notes. Nervous and upset, he stammers his opening line: "Wh-when I
arrived this eve-evening only G-God and I kn-new what I was g-going
to s-s-say. Now only G-God knows!"
Evan R. Bell told me: "Yes, I use notes, but only an index card
with key thoughts. I wouldn't want to be like the guy in that anecdote.
It'd be of immeasurable help if I could be as sure of my memory as I
am of the written notes."
A. S. Clausi: I handle speeches three ways. The best is when I do

it extemporaneously — with a lot of previous planning. Next best
is one-word or one-thought notes. Reading the speech is third, and

worst. The main problem is — as you point out — not to forget a
point you want to make.
Alan Greenberg: I don't use notes during a business or charity

talk. I usually know the subject pretty well, and I just use your
Link System of memory to remember the sequence of thoughts and
facts. Even though I know the subject well, I don't want to leave
out an important point.
Good speakers don't allow themselves to be locked into using

notes. Begin with the assumption that the speaker knows the informa-
tion, knows what he wants to say. What's needed is a way to remember

the thoughts in sequence so that no key point is forgotten — the
problem A. S. Clausi and Alan Greenberg touch on above. You

already have a way: the Link system! Look back right now to chapter
Remember Spetches and Sales Reports 129
7. The items in the Link I taught you there (book, radio, accountant,
airplane . . .) could just as well have been the key words in a speech,
those that would remind you of the complete thoughts.
The key word here is key word! There is no thought that can be
written or verbalized (or both) from which you cannot extract one word
or phrase that will bring that thought to mind. Knowing that and
knowing how to form a Link is the basis of this method. Just Link the
key words of your speech or sales report. And because you know how
to make up words to represent numbers, and how to use a Substitute
Word to remind you of a name, that information can be included in
your Link.
What a simple idea! You've written the speech (or nad it written
for you), and you highlight or underline the words you know will bring
the thoughts to mind. Then, mentally highlight or underline them by

Linking them.
Edmond E. Chapus: I try not to use notes, because I think the
delivery is more natural and you get the attention of the people
much more when you look at them and speak Iseemingly]

extemporaneously. You can sense the mood of your audience
much better if you do not look down at notes.
Say you want to speak about your corporation's store locations

(real estate), sales, computer system, new product line, personnel
training, shipping, and advertising. The following Link would do it:
Stores are sailing on water; gigantic computers are sailing; there's a

line of sparkling {new) computers; many people {personnel) are
standing in a line; you're packing personnel into corrugated cartons to
ship them; gigantic shipping cartons have billboards, advertisements,
on them.
This Link of seven key words could help you remember a ten- to
fifteen-minute talk or a one-hour speech — according to how much
you have to say about each point and how much time you want to take
saying it. (All executives know that the biggest mistake in delivering
a speech is wandering off the point or going on too long — or both.
There are catchphrases to remind you not to do that, like: KISS —
keep it simple [or short], stupid; the three S's — stand up, speak up.
shut up; and tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell 'em, tell 'em
what you've told 'em.)
I asked Casey Fleming (not his real name; he prefers anonymity),

CEO of his company and a student of mine, to give me an example of
a sales report. A cut-down version follows. I've changed the product
names, and numbers, but the report remains pretty true to the original.
And I've inserted, in brackets, what Casey and I might visualize and
Link. Read it over, then form the Link, and you'll have memorized the
report.
As you know, our four new-model typewriters, those we're calling
the Four Aces [four typewriters playing cards, one holds the four
aces] have been on the market for a year now. Two are doing quite
well. The portable model number 46 [you're carrying a gigantic

roach] surprised us. It has grossed $2,625,000. [Roach to new
channel (the speaker knows that he's dealing with single-digit
millions.)] The electronic model number 47 also did well: it
grossed $3,500,000. [Rock — my laces; get electricity — for
"electronic" — in there, if you feel you'd need it.]
It's the two "intelligent" models, number 48 and number 49,

the memory-capable machines, that are problematic. [On a roof is
a gigantic rope; the rope is intelligent but has sl problem — it can't
remember, no memory. See it searching for things as if it has

forgotten where they are.] Model number 49, the 16K machine
[that's 16K of memory — ropddish cake] just barely held its own;
it grossed $400,000 [roses; you can see yourself /âr^^y holding on
to them]. The big disappointment is model number 48, the 8K
machine [roof to ivy cake, or fake]; it lost money. [Perhaps you
tasted the cake made of ivy and it's a disappointment — then it
gets lost.]
One major headache has been Hudson Data Company, our
chip supplier. [So many dates and chips are floating down the
Hudson River that you get a major headache.] Shipments are
always late and the S14 [stair] chips were sent a number of times
instead of the R14's [radar]. We're looking for a new chip
manufacturer.
The Pathe Advertising Company [path, path A, passe, pate]
Remember Speeches and Sales Reports 131
came up with the Four Aces idea and started the promotion
campaign, but there, too, we may make a change. [Make change
of a dollar.] We may move the account to Brand, Clark Associates.
[Brand a clock].
All these things are now open to discussion. Let's hear some
of your thoughts.
It's an individual thing; some would Link just the words, phrases,
or thoughts suggested; others wouldn't need all of them; and some
would include more pictures to remind them of more details.
On April 13, 1987, Chairman Arthur Levitt, Jr., delivered a
speech at the annual meeting of the American Stock Exchange. The

opening of his talk was a reminder of the good news he had reported
at the previous annual meeting. Then he went on to show that 1986 had
been an even better year than 1985, and quoted the following statistics:
In 1986, our equity volume climbed 41.7 percent.

Our options volume rose 34.6 percent.
Our revenues were up 21.0 percent.
And new listings, up 39.1 percent, topped the 100 mark for
the first time in 14 years.
The speech went on for a few more pages, of course, but it's the
kind of information cited above that I want to discuss. Try this:
Visualize yourself throwing away your tea — quit tea (equity); it
makes such a loud noise {volume) that it gives you a heartache (41 .7).
A cop chins (options) until he gets a heartache (you want each

piece of information to lead to the next); he sees a rose making lots of
noise {volume rose) as it joins in a inarch (34.6).
As you're marching, you rev news (instead of an engine —
revenues; just news or money would do also); the news floats up, you
catch it in a net (21).
An enormous net lists (leans —

or it's full of written lists) as it's
mopped (39.1) up. You're mopping up a spinning top with the mark
of a disease (100) on it; the mark is shaped like a tire ( 14 years).
I've included many words or pictures here that Fd ordinarily not
bother with because I'd already know that information. I'm using them
only as teaching examples. As you woric with this idea on your own
speeches, you will see how simple it is and how few words you'll
probably need as reminders.
HL: If I could give you a great memory in one area, which area
would you choose?
Peter Kougasian: I'd love to be able to remember informational
reading material. What a boon that'd be. The last thing I do every
night is read the New York Law Journal — it's a daily paper —
and I try to remember the criminal cases recorded there. Remem-
bering what I read would help me in law tremendously. It would
also help me in life.
I will use some specific "law-reading" examples in chapter 25.
But in all careers, we ingest most of our information via reading and
listening. The techniques I've been discussing here apply not only to
delivering a speech or sales report but also to remembering a speech or

sales report you hear. There's no better way to "force-focus" your
attention and concentration as you listen.
Every how-to-listen-effectively course boils down to two words:

pay attention. But not one of these courses tells you how to do that.
The problem, you see, is that most people think four times faster than
the other person speaks. So, there's too much time available for mind
wandering. How, then, can you keep your mind from wandering,
which is the same as not paying attention?
Well, one way is to ask questions of the speaker mentally, or to ask
them of yourself <3^0M/ the speaker: "Oh yeah? Are you going to prove
that?" Or, "I wonder how he's going to prove that?" The point is that
by asking questions, you keep your mind there, on the subject — and
you cut down on "wandering" time. That's all right; it does help.
But the best way is to Link the points the speaker is making a^ he's
making them. You have the time to do so — that four-to-one discrep-
ancy between the speed of your thinking and his speaking (plus the
extra time you'll have during anecdotes, asides, and "hems and
haws"). Of course, after applying the idea for a while, you'll be
Linking the points you want to remember faster and faster. You may
even have to include (Link) some minor points, just to keep your
Remember Speeches and Sales Reports 133
attention pinpointed, to keep your mind from wandering. The idea

works beautifully when listening to a speech, or during a meeting,
when a sales report is being presented — because that's the point of my

systems! They force attention and concentration. Mind wandering is
out while forming a Link! The same techniques apply to remembering

reading material.
The following item is paraphrased from a September 1987 business
article. It might very well be a report you hear. For teaching purposes,
however, let's assume you're reading it.
Malrite Communications Group Inc. announced that it has com-

pleted the sale of KMVP-AM and KRXY-FM, its Denver radio
stations, to Capital Cities/ABC for 10.7 million. The company will
report a gain on this transaction in the third quarter. Proceeds from
the sale will go toward reducing long-term debt. Malrite Commu-
nications operates 11 radio and 6 television stations.
To remember it, you might link the following: mail right (arm) to
communicating with a group (via an announcement) to sail move up (or
hem veal pea) I am (AM) to clock (hour/R) eggs wine (or Roxy) fume
(FM) to den-radio to capital domes reciting the ABCs to task (10.7)
to gain ma (gain in third quarter) to reduce to owing money (debt) to
tide (\\)-radio to shoe (6)-television. (Please bear in mind that if you

are interested in the information, if it's part of your business, it all
becomes clearer and easier. Also, you wouldn't need all the associa-
tions. In this example, you probably wouldn't have needed "commu-

nicating, group," for instance. Try the idea with some of your business
material — and see.)
In the chapters to come, there are more examples of this technique and
how it can be applied to legal, medical, and similar complex material.
It's that important; I want you to understand and use these ideas for
giving speeches, listening to reports, and digesting reading materials
more effectively.
HL: You're one of the funniest people I know. In order to be a comic,
do you have to have a good memory?

Charles Nelson Reilly (Actor, Director): Oh sure; you have to
remember a lot — you have to be a fihng cabinet. You have to
remember jokes that fit all different situations. If someone mentions

"animals," I immediately see animal jokes in my mind; if he mentions
"doctor," I see numerous doctor jokes. What is that if not memory?
HL; As a director, how often would you put up with the excuse "I
forgot" from your actors?

CNR: That never happens. Nobody says that to me. Theater actors
know that's part of the job; you don't say to a director, "I forgot."
16
''Staying/Graying"
Power
Double the Memory Power You Had at Twenty!
his seventies, President Ronald Reagan was probably the most

In popular, most well known, man in the world, and, he had power.
What's interesting to me. and should be to you, is that his
popularity and his power started to wane when (in 1987) he started to
forget things. For months, comedians did jokes about his forgetfulness.
I, myself, was asked to be part of a pilot television show (NBC-TV),
on which I would explain (in a humorous fashion) how he could have
remembered the date on which he signed the okay for sending arms to
Nicaragua — and so on. The point is, when executives /orger, people
lose confidence in them, which leads to losing power.
Arlie Lazarus, President and COO of the Jamesway Corporation,
is a hands-on executive, closely involved with the day-to-day running
135
of his business. James way Corporation operates over 100 miniature

"department" stores.
AL: I've been president of Jamesway for over ten years I sometimes .
say to my wife, 'When do you lose it? Will I ever slow down? What
'
will happen if I lose my memory?" I've thought about it if I lose —

my ability to remember — my God, you're really nothing without
your memory . It ' s the first thing I thought of when I had a concussion
some years ago. I wish you'd discuss that in your book — older
people, retired people, the slow-down process.
HL: Actually, Arlie, I believe that one reason, maybe the main
reason, for the general inefficiency I see today is that men or
women who reach, say, age sixty-five — and have been doing
their work for perhaps forty years — are now forced to retire.
These people know what they are doing. Now their shoes are
— poorly — by young people with

filled no experience. little or
(Experience memory, — remembering
is events isn't it past in
your area of expertise?) Inefficiency rears its unknowing head.

And I've proved that a person at seventy, seventy-five, or more,
can have a better memory than at age forty! All that's necessary is
to use — stimulate — your memory properly.

AL: I do see that in my own organization. People get older and
don't lose a thing. It'smy experience that older people tend to be
better as store managers, for example.
Mel Brooks agrees: "In many cases, give me one seventy- or

seventy-five-year-old with experience over three or four new young
people." I can assure Arlie Lazarus that so long as he keeps his mind
active— and one way do use my systems, which he
great to this is to
does — he doesn't have worry about "losing to it" (barring accidents
and disease, of course). That's been a cry of mine for almost forty
years. But I gotta be honest — George Clemenceau said it long before:
"I have discovered the fountain of youth. The secret is simple. Never
let your brain grow inactive and you will keep young forever."
And now, it seems, scientists — neurobiologists, neuroscientists,
physiologists, endocrinologists — are catching up. As long ago as
191 1 , a pioneering neurobiologist, Santiago Ramon y Cajal, suggested

that "cerebral exercise" could benefit the brain (mind).
"Staying/Graying" Power 137
But for years, when I said that people who apply my memory
systems do not lose brain cells as they age (as we've been led to believe
most people do), but may even gain brain cells, the scientists
pooh-poohed me. Well, now their own research shows "that devel-
opment and growth of the brain go on into old age." A team of
researchers led by Dr. Marian Diamond, Professor of Physiology at the
University of California at Berkeley, came to that conclusion, as

detailed in an article by Daniel Goleman in the New York Times (June
30, 1985). The researchers admitted according to the article, that "it
was once thought that the brain was fixed by late childhood, according
to innate genetic design." But no longer. So, simply applying the
systems taught in this book offers you the best of both worlds — you'll
be exercising your mind and getting ahead in business!
The Times article cites a report in Experimental Neurology, by the
same researchers that says that "even in old age the cells of the
cerebral cortex respond to an enriched environment by forging new
connections to other cells." Within the context, "enriched environ-
ment" meant a stimulating environment, one in which the mind had to
be more active. For rats, a bare, small cage with a single occupant was
an impoverished environment. A roomier cage where many rats
wandered through mazes, ran on wheels, and climbed ladders was an

enriched environment. Old rats in a stimulating environment showed
increased thickening of the cortex — which was a sign that brain cells
increased in size and activity. The glial cells (of which Albert Einstein
had an unusually large number) multiplied and the tips of the brain
cells' dendrites lengthened.
Dr. Diamond's research suggests that nerve cells grow no matter
what one's age in response to intellectual enrichment (read "exercise"
or use — using your imagination and memory) of all kinds, even
crossword puzzles — "anything that stimulates the brain with novelty
and challenge." It was found that the dendritic projections act like
muscles. Dr. Arnold Scheibel, Professor of Psychiatry at the University

of California at Los Angeles, says that "they grow more the more
they're used." You can set off dendritic "fireworks" by learning a
new language, or trying to learn one, when you're older.
And in his book Aging Myths (McGraw-Hill), Dr. Siegfried Kra,
Cardiologist and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Yale
]38 MEMORY MAKES MONEY
University Sciiool of Medicine, writes that "confusion . . . and

memory loss are not part of the aging process." He goes on to say that
the majority of people (80 percent) who live to old age are not troubled
by "memory impairment."
In my opinion, people who use my systems tend to hold back
senility! Same reasoning: the "muscle" is being exercised. According
to the New York Daily News (April 30, 1987), today's research, in-
cluding that of the National Institutes of Aging, "debunks the traditional

assumption [not mine!] that aging and forgetfulness go together." But
the "tips" supplied in many recent articles give me a chuckle. They tell
you not to worry — all you have to do is "pay attention," "concen-

trate," "focus on facts." They're absolutely right, but again, none of
them tell you how! Well, I'm doing that for you.
My white hair was jet black (and all there) when I wrote my first
book on memory training. I have to admit that my natural memory is
not what it used to be. (The old gray mare?) I'll stumble over words
here and there, and do the things most people do when they are older.
But when I apply my systems, I still can remember anything better,

faster, easier, with more retentiveness, than anyone — no matter what
his or her age. So can you.
And yes, you can teach old dogs new tricks — at least, I know I can
teach older people new tricks. Even after they've suffered a stroke.
Here's part of a letter I received from Bob Norland of Temecula,

California:
I am man in my seventies. I had a stroke that paralyzed my right

a
side. What mainly concerned me was that it had affected my mind.
We are given the impression that the memory is the first to go, and
that it is a function of age. So — while in the hospital, I learned
your memory systems.

I'm happy to report that they sure worked. My memory
functions now better than it when I was a young man. I have
did
since given a successful memory demonstration before my local
Toastmasters Club. I have no trouble remembering telephone
numbers, which is a blessing because I cannot write with my right
hand, so when I'm given a number over the phone I have to

remember it because I can't write and iiold the phone at the same
time.
I was one of those "I can't remember names, but I never forget
a face" people. Now I seldom have trouble with names. Thanks to
your systems I have now regained confidence in my mind and
memory.
All knowledge and all memory is based on associating new

information, new ideas, to things and facts you already know. So, you
see, the older you get the more you know and the more you've
remembered, the more of a base there is onto which to connect new
things. It's really an automatic process.
If you've worked along with me up to here, you have no choice but

to agree that you can remember better than ever before — and I don't
care how old (or young) you Do bear in mind that as you grow older
are.
your interest (not your memory) may start to wane. You don't listen as
attentively as you used to because you're not as interested. It's important
to realize that my systems /orc^ interest; simply trying to apply them to
any kind of material enlivens your interest in that material.
On the morning of the day I wrote this, I underwent minor sur-

gery. The anesthesiologist came to talk to me for a moment and
introduced himself — Dr. Majithia (an Indian name, pronounced
"ma-ge^-thee-a"). Well, there's no way I'd automatically remember
that (because of my age, and because of the circumstances). I'd
ordinarily not even hear it. But — I applied my system. I simply

pictured myself leaving my mother; I said, "Ma, gee — see ya!"
That's all. It forced me to (a) listen to the name, (b) think about the
name, and (c) get its syllables in the correct sequence. True memory
told me that "see" was pronounced "thee" in this name (I could also
have visualized myself lisping; that'd work just fine) and that the
accent was on "gee."

I just mentioned "true" memory, as I have a few times previously;
it. True memory is the associative process with which
I'd better define
you're bom. As you mature, it's the process that makes you think
white when you hear "black," think hot when you hear "cold" —
in/out, up/down, and so forth. It's the process that opens the floodgates
of memory. Think of your first boyfriend or your first girlfriend and
experiences and other friends from that time flood in. A favorite old
song, of course, will do the same. Think of the first time you saw, say.
Gone with the Wind, and again, that associative process starts — you'll
think of who you were with, where you were living, and more. The
same is probably true when you think of the moment you first heard
that John F. Kennedy had been shot.
So there's true memory and trained memory, and a very thin line
separates the two. As you continue to use my trained-memory systems,
that line starts to fade; it gets thinner and thinner. Your mind already
is an associating machine. I'm not giving you anything new, I'm just
improving to an incredible degree what you already have!
The way I handled the name Majithia is exactly how I teach mature
people to exercise their minds — every time they meet someone new.
The end result is obvious. I called Dr. Majithia by name in the
operating room, and he was shocked (pleasantly) that I remembered it
at all, let alone pronounced it correctly. He treated me with a bit more

respect and care, I think. But I want you to realize all the other good
things you'd be doing in the process of applying my systems that
perhaps are not so obvious. You would listen; most people don't. You
would be thinking, pinpointing your concentration, registering infor-
mation in the first place, at that moment (original awareness). You'd
be using your imagination; and you'd be showing interest — you'd be
impressing the other person. Most people don't!
The cross I've had to bear (the cross of Lorayne?) for years is that
everybody knows that physical exercise is good for you. Sure it is; but
mental exercise is just as important, if not more so. Using your mind,
imagination, concentration — memory — can be considered mental
sit-ups. And they are easier to do than physical sit-ups. As a matter of
fact, many people have told me that they go over, review, some of my
ideas (like the Peg Words, or forming a Link of that day's errands) as
they jog, do sit-ups, and push-ups, ride the stationary bicycle, row
merrily along on the rowing machine, or work out in the gym. They
tell me that it relieves the boredom of the physical exercise. Well,
good. But what's more important is that the mind as well as the body
is being exercised.
I see commercials talking people into plastic surgery. Face-lifts,
body-lifts, buttock tightening, to make one look and, presumably, /ipe/
younger. A "mind-lift" will definitely do the latter. Apply my

systems — you'll clear out, refresh those brain cells!
Most mature people want to get ahead, reach higher plateaus, more
powerful executive positions. Others may just like what they're doing,
but want to become or continue to be the best in the world at what
they're doing.
George J. Konogeris is Senior Vice President of Kinney Shoe
Corporation — way up there on the corporate ladder. He told me:
Someone with an exceptional memory, young or old, would

certainly come to my attention, and he or she would be looked at
closely for promotion. A good, strong sales personality usually

also has a good memory — they go hand in hand — this holds true
for young and old.
Cartier, Inc., has 143 stores around the world and is probably the
most famous name in jewelry. Chairman Ralph Destino told me:
The single most successful selling person in our company — I'm

putting all our stores together — is one fellow, seventy-six years
old; he is by far the best there is. Why? He has a great knowledge
of — remembers everything about — gems. So he can speak
intelligently about them. That knowledge, however, is almost
worthless unless he can sell one of those stones to somebody.
That' s what he does — sells.
He remembers everyone's birthday or anniversary, children's

and grandchildren's birthdays. More than that, he'll remember that
Mr. X bought his wife a sapphire brooch on their tenth anniversary.
Ten years later, he knows it's the twentieth anniversary and he'll call
Mr. X to tell him that he has the most wonderful pair of earrings to
go with that brooch "you bought for your wife ten years ago" And, !
he addresses clients by name, asks about family by name. He has

for sure made himself indispensable; he is a fantastic salesman
(which is just what he wanted, and wants, to be).
That man has made himself indispensable. You can too. Your
incredible memory for business details can do it, can give you that
much-needed edge. Apply these memory systems to become the proud

possessor of a most prodigious memory, and for easy automatic, mental ,
exercise.
Other exercises in the areas of creativity, out-of-rut-thinking, prob-
lem solving, and decision making can be both fun and valuable. There
are some coming up. You can also set up your own exercises, you know.
Easily. I've taught you how to think up Substitute Words or phrases for
names. I've also taught you how to memorize things in sequence (the
Link System). Get a list of the presidents of the United States and
memorize them in sequence! The exercise is in the thinking up of the
Substitute Words and the forming of the ridiculous pictures. Try to

memorize all the states and their capital cities. Or countries of the world
and their capitals. You'll learn something — even though you may not
be interested in the specific topic — and the mind exercise is great.
Before I give you some additional creative-thinking exercises, here are

the solutions to Test 7 on page 31. If you haven't tried to solve them
yourself, do so now — before you look at the explanations below.
Exercise your mind.
a. If you kept those "thinker blinkers" on and thought only in
terms of Roman numerals, you didn't solve this one. I never said that
the answer had to be a Roman numeral. To think creatively is to think
outside the usual perimeters. The even number involved is six (6 and
8 were the only possibilities). And the solution is to put the symbol
"S" in front of the "IX" to get "SIX."
b. You may consider this a "groaner." If you do, I'm sorry. But
now you can give your business acquaintances a groan or two. To
make the line shorter, draw a longer line beneath it. Now the original
line is shorter. Isn't it?
c. The problem:
Move only two matches to bring the olive outside the martini glass.
Solution: Slide the horizontal match halfway to the left, like this:
Then move the match that's still at the right, near the olive, to the left
as indicated by the arrow, to make it the left side off the upside-down
glass. You end up with this:
Those mind exercises did make you think, didn't they? Now, can
you think of a way to add 2 to 11 and get the legitimate answer of 1 ?
Think about it — think creatively, outside the usual perimeters,

perhaps along the periphehque as the French would say. Solve
, it, or
give up — then . . .
Try to solve this:
• • •
• • •
• • •
It's an oldie, but if you don't know it, it'll test your
creative-thinking ability. The problem? Connect all the dots with only
four straight lines. (It's easy to do with five lines.) Do it without lifting
your pencil from the paper and without touching any dot more than
once.
Fill in the letter that's next in this series:
OTTFFSS—
Arrange ten coins (pennies, nickels, on dimes) as shown below.
Consider the arrangement to be an arrowhead pointing up. Move

only three coins (which numbers?) to different spots and thus make the
arrowhead point down.
Where would the next letter go — above or below the line? Why?
A EF HI KLMN
BCD G J O
I love the next two riddles:

A man arrives in a small town; he wants a haircut. There are only
two old-fashioned barbershops in town. The man looks into one shop
and sees that the owner/barber has a terrible haircut, needs a shave, is
generally disheveled. The man checks out the second shop; that barber
has a great haircut and is clean-shaven. The man goes back to the first
(disheveled) barber for his haircut. Why?

A house painter has to paint consecutive numbers, to 100, 1 on one
hundred doorways. How many 6's must he paint altogether?
Solutions to these seven mental exercises will be found later on.
Here's another good thinking exercise: Form as many words as you

can, within a specific amount of time (two minutes, for example), from
the letters of another word. Example: Try to form at least twenty-five
two-, three-, and four-letter words from "wearing." Then look at the
following possibilities (there are still more!):
wear an wean wen

ring gear ran gnaw
ear rig grew wan
are age gain raw

era awe rain war
we near wave win
in ire new wing
Got the idea? Now try these words (one at a time, of course):
practitioner, sympathize, comfortable, cleaning.
A particularly good mental sit-up is to try to join two unassociated

items within these specific guidelines: Skip from one word to another
by adding a letter, removing a letter, or changing a letter. Also, by
using asynonym or antonym, a word that rhymes, or any logical skip
from one word to a word that the first one makes you think of. Here's
an example: key to book.
key, keg, wood, paper, page, book
or
key, keg, peg, pen, paper, page, book
How about book io fish? Short way — one skip — book, hook,
fish. Longer way: book, look, see, sea, fish. Try these on your own:
scissors to pen
wristwatch to lamp
car to paper
glass to hand
Don't let your mind atrophy — use it. The thinking exercises I just
described are excellent; applying the systems I'm teaching you is
better.
So, learn and apply my systems and stop worrying about growing
older. And, remember, when anyone, any group, any corporation,
anywhere in the world, wants a memory-training specialist — as a
keynote speaker, or as a consultant, or to conduct training seminars —
they come to the "old gray mare." Me!
In 1983 Victor Sperandeo, Managing General Partner of Hugo
Securities Company, was the subject of a five-page cover story in
Barron s. More recently (September 27, 1987), Barron's ran a six-page
story on Victor headlined "The Ultimate Wall St. Pro." When I
interviewed him, Victor said:
The ability to produce wealth comes from knowledge of what is
demanded. Your techniques are a method for acquiring knowledge,

Harry. Knowledge and memory are the essence of making money.
17
How the Ultimate
Wall Street Pro Turned
Memoiy Power into
Money-Making Power
Victor Sperandeo started life as a poor kid; he's a self-made

man. He was a $65-a-week quote boy at age twenty. Within
two years he was trading options for himself. And within
four years he was a professional money manager — managing his own
money. Victor considers himself a professional speculator. According
to a Barron's headline, he "goes where the action is; a man for all
markets."
"Speculators" speculate with knowledge. As you'll learn from
this interview, Victor probably speculates with more knowledge than
most. Listen as he tells how he got into the trading business in the first
place. His attitudes about using memory (for facts, for speeches, for
general knowledge) in his business match my own.
147
VS: became successful by using my memory. I learned your

I
systems back in 1964/65. I was just out of high school, going to

college at night. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for a living. I
read that a biologist, a physicist, and Wall Street trader all made
$25,00 a year — the highest-paid positions then. I wasn't good at
biology or physics; I was interested in and pretty good with

numbers, and I like to gamble; so I chose trading.
In those days there was ticker tape. You had to know what
those three-letter symbols that ran across the tape stood for. There
were about sixteen hundred issues trading on the New York Stock
Exchange.
In January 1968 I was interviewed for a job. I was asked,
"What makes you think you can be a trader?" I said, "Well, I've
memorized all the symbols on the New York Stock Exchange." I
had done it with your systems; I really thought I had to know them
to be a trader. The interviewer didn't believe me; he tested me on
some little-known symbols. I got every one right. He thought I was
a genius and hired me on the spot.
All it really was was that I had an interest and I used your
techniques to develop that interest. I saw how impressed people
were. It took me about a week to learn the systems and another
week to memorize all the symbols. And I was in business! I made
about $30,000 my first year (after serving my time as a quote boy);
not bad for 1968. Two years later I was making over $50,000 and
then I started my own business. I now own three seats on the
American Stock Exchange. That's how memory was important to
me, in starting a successful career. I don't think remembering
symbols is that important now. The concept, the ability', is.
I occasionally deliver speeches, and I find I can command

respect by hitting my listeners with so many facts that it seems
impossible. That's how memory helps me now. They think I'm
much brighter than I probably really am. I used to trade everything,

so I knew all the symbols and tried to memorize the prices as theI
tape moved. You still have to memorize a great deal, although a

broker today can look up the symbols.
It's commanding respect. The more you impress,
a question of
the more business you'll do. From any angle. Impress, command
The Ultimate Wall Street Pro 149
respect, and in this business people are ready to invest money with
you, trust you. The ability to rattle off information, memorize
whatever you want to, that's how to gain confidence. Had I not
memorized all those symbols all those years ago, I probably
wouldn't have gotten my first job in the business — a thousand
people were interviewed for it. I impressed the guy with only that
one thing.
In my experience, Harry, the key to memorization is the ability
to understand what you want to learn, of course, and the ability
[once you've memorized something] to show it to and impress

someone else, especially if it's a large, difficult thing to learn.
Your systems make things very clear and easy to memorize. And
then there's knowledge. Your memory is your building block to
knowledge. If you memorize information, especially if it's a

tremendously diversified amount, it's like a computer, you're
gathering information you can use in the future. I use your
techniques to memorize things I want to retain, things I want to
become part of my knowledge.

You're building knowledge and also your intelligence, IQ.
You need to keep these things in your memory, even uninteresting
information. (That's something you talk about often, Harry.) You
have to memorize these things — to get the job, impress people, or
just to know it, which was the case for me. I needed to know it; I
needed to impress people.
I still know all those symbols after twenty years. I build on that
information. Anytime I need to learn something that's diverse,
large, new, difficult, I use one of your techniques. It's not only
learning for now, it's also learned for the future.
HL: You're agreeing with me that intelligence and IQ are based on
prior knowledge, on memory.
VS: Absolutely. Some will disagree, but I believe we're bom with
a "clean slate." So, as babies we see and learn precepts. You see
a tree; you're told it's a tree. Now you have a concept. You now
know what a tree is, and that's how the building blocks develop.
From that you learn that trees are made of wood and you build
tables with them, and that's how you develop your knowledge.
Once you learn something, or you ask a question — once some-
thing becomes knowledge — you can build on that knowledge.

I've developed a tremendous amount of intellectual ability by
using your systems to integrate into my mind things that would
otherwise have taken me many years to learn because I don't have
a great interest in them, because it doesn't come naturally. I can
now learn very quickly. The point is that memory has a great deal
to do with IQ and furthering knowledge.
HL: Vic, do you use notes when you deliver a speech?
VS: I want to look at my audience. So I don't use notes, and I refer
to many aspects of stock market history, mostly numbers. I can

quote the Dow Jones averages through history, without notes, lots
of statistical analysis. Most people can't remember numbers, so I
impress the heck out of them.

I use analysis and probabilities as do life insurance companies.
I know the probabilities in my business. What's the median length
of a primary market movement? Go back to 1897 and measure —
it's 120 days. That tells you generally what to expect. Like an
insurance company wants to know if the insured is twenty-two, or
seventy-two with a cold. It's changed now to 1 16 days. So, if the
market has been going up for, say, 1 14 days and you see signs of
a cold, you don't want to get 100-percent invested. I have
memorized these important numbers, which I use in my speeches.
From December 31, 1986, to May 5, 1987, the market moved
from 1896 (Dow Jones — I'm rounding) to 2446 (rounding) and
topped on That's up 550
April 6. points. That's about 1 10 days
market moved up — about 24
that the percent. Well, you've got a
seventy-two year old man. It may go up another 116 days, but
prudence dictates — just ask an insurance company what they'd do
with a seventy-two-year old man. They don't think he'll live to a
hundred; the premium goes up accordingly. That's what I do. In
this example, around March 26 to April 6, I got very bearish for

just these statistical reasons. The market moved down to 2200; I
caught that sell-off, went short, and made a lot of money — using
these statistics that I memorized and also use in my speeches.
That's all I'm stressing here. I can't teach people how to trade
stocks in this interview, obviously. There's much more you have
to know. But having all these statistics at my fingertips makes me
The Ultimate Wall Street Pro 151
look like a guru to most people. I've used your systems for many
things; they help me remember everything easily, and with clarity
and accuracy.
Let's face it. It seems like I know what I'm talking about when
I can go through 130-odd years of history mentioning dates of
economic troughs and peaks, et cetera.
You know, I use my own money to trade. Most people in the

market make money from commissions. They use other people's
money. If the market goes up they make money, if it goes down,
too bad, but they still make money. The point is, how do you get
that money from other people? You gotta impress somebody. With
what? With knowledge! With expertise. Results have to come
afterward. I have a stockbroker friend who jokes, "Give me two
million dollars and I'll make you a millionaire!"
Okay. I've used your systems to help me gather the tools I
need to be successful in my business. To remember all those
numbers — and numbers are difficult to remember, even if you

love them!
HL: Is remembering names of people important in your business?
VS: I do meet people in high places, and then I do apply your
system to remember them. But I sit in front of computers most of
the day. I'm more or less a hermit in business; I don't meet many
people.
You know where I apply your system? I want to know the
name of a telephone voice. I have a direct connection to the
Chicago Stock Exchange. When I'm called, I want to recognize
the voice and call it by name immediately. And the same with
many other telephone voices. It saves time. I can lose or gain, say,
$600 in thirty seconds. If I have to say, "Who is this?" it can cost
time and money.
When I'm introduced to someone who I think is important, I
certainly use your technique; it works, and the name stays with
me. When I meet him again, it's prestigious, it makes me a friend,
when I know the name. Wall Street is a small place, and you never
know when you'll need friends.
HL: What should I include in my book to help young people, just
starting, reach your level of success, Vic?
VS: Once a person has the desire to succeed, he or she has to

memorize (learn) everything he can about his business. Then he
can expand on that. That's what I did. People must know how to
memorize large quantities of information, to program their minds

as they program a computer. Get the information in; get it out
when you need it. And how to make remembering [learning]
fun. . . ,
In which area would I like a photographic memory? Numbers,

history. I think anyone in the financial area has to give you that
answer. When money is entrusted to you, your client wants to
know, "How knowledgeable is this person?" On Wall Street it's
a referent to history. Because if you know what happened in the
past, if you know how and why it happened — you know more
than others. Example: You should know that, historically, when-
ever a president died in office the market has gone down,
especially if it was an assassination, starting with Lincoln. And it
has always gone higher within three weeks. So, as soon as news of
a president's death is known, the market goes down. Three weeks
later, it's higher than before. That's happened each time, without
exception. (Sometimes it goes higher in days — but safe side,
three weeks.) The point is that if you're handling someone's
money, and you have this kind of knowledge, you're more likely
to make an intelligent decision based on the past — history, and
your knowledge of it.
Victor Sperandeo is a prime example of what can be accomplished

when the memory systems are used. He is a prime example of the
importance of an exceptional memory in business. For him it was
instrumental in getting him "seated" on the American Stock
Exchange — three times!
HL: How do actors remember new lines when working in a play?
Charles Nelson Reilly (Actor, Director): Because that's what they do.
You can tell me to run into the cockpit of a 747 and fly that plane, but
I don't know how to do that. Remembering new lines? That's what we
do. It's habit. When I was doing Hello, Dolly! they'd slide new songs
under our doors at 1 am for that day's 2 pm matinee! We did the new
1
songs, memorized them. You know what it is? It's habit!

HL: You know what I think, Charles? I think you have a great memory
for lines because you say it's easy, you don't make it a problem.
CNR: Well, that's right. It's what I do —

you know what I'm saying?
It's still habit! Roberta Peters knows some operatic roles in three
languages. In an emergency, she could sing Fledermaus in Italian,
German, or English. She has sung La Traviata in Russian, and can do
it in Italian or English. She's been learning opera from the time she
was fourteen. It's a habit.
18
Razor-sharpen
That Business Edge:
Numbers
Prices, Style numbers. Stock Quotations,
Financial Data, Telephone numbers.
Intercom numbers, and More
We are so number-oriented in today's
just be
cities, in
numbers soon. One problem with
busy butcher shops or bakeries, you'd have
world that
that
I
is
feel we'll all
that in large
to take
a name! (Just a silly joke.) My point is that we are so number-oriented
that it seems redundant to tell you again how important it is to
remember them. We live in a capitalistic society; things are rated by,
judged and valued by, the price the consumer has to pay for them.
When I was in Manila, the Philippines (before Aquino), I found out
that the country was under marshal law. I don't know whether one
thing has anything to do with the other, but every hotel room — from
terrible to great — cost the same number of pesos per night. Not so
154
Razor- sharpen That Business Edge: Numbers 155
here in the United States. So prices, telephone numbers, and financial

data must be remembered.
I asked Ralph Destino of Cartier, Inc., "If I could give you a
photographic memory in one area, which would you select?"
I'd select numbers. Nowadays, in this business, numbers are so

important: price of gold — up or down; price of diamonds — up or
down; rates of exchange — dollar to franc, pound; interest rates;
and so on. I can check these things, but I'd like to have them at my
command, and not have to look them up in the New York Times or
the Wall Street Journal.
The late Richard Himber, a well-known orchestra leader (and a

personal friend of mine), was the first person I knew of who had a
telephone number that matched his name. Some twenty-five years ago,
he'd tell people, "Just dial R. HIMBER." There was an RH
(RHinelander) exchange, RH 4. His full telephone number was RH
4-6237 (IMBER on the telephone dial is 46237). Richard told me how
important this was for him; no one ever forgot his number. Now,
especially with the advent of the toll-free 800 exchange, everyone
wants his number remembered. So, a gourmet strudel baker's number
could be 800-STRUDEL. Or, a stop-smoking program's number could
be 800-NO SMOKE. A doctor who specializes in hernia operations
may advertise and ask you to dial 1-800-RUPTURE! Well, in this
chapter, I'll show you how to remember telephone numbers any —
telephone numbers —
plus how to solve many other number problems.
J. K. Hartman: It instills confidence to spout facts and figures

seemingly off the top of your head. Even if you're wrong (although
not in my business; can't be wrong there). That was a John F.
Kennedy technique. He'd spout statistics might have all been —
it sure made you think he knew what he was talking
baloney, but
about.
He knew the importance of making it look as if he had a great
memory, and thus instilling confidence. He did it during his Nixon
debates. He'd rattle off statistics on the number of rockets we had
versus the Russians, and so on. Sounded terrific. Much of it was

later proved to be totally incorrect! But it made the necessary
points for him. Coming up with statistics — showing off your
great memory — is an important part of making an impression in
any area. Teach us to do it and spout correct statistics.
Stephen Rose (Chairman and CEO, AC and R DHB and Bess,

division of Ted Bates Advertising): Remembering numbers and
their relationships, facts, impresses potential clients; it makes
credible what you're saying. It's urgent.
Not only does my system for remembering numbers work beau-

tifully, it's also fascinating, imaginative, fun, and impressive. You
can soar with this technique. (Modesty is a drag!) And you already
know it.
You know the Phonetic Number/ Alphabet, and that's what's most
important. You'll use the Peg Words too, but the sounds are the key.
I know that it isn't often necessary to memorize long numbers. But
students of mine have told me that knowing things like credit card
numbers, driver's license number, passport number, and so forth have

been life-savers on occasion, and r/w^-savers often. Anyway, I want to
teach you how to memorize long numbers, because it will be like
swinging three bats to make it easier to swing one. Go slow with this
chapter. Everything is easy, but it's a new way of thinking for you.
My American Express card {platinum; I told you — modesty is a
drag) number consists of fifteen digits. Look at this number (it's not
my real number; I may be short, but I'm not stupid!):
271384743031050. The principles you've already learned can be

applied in order to memorize it. You're going to form a Link of things,
thoughts or actions, and those things will tell you the digits! Because —
the words in the Link will contain the consonant sounds that can
represent only the vital digits according to the Phonetic Number/
Alphabet.
Start your Link with, say, an American flag, to tell you that what
follows is your American Express number. Then, and this is what first
came to my mind, Link "flag" to naked mover crams my tassles.
Now, I can picture that and it will work. It is, however, a "story,"
which I don't usually use in place of separate associations. But I saw
it, so I used it. Separate pictures, like "flag" to naked, naked to

mover, mover to creams, creams to meats, meats to lace (Peg Word),
would probably form a more definite Link in your mind. (A naked
person waving a flag, a moving van [mover] is naked, a moving man
drinks many creams, creams are poured over meats, a gigantic piece of
meat is wearing lace.)
271384743031050
naked mover crams my tassles
naked mover creams ham tussles
nicked my fur grooms ma tousles
nagged move rye crumbs aim toss less
nagged mover crams him teas loss
neck time off rocker miss meat solace
no cat my fur crimes mud slows
Study all of my suggestions above so you can see and learn some
of the different ways to go. (You'll need only one way.) Note also that
there's no rule as to how many digits should be covered by a word or
phrase. Use what comes to mind, cover as many digits at a time as you
can. And I usually pluralize to get the s for zero into a picture. Think
about this. Do you see why it works, why it's such a great idea?
You can visualize an American flag being carried or waved by a
naked mover who crams my tassles, but you can't visualize
271384743031050.
Yes. Numbers have always been difficult to remember because
they're intangibles — can't be seen in the mind's eye. But now I've
made them tangible for you, and they can be seen. Certainly you can
see, visualize, or picture naked. Well, because of the Phonetic
Number/Alphabet that's got to represent 271, nothing else — no
decisions or choices. And so on through the remaining twelve digits of
the number.
Diners Club card number 96273212140074. Start your Link with
"diners" (people eating). If you want to memorize the number on your
own, go ahead. Then, turn the page to check how I did it.
pushing mountain dresses car
9627 3212 1400 74
Everything falls into place. A four-word Link tells you a

fourteen-digit number! There's another standard here: for 27, I try to
use the "ing" ending. Add an "er" when you can for a 4. Any of the
following would also tell you this number:
pushin' common tinter sis car
bash in come on down there sews core
badge income no tan tires scare
push ink mine down tears screw
I'm giving you multiple examples only to familiarize you with the
idea. All you need is one Link. Simple substitution concept. Use the
correct sounds, to represent the correct digits, and a simple Link will
enable you to memorize (forward and backward, if you're so inclined)
a number consisting of thirty or more digits — in minutes!
A passport number consists of a single letter and seven digits.
(Mine does, anyway.) Try F 1690 143. See half{¥) of a passport. You
touch it up (touch up) in a storm. That's all! If you don't try it, you'll
be 3027191 (missing the boat!). Test 8, on page 32, involved a

sixteen-digit number. What was scary to you then should be easy,
fascinating, and fun now. Please don't continue reading until you take
that test again. Frankly, I'm applying the "give the dog a bone"
principle — the reward principle. The reward makes you continue.
Reward yourself; pass the test.
You should have memorized that number in less than two minutes. IQ
tests measure as "superior" an adult who can memorize an eight-digit
number fairly rapidly; as a "genius," one who can do the same with
a twelve-digit number. You've done it with a sixteen-digit number.
There's no label good enough for you! Knowledge (in this case, the
Link and the Phonetic Number/Alphabet) enables you to create new

knowledge (the long number). And there's no need to tell anyone the
pictures you see, so you can use whatever you like, so long as it fits the
Razor-sharpen That Business Edge: Numbers 159
pattern. People are usually interested in the result, not the method!
(That certainly is so with CEOs and managers — show them results.)
Now, why don't you try to memorize your credit card numbers and
your driver's license number?
Well, you've swung three bats. Swinging one — prices, telephone
numbers, all smaller numbers — is so much easier. Apply exactly the

same system. If you want to remember that gold is $460 an ounce,
visualize roaches all over gold. Always connect the item to the price;
make one remind you of the other. That is it. Silver is $7.40 see cars —
all made of silver. (If you don't automatically know where the decimal
point goes, you'd never be interested in remembering the prices any-

way!) I usually add a word (a Peg Word is fine) to tell me the cents.
$762. 15 — cushion towel does it; so does catchin' tail.
Edmond E. Chapus: We have to have facts and numbers at our

fingertips. I have to know what went before so I can give a general
idea of what a job will cost the client. If we've used similar, say,
tubing before, I know how much it cost then; it may be larger
tubing we're discussing now, but remembering what came before

enables me to come up with a ball-park figure. The people under
me, in offices throughout the country — they have to have the
prices in the foreground of their minds. They have to be right.
They'd better be right!
Arlie Lazarus: There's a saying in our business — retail is detail.
Part of that detail is prices. I'd like to be able to walk through a

competitor's store and do some comparison pricing. If they see
you writing, they can ask you to leave. Yes, it's legal; it's been
tested in court. I should hire you to do price checks for me!
Arlie won't have to hire me to do those price checks; he'll do them

himself after he reads this book. Do you see how you can stroll through
a store and do that? You want to remember that a lawn chair is priced
at $7.94. Associate chair to copper. If it were $7.84 — gopher, or go

far. Make a strong association and keep strolling. A certain flashlight
(same product you sell — that's why you're checking) is $3.52.

Associate flashlight to my line, or mailin', or melon. Review lawn
chair/copper, flashlight/melon, and keep going. Associate, review —

you'll know them. Prove it to yourself — don't continue until you've
retaken Test 3 on page 27.
Damn! The line is busy. Okay, wait — count to ten; try it again. Oops,
can't. Forgot the number. Have to dial 411 again. Pain in the neck.
(Remember when there were always directories in public phone

booths?) If the operator says, "The number is 390-9521," and if you
think "maps plant" as she's saying it, you won't have to call her
again. Yes, being really familiar with the sounds is key. Why should
that bother you? Being familiar with the keyboard is key to typing;
being familiar with the controls is key to driving; being familiar with
anatomy is key to being a doctor; being familiar with words is key to
speaking; being familiar with the clubs is key to golf — and on and on.
Why should this be different? Well, there is a difference — there are
only ten sound/digit combinations, and you already know them. It's
countless times easier to know these sounds than it is to know a
typewriter keyboard.
Calling from a public booth is not the basic telephone-number
problem, of course. You want to know telephone numbers in general.
In Test 11 (page 36), I tried to give you phone numbers for names,
places, or occupations that could be pictured. Now, you've learned
how to picture any name. So, if Mr. Jablonski's number is 625-9940,
you might conceivably see a long ski {ov jab long ski) floating down a
channel (or made of chenille); the channel is made up of papers (or

party poopers?). There's no rule that a telephone number has to be
broken into three- and four-digit groups. Use whatever comes to mind,
so long as it fits the "pattern." Chain ill baby, rice (or rose), would
also tell you Mr. Jablonski's number, // you associate a Substitute
Word for "Jablonski" to it. Mr. Walker's number is 746-9025;
associate a walker to crush (or crash, or carriage, or garage) to
passin' law (or pose nail, or up snail, or bison low).
But wait — that's a 914 area code. Just put butter into your
picture. I use standards for area codes. "Butter" is my standard for
914. Patter, batter, pottery, bitter, biter, putter, boater, pouter —
any one of these would fit.
Dr. Ames number is (715) 410-2009. My standard for Ames is

Razor-sharpen That Business Edge: Numbers 161
"aims." I'd see myself aimmg a stethoscope (doctor) at cattle (my

standard for 715, in Wisconsin), cattle to rats to noses up (all the rats
put their noses up), or to news soap or nice sip.

That's all there is to it. If you use many out-of-state numbers, the
area codes will "fall" into standards for you. I always use Indian or
antenna for 212, pest for 901 , bottom for 913, rotten for 412, retire
for 414, miser for 304, mask for 307, ash talk for 617, and so on.
Don't try to memorize my standards; make up a word or phrase for an
area code as you need it, and that will eventually become your
standard. Read no further until you've taken Tests 11 and 12 again
(pages 36-37).
Every corporate headquarters I visited had an intercom telephone

system. Somewhere near every telephone was a sheet of paper with a
two-, three-, or four-digit number (according to the system) next to a
name or department. Every executive I interviewed said, "Teach me,

teach my people, to remember these damn intercom numbers — you'll
save so many man-hours (and stiff necks from looking up at that paper)
a year!" How simple it is. Associate Substitute Words for names (of
person or department) to a word or phrase that tells you the number.

Mr. Byrnes is 121 — burns to tent. Ms. Kessler is 101 — cast law to
toast. Sales department is 1403 — sails to dress me or tires me.

Shipping department is 712 — lots of cotton is being shipped. It's all
getting to be quite obvious, isn't it? Sure, because it is, and it's easy.
Try to remember all the extensions in your firm.
Being familiar with zip codes saves lots of time, as anyone in the
mail-order business, or any business where lots of mailing is done, will
tell you. Visualize Manhattan {man hat) riddled with disease, and
you'll know that most Manhattan zip codes start with 100. Mr. Brown
lives at 946 West 95th Street, New York City 10025. Your picture for
the name and address might be: you drown (Brown) on a porch (946)
wearing a ten-gallon hat (west) as tall as the Empire State Building
(New York; or the hat is made of cork); the building is ringing a
gigantic bell (95th Street); the bell tosses a nail (10025). You can see
it in a split second, certainly in less time than it takes me to write it.
You'll prove that to yourself only by trying it. Pain visor — 92804;
mason — 30264;
chair scare less — 07450; basket low — 907 15; rams
chef — 43068 . . .
Stock prices are handled like any other prices. The only difference is
that there are fractions involved. No problem. The basic fraction is an

eighth. Let the last digit (sound) of your word or phrase represent
eighths. So, "cart" would mean 74'/8. If the price is 92y4, work with
926 (3/4 is %) — bench. Yes, bench could mean $926. If you don't
know which stock is hovering around $92 and which is around $926,
get out of the market! Say Exxon is 47 '/s (I'm making up the prices) —
associate eggs on to rocket. Navistar is 19'/2 — associate star (or navy
star) to taper or to tapir {Vi is Vs).
Is it important for you to remember the basic numbers on your

corporation's balance sheet? Make up a "heading" picture to represent
the vital categories — like sets or ass (donkey) sits for "assets"; a bill
($1) lying down — lie a bill — for "liabilities"; quit tea for (stock-
holder's) "equity." A simple fictional balance sheet: current assets

(rounded off to millions), $891 million; current liabilities, $127
million; equity, $719 million. Just connect the dollar amount to your
heading Substitute Word. An ass sits because it fibbed (assets, 891).
A tank rolls over a gigantic bill that's lying on the ground (127,
liabilities). You're drinking tea; get up and quit drinking tea (719,
equity).
There are, of course, subheadings within the main areas. If you

want to memorize securities, time deposits, accounts receivable,
accounts payable, taxes, what have you, make up a Substitute word for
each item just as you did above and associate the dollar amount to it.
Some examples: see (or sea) cure ("securities"), clock ("time

deposits"), receiving gifts and pay a bull ("accounts receivable" and
"accounts payable"), taxis ("taxes").
Schlott Realtors has many offices. Each has a "speed dial" four-digit
telephone extension. Richard Schlott told me how helpful it'd be if,
say, the main office staff could remember the name of each branch
office (city name), four-digit speed-dial extension, manager's name,
and secretary's name. Well, a fairly simple association would do it.
The speed-dial number for the Princeton (New Jersey) office is 1065.
A prince who weighs a ton keeps his dosage low. Instead of a
sequential Link, you can associate each piece of information to prince
or prince ton; that's your heading picture. The manager's name is
Peggy Siebens. The prince sees bins full of pegs. The administrative
secretary is Dolores Palmer. Get dollars (Dolores) and palm tree or
Arnold Palmer into your association. Try it; review it once or twice.
I think you may be surprised at how smoothly all the information is
simply there for you.
It's important in advertising, publishing, and other areas to know

which corporations spend lots of dollars on magazine advertising. You
could either make a Link of the Substitute Words for the corporations
or, if the dollar amount of advertising is important. Link a word or
phrase that tells you that to the corporation. In 1985, National Paragon
Corporation was the top spender (in millions) — $56,709; then R. J.
Reynolds, $35,898; followed by Philip Morris, $20,895. These three
examples should suffice. Associate parrot gone or pair of guns

(Paragon) to leach kiss bee; rein holds or rain (on) Olds (Reynolds) to
my love puff; ma is or full lip (Morris, Philip) to nose off bell. Or, use
just the corporation names —a pair of guns rains on an Olds; an Olds
has a full lip, and so on.
In banking, you may find it time-saving or impressive to know the
interest rates for different types of savings accounts.
money market account = 7.27%

6-month CD account = 8.25
1-year CD account = 8.75
2 '/2-year CD account = 9.10
So — see a market full of money and a king (727) lives there. Do

it; you'll see how easy this is. Associate shoe (6 months) to funnel; tie
(1 year) to fickle; half a beard (Noah, half — 2'/2 years) to bats; law
(5 year) to broom; and toes (10 year) to tastes. Test yourself on these
(after you've made up and visualized your pictures). I want you to see
how well this technique works.
The Vice President of Promotion of a large firm wanted to know the

basic prices for next-day (air) delivery by different air freight services
for three things — a letter, a two-pound package, and a five-pound
package. He memorized this chart in minutes using my systems.
Letter 2 lbs 5 lbs
Express Mail $10.75 $10.75 $12.85

Purolator 11.75 23.50 33.00
Federal Express 14.00 25.00 34.00
Airborne 14.00 25.00 38.00
Flying Tigers 30.00 30.00 30.00
Emery 14.00 25.00 38.00
UPS 11.50 12.50 15.50
It's so easy when you know how. Make up a heading picture to

represent each air freight service, and connect the prices to it. Eggs
press to dice kill (10.75) twice (10.75 again); the dice look like tinfoil
(12.85). Pour later to tight call (or tote coal), to new mules, to
mummy. Fed her all to tire, nail, mower. A tire is being born
(Airborne); the tire has a gigantic nail (or hundreds of nails) stuck in
it; a gigantic nail is watching a movie.
A tiger flies to catch and eat three gigantic mice. An emery board
is filing a tire, tire to nail to movie. The prices are the same as
Airborne. Associating both bom and tiger to tire/nail/movie would
work as well. A gigantic ewe eating an enormous /?ea (on an ess curve,
if you think it necessary; or ups — opposite of downs) to titles to
toenails to toil less.
As a frequent business traveler, it helped me to know how to transpose

"European" temperatures to "American" ones. So, many years ago,
I learned to convert centigrade temperatures to Fahrenheit. My method
was not precisely accurate, but it served the purpose. The point is that
I've never forgotten it: Subtract 2 from the centigrade temperature then
multiply by 2 and add 30. All those years ago I remembered this
formula by thinking, "No, no, mouse!" (2-2-30). I knew it had to do

with temperature because I first saw the mouse shivering with cold,
then perspiring because of heat.
Men's U.S. shoe size 8 is size 41 in Italy. Associate shoe/ivy/rat and

you'll know it. Such conversions, just like temperature conversions,
are useful when on a business trip.
The examples are endless, so I'll just have to stop. To go into my

examples more deeply would be a waste of time because each one may
not hit home for you. My goal is to teach the concept. That's easy here.
Once you know how to make a number and a name meaningful, and
how to make associations, the rest becomes obvious doesn't it? —
HL: From your position as a hirer/firer, are you impressed by a terrific
memory? Would such a person come to your attention?

Phyllis Barr (Administrator, Pavia and Harcourt, law firm): Abso-
lutely. Fm impressed by anyone who has a terrific memory. Such a
person can save the firm money.
Arthur Levitt, Jr. (Chairman, American Stock Exchange): Certainly

a person with a remarkable memory would catch my attention. That
person can be quite valuable to me. I would imagine he or she can be
valuable in any business.
19
Meetings of the Mind
Leave a Meeting with All the Facts
in Your Mind (Remember What You Hear

the First Time You Hear It)
top executives told me judge new young

Many people by how they do at
that large firms
corporate meetings. Are they too

Too aggressive? Not aggressive enough? Do they
laid-back?
know what's going on? Do they show enough potential for power? Do
they show enough interest to remember the important points discussed
or made during a meeting?
But how you handle yourself at a meeting is important whether you
are a new young person or a seasoned senior executive.
HL: You said "memory is power." Would you break that down
for me?
Phyllis Barr: A friend of mine is very much into power. Not in
767
terms of money but in terms of controlling people in business.

When this person has a business meeting, I'm told, he gets up at
4 or 5 AM to study his notes because he feels it's important to know

every bit of that information. He memorizes the numbers, all the
information, because he can control everyone in that room with
memory — knowing all that information and being able to throw it
out immediately.
HL: Are you saying that if you know all the facts better than
anyone else, that's power? Control?

PB: Absolutely. You can control everyone in the room. Memory
is power — absolutely.
I asked most of my interviewees how they felt about taking notes

at meetings. Some of the replies:
Alan Greenberg: Well, if everyone had a memory like yours,
Harry, I'd rather they looked at me and made eye contact. I'd like
people to remember what I said so that they don't have to carry
those yellow legal pads around with them wherever they go.
Ellen Hassman: It's vital that I remember what's going on at a

meeting. I have to be totally aware of my client's problems. I don't
take notes; if I do, my concentration is on the writing, not what's
being said. I can't write and absorb what's going on at the same
time. So I have to listen very intently. Three months later I can
discuss the problem without looking at notes. That impresses the
heck out of clients, and it also helps me do my job — I'm
becoming imperative to that client.
Saundra Malvin: Since I want to be sure my staff knows the

important points, I like to see them taking notes. And, of course,
you're right — if they lost those notes, they'd have to remember
those points.
HL: Do you think that the writing of notes enforces memory?
SM: Well, making a mental note of something you've heard —
that's once. Writing it is twice. Yes, I believe writing is enforcing
"
Meetings of the Mind 169
memory. By that time I really remember it. I use writing as an aid

to, an enforcement of, memory — not as a substitute for it.
Without exception, every executive with whom I spoke felt just as
Saundra Malvin did about using writing as an aid to memory rather

than as a substitute for it. J. K. Hartman said, "As I write or type,
I'm forced to concentrate," while Ralph Destino put it this way: "If
I relied solely on the paper, I'd be vulnerable. But I find that my direct
involvement — writing — completes the memory.

Well, of course! Just writing means that the information is going
from its source directly to the paper; that information is not registering
in your mind at all — it never even visits. That's bad. Trying to
remember as you write — that's good. But, back to meetings specif-
ically, and other opinions about note-taking.
Arthur Levitt, Jr: I love it when people take notes.

HL: Because you feel that that way they won't forget?
AL, Jr.: That's right.

HL: Again, Arthur, you're placing importance on remembering —
remembering what you say during the meeting.
AL, Jr.: That's correct.
William Seco: I'd like my people to remember what I say at
meetings so that I don't have to say it more than once.
Joseph V. Casale: I don't want my people to take notes. I'd rather
they listen, pay attention, and understand. I don't want to wait

while they write.
Gerald S. Deutsch (Attorney and CPA): My business activities

consist primarily of acting as a tax and financial adviser to my
clients. In the course of these activities, I have many meetings with
these clients, their representatives, accountants, and attorneys.
During these meetings I write as little as possible, because I find
that visible note-taking tends to formalize what I prefer to be a
relaxed atmosphere with thoughts and expressions freely flowing.
By way of example, during a meeting with a corporate client's

insurance broker, his treasurer, and his controller, we reviewed the
client's general insurance program. . . .
I'll change names and figures, but the gist of the meeting is intact
in the description that follows. I'll explain how my systems can be

applied at the same time. The pictures are the ones that come to my
mind. They will work for you, but your own pictures would work
much better. The method is basically the same as that for memorizing
a speech or sales report, or for remembering facts as you read. The
main difference is that the information at a meeting will be more
personal, and probably more detailed. In this case, it's a matter of
applying the systems to what you hear, which, in turn, forces you to
listen more closely and with more attention and concentration than ever
before.
The main points discussed at the meeting were
a. increasing certain insurance coverages;

b. obtaining new, additional, insurance coverages; and
c. determining the company's exposure in certain areas.
See an ape stretching, increasing, a cover (see any cover — a pot

cover, perhaps).
See a bean pulling hundreds of shiny new covers close to it, all
around it.
Visualize yourself in the sea, exposed to the elements.
Inherent to item a was increasing the coverage of a certain company

building from $3 million to $4 million. To your "ape" picture add the
following: the ape is placing your ma ($3 million) over a bottle of rye
($4 million) to cover it.
Inherent to item b was obtaining leasehold insurance (this covers

the loss of good business premises due to a lost lease). The enormous
bean has a gigantic leash in its hand; it holds it tightly. Leash hold —
leasehold.
Inherent to item c was the client's need for "umbrella" insurance
Meetings of the Mind 1 71
to give him enough Habihty coverage. You're holding a gigantic
umbrella over yourself as you float in the sea.
After these main points were discussed, assignments were doled out.
The broker had to
1. obtain a quote from Prime, Inc., a new insurance company;

2. finalize the quote from Gibraltor Company, the client's present
insurance company, and see if refunds were due;

3. call in with quotes on leasehold insurance; and
4. increase the coverage of one building from $850,000 to
$990,000.
I'd use my Peg Words from 1 to 4 here. See something broke or

broken to remind you that it's the insurance broker's assignment. (You
can get that into each picture, if you like.) You're wearing a broken
slab oi prime meat (Prime, Inc.) instead of a tie (number 1). You're
pulling oats or coats (quotes) out of the meat.
A large broken rock (Gibraltor Company) is on someone's chin
instead of a beard (or it has a beard — Noah, number 2). You're trying
different eyes on the rock, then you attach the final eyes (finalize). See
the rock giving you a refund.
Your broken-in-half ma (3) is holding a gigantic leash; the leash
holds oats — and reminds you of leasehold insurance quotes.

A bottle of rye (4) is broken into two pieces. One piece increases
in size (increase insurance) until it falls (from $850,000); the other
piece also increases in size — until it pops (to $990,000).
The treasurer is to review the leases of all the company's stores to
determine whether existing insurance coverage is sufficient, consider-

ing the changes discussed. He is also supposed to prepare a list of the
landlords who must receive certificates of insurance, particularly
Maddhat Industries, in Pittsburgh.
Visualize a treasure chest. You're looking closely at a lid
(reviewing it) to see if it's large enough to cover the chest (sufficient
coverage). You're forcing a long line (list) of landlords (people
holding buildings in their hands) into the chest. You hand each one a
certificate. You're mad at a giant hat that's full of pits — as you toss
that into the treasure chest.
The controller is to go over the company's financial records to
check whether business-interruption insurance, fire insurance, or
loss-of-business insurance must be increased.

A lion tamer (he controls the lions) is running over many
(long-playing) records, spinning them — they're covered with dollar
bills (financial records). A gigantic check interrupts him, then bursts
inio flames. The lion tamer cries because of the business he's losing.
As he cries, he increases in size (to remind you of increasing insurance
coverage).
As mentioned, the systems are applied as they'd be to a speech, a sales
report, or any reading material. Said Gerald Deutsch:
As usual, I sent a detailed memorandum of what went on at the

meeting to all participants. The treasurer and controller work with
me often, so they expected that memo. The insurance broker had
not worked with me before. When he received my memo, he
called and, in an awed voice, asked if I'd had a hidden tape
recorder working during the meeting!
So you see how very helpful and impressive your trained memory
can be at business meetings. Memory makes points!
Ralph Destino (Chairman, Cartier, Inc.): That's Reggie Jackson's bat
right there. He's a great friend of mine. Very complex, very complete,
very colorful guy. He told me that the secret of his success as a hitter
is that he remembers every single pitch thrown by every pitcher in
every instance. He says that many players are put down, called
"guess" hitters. But he says that in fact, all hitting is guessing, and
guessing is really remembering what that pitcher threw to you under
similar circumstances in another game. And he stores away all that
information.
HL: Just like a pitcher has to remember all the batters' likes and
dislikes, has to remember not to throw a particular pitch to a particular
batter — because he'll knock it out of the park.
20
Memoiy
Leads to Creativity
in Any Business
takes imagination, creativity, to conjure up the crazy pictures

It needed in order to form strong associations. Imagination and
creativity are essential to any career or business. So, I'm really
discussing two areas here — the necessity of using imagination and
creativity in order to help you form better associations and therefore
help you to remember better, and the important role that memory plays
in helping you to be more creative in your own business.
There is a uniqueness here: trained memory is one of the few skills
(arts) that automatically teaches what is required! It is necessary to

use your imagination to form good, strong associations — so you
strengthen your imagination because you're using it more than ever
before. It's automatic. And acquiring an incredible memory will
174
Memory Leads to Creativity — in Any Business 175
enable you to be more creative where it really counts — in business.
What a good, hand-in-hand, Hansel-and-Gretel tie-in we have here!
Every executive I interviewed for this book strongly asserted that

his or her business required creative thinking. And, without exception,
each agreed that memory is the key ingredient for stirring up creative
thinking. Said A. S. Clausi, of General Foods Corporation:
Of course it's a creative business. My definition of creativity is
putting together previous facts and/or experiences in new ways to
solve new problems or issues. Memory is critical to creativity —

that's the data bank that you draw from. To step out creatively —
keep one foot on the ground. Because if you get both feet off the
ground, you'll end up on your ass! That foot on the ground — call
it experience, memory — that's the data bank. The other foot uses,
depends on, that foot on the ground.
As I said, every executive I interviewed agreed on the importance

of creativity and agreed that memory is necessary for its acquisition.
I've never met anyone in a top-level position with any company who
wasn't creative. Listen again to Arthur Levitt, Jr., Chairman of the
American Stock Exchange:
Creativity is essential. I consider myself to be very creative, and

most of my ideas are offshoots and adaptations of other experiences
or other ideas that I've used.
HL: You said "experiences." Doesn't that mean remembering all
the things you've done or that have happened to you before? Do

you agree then, that memory is important for creativity?
AL, Jr.: Oh, absolutely.
I don't believe that anyone is hit with a lightning bolt of creativity

in an area in which he or she has no knowledge, no experience. It's
only knowledge and experience that can cause that bolt to strike, that
thunder to rumble.
Edmond E. Chapus: Creativity is not creating something out of

nothing. No, no. It arises because you have a problem to solve,
and because you remember similar problems and their solutions.
Creativity is based on memory, knowledge. When Newton was

asked how he came up with the law of gravity, he said, "I was
standing on the shoulders of giants!" He, perhaps, saw a bit
further than those others because he was standing on those
shoulders.
I dig the "shoulders-of-giants" concept. Because / feel as if I was

standing on the shoulders of giants when I started training my
memory — to help me get better grades in school, so that my father
wouldn't punish me. I had great motivation: /âr. And I used the ideas
and thoughts of men like Aristotle, Plato, Simonides ("the father of
memory"). Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Shakespeare. Trained
trained
memory systems were used by early Greek orators; one such system
was the loci system of associating thoughts to places in one's home.
Cicero described how he used memory systems in De Oratore, and
how lawyers and doctors of his time were aided by, used, memory
systems. So in creating my memory systems, I really did stand on the
shoulders of giants!
Well, you can too. If you've tried the techniques I've taught you
up to here (some are streamlined versions of techniques used by those
"giants"), you're already thinking differently, thinking creatively.
You're exercising your imagination by forming associations. And, you
can use your newly acquired memorizing ability to become more
familiar with "giants" in your own career, your own business. The
more familiar you are with those giants, the more you remember of
their accomplishments, the easier it will be for you to stand on their
shoulders and launch your own creativity.
Victor Sperandeo: In order to create, you've had to learn, know,

something first. Then you expand upon that. My ideas were
stimulated by Charles Dow. I memorized all his ideas and created
new ideas from and around them. I built on, created with, his
ideas. If I didn't know/remember all his ideas, I couldn't have

done that. Once I memorized them, they became knowledge. I can
build on that.
Creativity is the outcome of memory. Memory is stored
Memory Leads to Creativity — in Any Business 177
knowledge. I couldn't possibly get a million-dollar idea on how to
build a better TV set, because I don't know the first thing about TV
sets. But I can possibly get a creative idea on how to make a killing
in the market — because I know the market.
It's all part of learning, you see. Learning is the gathering of

information, data — and there is no learning without memory. There
simply isn't. Because "gathering information" means remembering
that information. How could a medical student become a doctor if he
or she didn't remember pertinent medical information? He or she
couldn't. Ask any doctor and you'll find out that when you take the
exam that can give you the "shingle' the title "doctor' '
— give you '
—
it's your memory that's being tested. And your memory continues to be
crucial into "doctorhood."
Dr. Sheldon Lippman (Pediatrician, affiliated with Maimonides

Hospital, Bronx, New York): To achieve significance in his
specialty, a doctor has to be dedicated, of course, but most of all
it takes memory. With a great memory one can really make

advances in academics, in research. You have to remember the
knowledge you've gained empirically, through testing and exper-
imenting. Memory is crucial. I have to remember everything in my
field if I want to be creative in my field.
Memory is also imperative for the bar exam that aspiring attorneys
must take, and, again, it is needed for creativity in the profession.
Peter Kougasian: All creative thinking is analogy. When you say,

"Wait a minute — this is like so-and-so!" it's that jump, that
analogy, that brings about creative thinking. But you have to

remember the so-and-sos. The broader your range of knowledge,
the more creative you can be within your profession. Using your
systems, Harry, has made me think more creatively!
I can't think of a business where creativity is unimportant, where

it doesn't make money for that business or company, though it may not
be as obvious for some as it is for, say, the advertising business. Ellen
Hassman told me that "memory and creativity must go hand in hand.

The more I remember about a client and his problems, his audience,
his markets — and my own business — the more likely it is that
creative flash will hit me. And the more likely my company will keep
that client, and the more likely I will make more money. Definitely."
And Stephen Rose said that he finds "memory to be an urgency — it
helps to elevate the creativity I have. In order to be creative, you must

remember everything that came before."
Memory and creativity go hand in hand in every business. Note the
following words, thoughts, of the chairmen of two diversified busi-
nesses.
Cy Leslie: Creativity is the construction of something that has not
existed, or the improvement of something that has. The change of

an existing something. In our business, in order to be creative, it
is essential to remember what came before. Einstein had to
remember the composition of mass, the composition of energy, the
mathematical formulas and processes of so many different things

in order to come up with relativity. You can't create in a
vacuum — there has to be knowledge, and knowledge is memory.
Ralph Destino: Your definition of creativity — the brilliant appli-
cation or use of accumulated facts — is right on. It's the bringing
to bear of a fresh point of view. It would seem to me that a
person's creativity is directly related to how well he or she knows

what's gone before — and therein lies memory: accumulated facts
and information. Knowledge — memory — is essential for crea-
tivity.
Obviously, it pays to be creative, to exercise your imagination.

"Imagination," said Henry J. Taylor, "lit every lamp in this country,
produced every article we use, built every church, made every dis-
covery, performed every act of kindness and progress, created more

and better things for more people. It is the priceless ingredient for a
better day."
To repeat then, just forming crazy associations, as you've been
doing, is an excellent imagination exercise, besides enabling you to
1
Memory Leads to Creativity — in Any Business 1 79
remember as you never could before. Exaggeration helps you to create
better, crazier, or more impossible and thus more memorable pictures

for your associations. That same kind of exaggeration can help
you come up with crazy, impossible answers or solutions to
business-related problems. It's part of brainstorming.
If you laugh at some of the resulting answer-solutions or ideas, or
if you think, "Hey, I'll go to jail if I do that," that's good. Fantasize.

Albert Einstein said, 'The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than
my talent for absorbing positive knowledge." You'll come up with
more and more answers, They may not be workable
ideas. — but then
again they may. When you work up lots of crazy ideas, quite often
you'll find a gem among them.
If you tried to solve the "creative-thinking" riddles in Test 7 and
those in chapter 16 (the answers to which follow), again, you've
exercised your imagination, your creativity.
you didn't lock yourself into a thinking rut, you may have solved
If
a few of the mind exercises in the " 'Staying/Graying' Power" chap-

ter. For the "dot" problem: Who said you had to stay within the square
formed by the nine dots? / didn't. If you locked yourself into that rut,
assumed you had to stay within the square, you couldn't solve the
problem. If you brainstormed it, one of your "crazy" ideas may have
been "Can I draw some lines out of the square?" Why not? That's the
solution:
Start
Add 2 to 1 1 to get 1 . Perhaps you thought only of numerals, Arabic and

Roman. You assumed thai therein would lie the solution. No way. Had
you thought of time, you might have realized that adding 2 hours to 1
o'clock brings you to 1 o'clock!
"O T T F F S S" stands for One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven!
The next letter in the series, obviously (now), is E for Eight.
Look back at the ten-coin "arrowhead" problem. Slide coins 7 and 10

up to the left and right of 2 and 3. Move down below ("south
coin 1
of" and centered between) 8 and 9. The arrowhead is now pointing

down.
All the letters above the line (AEFHIKLMN) are formed with straight
lines only; the letters below the line (BCDGJO) are not; they also, or
only, have curved lines. The next letter in the alphabetical sequence is
P. It has a curve; it goes below the line.
For his own haircut and shave, each barber would go to the only other
barber in town. The disheveled barber obviously gives the better

haircut.
The house painter will have to paint twenty 6's. You'll rarely get the
right answer to this. The usual answer is eleven. There's a built-in red
herring. Most people will go through the numbers 1 to 100, thinking,
"6, 16, 26, 36, 46, 56 . . . aha! here's the catch — 66. Two 6's here.
He won't trick me with that." They'll arrive at eleven 6's. The "66"
red herring causes them to overlook the 6's in 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65,
67, 68, and 69! Try it on a business acquaintance; he or she may have
to pick up the check for lunch.
Steven A. Conner (Owner, Asset Management Planning): If I forgot
appointments, there's no way I could stay in business. I don't forget
them, and I do quite well, thank you. I haven't used an appointment
book in four years. I average thirty to forty interviews a week. In those
four years, I have never forgotten an appointment. I use your systems.
Each morning, I know exactly where I have to be. It's very much like
being a computer — after my appointments that week, I can erase and

start all over again.
George J. Konogeris (Senior Vice President, Kinney Shoe Cor-

poration): I sure would like to look at my calendar and definitely
remember my week's appointments. Missing just one can create
problems.
21
//
Specific "Day/Hour
Appointments
The Weekly Appointment Calendar
in Your Mind!
remembering names and faces, there's remembering

There's
numbers of all kinds, there's remembering general business
data — and there's remembering business appointments. All
these really do blend together, but the point at this moment is: How
could you run a business if you didn't keep appointments?
A. S. Clausi: To me, an appointment is a sacred commitment.

And being there on time is part of the measure of you as an
individual, and of how well you do things. It becomes a driving,
permeating force. I missed a 10:30 appointment today. That
bothers me. This day is less perfect for me because I missed it.
182
Specific "Day/Hour" Appointments 183
Cy Leslie: I think keeping appointments and keeping them on time

is very important. Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Some people are
traditionally late for appointments; that's distasteful to me. It also
upsets other people. I am almost always on time. There are
executives who think you ought not to be on time — it looks as if
you're not busy. I think that's wrong.
As I said in chapter 7, forming a Link of the things they want to
do each day is sufficient for many business people. You could, if you
wanted to remember a time for an item in your Lmk, include a word
to (phonetically) tell you the hour. You could even include a Substitute
Word for a day. But for that kind of appointment — on a specific day
and at a specific hour — there's a better way. Because day of week and
hour of day are ephemeral, rather than concrete, pieces of information,
they're difficult to visualize and therefore difficult to remember. It's the
usual problem: How can you make that kind of intangible information
tangible? What you need are specific compartments, pigeonholes, in
which you can store your appointment information. The compartment
itself must tell you, must visually represent, a day and hour.
Well, you can create those compartments. As a matter of fact, you
already have them; you simply have to label them — make them tell
you the information you need. I'm talking about the Peg Words. For
every day of the week and for every hour from 1 to 10 o'clock, your
Peg Words will be your appointment compartments. (We'll handle 11
and 12 o'clock later.)
The first thing you have to decide is whether you will consider
Sunday or Monday the first day of the week. Calendar- wise it's
Sunday, but every executive 1 interviewed considered Monday the first
day of the week because it's the first business day. So I'll teach it that
way — Monday, the first day; Sunday, the seventh. When you
understand the method, you can change it any way you like.
Assume you want to remember an appointment for Tuesday at 5 PM.

One Peg Word can represent that. Tuesday is the 2nd day and the hour
is 5. A two-digit number — 25 — tells you that: 2nd day, 5th hour.
Ordinarily, of course, it would have been just as difficult for you to
remember 25 as it would be to remember Tuesday at 5. But now it isn't.

because you know how to visualize 25; you have a Peg Word that means
25: nail. What a simple, fascinating, and workable idea! Nail, within the
appointment context, can represent nothing else but the 2nd day
(Tuesday) at the 5th hour. Nail is your compartment for Tuesday at 5.
Remember the entity-of-two idea I've talked about. Visualizing
Tuesday at 5 (by picturing a nail) is fine, but it isn't too practical until
you make nail tell you what the appointment on Tuesday at 5 is. How?
Well, you know that, too. Associate one to the other, make one remind
you of the other. If your Tuesday at 5 appointment is with Harry Printz
at Empire Manufacturing Company, you might visualize a prince
being an umpire at a game where nails are the players. Oh, yes, it's
silly — and oh, yes, it works.

You can insert anything you like into the association. If you want
to remember the first name, make the prince hairy. The address is 712
Chambers Street. You can see all that hair on the prince being cotton
(712), or the nails are cuttin'. The game is being played in a judge's
chambers, or get chamber pot or shame bear into your picture!
You have to meet Mr. Rybakov for lunch on Friday at 2 pm. You
know the appointment is for pm not am. You can put a word into your
picture to represent either —
poem or aim, for instance but I don't —
find that necessary. All right; Friday is the 5th day, and it's 2 PM you're
interested in; 52 — lion. It could be nothing else. If you see a lion
eating a rib for lunch and it makes him cough (rib cough — Rybakov),
I'll guarantee you won't forget that luncheon appointment.
I'll guarantee it if you will go over the compartments, the Peg
Words, for each day every day, or every preceding evening. On
Thursday night, you simply think "lot, lion, loom, lure, lily, leech,
log, lava, lip, lace" — and when you come to lion you'll immediately
be reminded of tomorrow's lunch date (at 2 PM) with Mr. Rybakov.
Note that I included the Peg Word lace (50). That's the compartment
for Friday at 10. Since there is no o'clock, we might as well put that
zero to work and make it represent 10 o'clock. So toes is Monday at
10; nose is Tuesday at 10; mouse, Wednesday at 10, and so on^ — to
case, Sunday at 10.
Richard Schlott: When I was a salesman I'd write my appoint-

ments on a piece of paper. If I forgot an appointment, I'd lose a
Specific "Day/Hour" Appointments J 85
sale, or annoy somebody. Ah, if only I could have remembered

them, with confidence, and not have had to worry about losing a
damn piece of paper. That would have been great! And it'd be
great for all my salesmen now.
Now then, 1 1 and 12 o'clock. There are several ways to go, but I'll
teach you what I use because I've found it to be the most sensible.
Handle 1 1 and 1 2 as you would 1 and 2 but use a word other than your
Peg Word. That's all. Thursday at 1 o'clock is rod (41 — 4th day, first
hour). For Thursday at 11 o'clock you can use any word that fits
phonetically but is not your basic Peg Word — like rat, root, rut, rid,
and so on. You'll know that it represents Thursday at 1 1 o'clock

because only rod can represent that day at 1 o'clock.
Monday at 2 o'clock is tin. For Monday at 12 use ton, tone, dine,
din, tan, tuna — anything that fits phonetically, except your basic Peg
Word, tin. That's the system. And you see that knowing your Peg
Words (at least into the 70's) is essential.

As appointments for next week come up, form your associations.
Then, starting on Sunday night, go over the next day's Peg Words. For
Monday — tot, tin, tomb, tire, towel, dish, dog, dove, tub, nose, toad,
ton. If you've used any of the words in an association, and if you made
that association ridiculous, clear, and strong enough, there is no way
you can forget an appointment. When you think the compartment
word, you'll stop — realize you have an appointment for that time —
and you'll also know what the appointment is! This has to work,
incidentally; all you need do is try it.
I didn't test you on appointments in chapter 4 — my reason being

that you knew how bad you were at remembering appointments! But
you can test yourself now. Look at these appointments. I've listed
them haphazardly, because that's the way they come up in real life.
Just figure out which Peg Word represents day/time, then associate that
to the appointment. Do this — I want you to gloat over your great

memory for appointments.
Wednesday at 1: meet with Mr. Kwitekowski

Friday at 10: dental appointment
Monday at 2: meeting at bank with Mr. Pierce
]86 MEMORY MAKES MONEY
Wednesday at 5: check hotel room for conference
Tuesday at 9: call Ms. Hopkins

Thursday at 4: flight to New Orleans
Tuesday at 12: meeting with Mr. Ponchatrain
Saturday at 3: golf with the Smiths
Friday at 2: lunch with Bill Talbott — at Guide, Inc.
Monday at 8: sales meeting at home office
If you've made good, strong associations, go over your Monday

compartments (the Peg Words and the 1 1 and 12 o'clock words). Your
memory will stop at two appointments and you'll know what they are.
Then go over Tuesday words — again, your newfound great memory
will stop you at two appointments. Do Wednesday and remember two
appointments. Thursday, one appointment; Friday, two; and Saturday,
one. And you can use the idea every week. It's like a magic slate; use
it and it automatically clears the preceding week.
I rarely bother with minutes when recalling scheduled appoint-
ments. If they're important to you, put a word into your association to

remind you of them. If anything, I'll use only 15, 30, and 45 minutes
after an hour. The pictures I made up almost half a century ago are the
ones I'd use now, because they work perfectly. I get a quarter (25-cent
coin) into my association to remind me of a quarter past, a half

grapefruit for half past, and a pie with one slice missing (three-quarters
of a pie) for 45 minutes past (or a quarter to the next hour).
If you need to remember specific minutes, use a basic Peg Word to
represent day and time and a word that fits phonetically but is not a
basic Peg Word to represent the minutes. This avoids confusion.
Example of the wrong way to go about this: A picture of a knob and
roof could mean Tuesday at 9:48 or Thursday at 8:29. It's the or that's
the problem. There must be no confusion when applying my systems.

Knob rave solves the problem. You'd know that the basic Peg Word is
the day /hour; the nonbasic word represents the minutes.
"I have to keep calling radio stations to get them to air new releases,"
Harvey Leeds told me. "One of the things in this business is that the
program or music directors will take calls only during certain hours of
Specific "Day/Hour" Appointments 187
certain days.And each station slots the call times differently. There's
a memory problem for you."
To solve Harvey's problem —
remembering the day and time
when the music director of a particular radio station will accept calls —
you can use a word to remind you of a day of the week and insert a
word that tells you the time spread. The words are easy: picture the
moon for Monday, dues for Tuesday, someone being wed for Wednes-
day, thirsty for Thursday, /ry for Friday, sat (or sit) for Saturday, and
sun (or son) for Sunday. Then, for the hours, don't use your basic Peg
Words; use any other word that tells you the time spread, phonetically.
An example: WDIZ in Orlando, Florida, will accept calls only on
Thursdays between 3 PM and 5 pm. The association might be: An oar
lands (Orlando) and gets dizzy (DIZ) and thirsty (Thursday). It drinks
all the mail (3 to 5; mill, male, mull would also do). You could, if
you'd rather, use the letter words for the station — dean eye zebra.
For any memory problem, use what comes to mind first; that's usually
(though not always) best. You can also include a Substitute Word for
the music director's name, if you like.
KSPN in Aspen, Colorado, will accept calls only between 8 am

and 10 AM on Fridays. (I'm making up the days and times.) An asp
(Aspen) is in a gigantic spoon (SPN). You hold it over fire io fry it
(Friday) — and this turns it into a fetus or a fat ass (8-10).
HL: Evan, what would you like your people to remember?

Evan R. Bell: Among other things, there are the "recurrings."
That means that on a certain day of the week, every week,
allowance checks are mailed to certain clients. If the account
executives could remember which, say, six clients' checks are
mailed on Wednesdays, and which on every other day, that'd save

oodles of time. It would also help in catching and avoiding
computer errors, which do happen. Can you teach my account
executives to connect, say, seven names to Monday, six to
Tuesday, et cetera?
This should no longer be a problem. One example suffices.

Assume that the account executive needs to know that on Wednesdays
checks must be mailed to the following clients: Russell, Petrofskya,
Lorayne, Mitchell, MacKenzie, Alpert. The heading picture is a

w^^ding — for Wednesday. To that, Link wrestle (Russell — a bride
and groom wrestle) to pet rough sky, ah (people are wrestling on a
rough sky, they pet the rough sky, and say "ah") to law rain
(gavels — law rain from the rough sky) to mitt shell (baseball mitts and
shells rain down along with the gavels) to Mack (truck) can see (a
Mack truck looks through a mitt and shell [instead of binoculars] and
can see) to all put (Alpert — all you can find is put into a Mack truck).
The last two problems aren't standard ones. I wanted to show you that,
with your new knowledge, it no longer matters what the memory

problem is — you can handle it. Most important here is the compart-
ment idea for remembering appointments by day and hour. And now
you have those compartments — forever.
Richard Schlott (President, Schlott Realtors — 150 offices, 6,000
employees): Good sales people do not forget. Great sales people
obviously do not forget — they never forget anything. I mean they
don't forget names of potential buyers or specifications of homes or
appointments to see or show a property. And they make sales, which
they wouldn't do if they didn't have good memories.
William Seco (Vice President of Sales and Engineering, EDP World,

Inc.): Can't afford to forget; forgetting just doesn't exist in this
business — you wouldn't make any money. If an employee forgets to,
say, make an important phone call, that's it — he's lost that trans-
action. You get only one strike in this business. Forgetting costs
money.
22
Place That Face!
In Business, You Must Force Each Face
to Tell You Its name
"Hi, Dr. Smith."

"Oh, hello — uh, er. How are you?"
"That tooth you worked on the last time I was in your office is
giving me trouble. I think a piece of crown broke off. Hate to ask you
to look at it here on the street, but no one's around right now."
"Oh, sure, Miss — uh, er. Let's see."
"It's this one."
"Ah, Miss Mitchell, yes. No problem ..."
No problem with the tooth, but that dentist sure has a tough time
remembering names and faces. He's not alone. We all can remember
what we're interested in.
190
Place That Face! 191
Dr. Smith is interested in teeth, in his own work; when he sees that
he knows the person's name. Out of the office, show a doctor the scar
that resulted from the operation he performed and he'll call you (it) by
name!
Now, if only they could be as interested \n faces — if the art
connoisseur could be as interested in faces as he is in brushstrokes, if
the baseball player could be as interested in faces as he is in pitches,

if the collector could be as interested in faces as he is in antiques. If we
could all be interested in faces, we'd remember them.
Arthur Levitt, Jr.: This is a people business. I still deal with

people, and I'd put remembering names and faces above and
beyond anything else. In our society people are too used to being
gray intangibles rather than being Harry Lorayne, the great
memory expert.
Richard Roth, Jr.: There are so many things to remember in
architecture — but if I had to select one for importance, it'd be

names and faces. I'm in a selling business. If I'm doing a building
where billions of dollars are involved, it's crucial that I don't
forget the name of the person controlling those dollars.
Everybody says, "Oh, I recognize faces, it's the names I can't

remember." (Did you ever hear it the other way around?) Everybody
says it; it's true — and it's meaningless! If you don't know the name,
saying "I recognize your face" to the president of your company
doesn't move you up a step, does it?
I've repeatedly told you that you have to force your mind to
attention and pinpoint your concentration. That automatically forces
interest. How can I force you to listen to a name and look at a face?
More to the point, how can you force yourself io do those two things?
That's all it takes to remember names and faces.
There are three steps involved. The first is to make up a Substitute

Word for the name when you're introduced to a new person. That
forces you to listen to the name. Think about it. You're introduced to
a Mr. Kovechev. If you've made up your mind to apply my system,

talk to yourself: "I'll have to introduce this person to someone else
later, I'd better pay attention." You cannot allow the introducer to get
away with a mumble, nor can you allow the person to mumble his or
her own name. How can you possibly come up with a Substitute Word
{cover chef, perhaps) if you don't hear the name? You can't. That's
why even if my systems don't work, they must work. You are forced
to say, "Sorry, I didn't get the name." You are forcing yourself to do
the one most important thing when it comes to remembering names and
faces: hear the name.
Not only do you force yourself to hear it, but the act of thinking up
the Substitute Word forces you to concentrate on it for ihdX fraction of
a second as you never concentrated on a name before. It's painless,
and you have no choice. Assume then, that you've heard the name,
Kovechev, and you've thought of cover chef. Great; that's step 1.
Step 2: Select an outstanding feature on Mr. Kovechev's face. It
can be anything — high or narrow forehead; lines on forehead or face;

large or small eyes or ears; thin, straight or thick lips; full or sunken
cheeks; large, small, or pug nose; wide or narrow nostrils; thick, thin,
curved, or straight eyebrows; receding or jutting chin; clefts or marks
of any kind. Whatever impresses you on first look. And there's the key
word — look. In order to select an outstanding feature, you are forcing
yourself to do the next essential thing: look at the face. Looking for
that feature /orc^j^ you to get an overall look at that face. Again, you're
concentrating, without realizing it, as you never have before.
Steps 1 and 2 must elevate your memory for names and faces to a
new, higher plateau. But you can move it to the highest plateau with
step 3. And that is doing what you've already practiced, already

learned to do: form a silly association between the two vital items! The
two items are your "picture" (Substitute Word) for the name, and the
outstanding facial feature.
If the feature isn't really the outstanding one, it doesn't matter.
Use it. You looked at the face with concentration — that' s what mat-
ters. Let's really meet Mr. Kovechev at a business cocktail party.
You've already listened to the name; you're thinking cover chef.
Now look at the face (see page 193, top). Would you select the thick
lips or the very bushy eyebrows? There are many choices; assume you
chose the eyebrows. Make them tell you the name! As you shake
hands, form an association. Perhaps you're covering each eyebrow
with a c/ze/ (someone wearing a chef's hat). I get violent. I'd see chefs
flying out of those eyebrows, tearing them asunder; I'm covering each.
Really see your picture. Neither the feature you select nor the picture
you see is as important as the fact that you're doing it at all and that you
see the picture clearly.
All right; you've met Mr. Kovechev, chatted a while using his
name. Now you wander off and greet two more new people. Say hello
to Dr. Newcombe and Miss Van Nuys.
The obviously outstanding feature on Dr. Newcombe's face is that
strong, jutting chin. He also has large earlobes, a high forehead, et

cetera. I'd go with the chin. See a gigantic new (shiny) comb raking
that chin, or see that new comb on his face instead of the chin! There
are stethoscopes (doctor) falling out of the chin — or you're combing
with a stethoscope. See whatever picture you decide on. Bring your
attention to Miss Van Nuys. You've already thought van noise,

because you listened. Now look. Well, she has a pug nose. Can you
visualize a moving van on (or instead of) that nose? And it's making
a terribly loud noise that you can almost hear? See that picture. Chat
for a moment.
Now it's time to leave Dr. Newcombe and Miss Van Nuys. You
might catch a glimpse of Mr. Kovechev, and name will come to
his
mind — that's a review for you. Think of the name whenever you see
the face of any of the people you're meeting. As you turn you bump
into the host, who introduces you to (a) Mr. Fleming, (b) Ms.
Isaacson, and (c) Mr. Nichols.
Tell your host to slow down, if necessary; you want to be sure to

hear those names. One way to work it is to say, "You're busy; go on.
—
do your thing — I'll introduce myself." Dont let the host or hostess
rush you. Okay. Look at Mr. Fleming. You've already listened and
concentrated, and thought oi flaming. You can use the mustache, the
hairline, whatever you like. I'd use the mustache. See it — really see
it — burning, flaming.
Now — Isaacson. Ice (or eye) in a sack will do it. If you like,
include son or sun. You'll find, as you work with this idea, that you
don't have to cover the entire sound of a name. Remember, all you
want is a reminder. "Ice sack" will suffice.
Look at that high forehead, square jaw, very large eyes. See sacks
of ice {ice sacks) flying out of those eyes. (Smaller replicas of the sacks
would remind you oi son.) Ice sacks (son). Force the eyes (or whatever
feature you're using) to remind you of Isaacson. Be sure to see that
picture.
Turn to Mr. Nichols. No problem — nickels; coins. No problem

with any name: Jubaneuski — you ban new ski; Lancaster land
caster; DeLeon the — lion — me on
or deli on; Simionides sigh
nighties; Cunningham — cunning ham; Kantrowitz — throw can't
wits (brains); Menninger — men Betancourt —
injure; court bettin' or
bed in court; O'Neal — O
the letter Pumphrey — pump free
kneeling;
or pomme frites; —
Cercelli E; Babbiarz — baby
sir sell R's.
See Mr. Nichols's straight-across eyebrows, broad nose, large

mouth. You might see millions of nickels pouring out of that mouth.
That's all that's necessary — but really see it.
Have you made these six associations? I mean, really? You've

actually visualized the pictures I've suggested, or those you thought of
yourself? If you have, you know the six people you've just met. Go
back; look only at the faces, the names will spring to mind.
Did you know them all? If you had trouble with one or two, strengthen
your association; that is, be sure to see the silly picture clearly.
Then — on page 196 they are in different order. Fill in the right names.
When I asked Cy Leslie if remembering names and faces is important

to him, he answered, "Remembering names and faces has a long-term
cumulative effect in business relationships." And Scott Marcus said

that "remembering the face and name of a client puts you way ahead
of the competition. The ability to do that is very important in the
marketing end of our business."

Say you enter a meeting room; there are six new people there. Let
me introduce you. Do the rest on your own. And yes, you can use a
beard or a hairdo. For Ribykov — rib (a) cough; Callahan — call
a hand; Kendall — candle; Mouzalas — moos (or moose) alas;

Bierbom — beer born; Prescott — press cot, of course. Here they are:
MR. RIBYKOV MS. CALLAHAN
MR. KENDALL MR. MOUZALAS

MR. BIERBORN MISS PRESCOTT
Pretend each one is a real person. Meet them one at a time: (1)
think of the Substitute Word; (2) select, look for, an outstanding

feature; and (3) connect the two. Really try it. If you don't, you're not
doing either of us any good! Once you've made the six associations,
you will know the six names and faces — even if you see the people
in a different order, like this (put the correct name in each blank):
0^Ss^\
Did you know them? Of course you did. You've met tv^'elve new
people. Go back and see if you know all twelve. The worse that can
happen is that you'll forget one or two. That's probably better than
you've ever done before! Try it.
Now, really impress yourself — turn back to chapter 4 and take

Test 9 again. Do not continue until you've done that.
You now know twenty-four new people. And it's even easier in real life.
Try it the next time you meet some people. You'll impress yourself and,
more important, you'll impress and flatter the people you meet. And
don't let long or foreign-sounding names throw you. All names become
easy to handle when you apply the Substitute Word idea.
Phyllis Barr; Remembering names and faces is not only good

management — it's essential. It makes the people under you feel
important; it motivates people to work harder for you.
Alan Greenberg: Most important area of memory? Faces —

names.
HL: If I asked that same question of people under you, people who
are interested in climbing that ladder of success — trying to reach
your level — would they give me the same answer?
AG: If they had any sense they would!
One final example, just to lock it in for you. At a recent speaking

engagement I met (among three hundred other people) an Indian
gentleman, Mr. Srinivassan. I thought of serene E fasten, and
suddenly the name was no more difficult than Flanagan {fan again)\
Try it — meet Mr. Srinivassan:
Look for and decide on one feature. Perhaps the cleft in his chin,
or the curly hair. You might see a gigantic serene E falling out of that
cleft — but you fasten it in place.
In business, you may want to review mentally the people you've

met during the day. Just think of the face and the name will come to
mind, and vice versa, // you've applied my system. That's your

review. Let some time go by — then see if you still remember the
thirteen peopleyou met in this chapter and the twelve you met in Test
9. Won't you be pleasantly surprised when you remember all
twenty-five?
Ralph Destino (Chairman, C artier, Inc.): We have a training pro-
gram, and there are three important things that are covered: (1) product
knowledge — how know your products; (2) nuts and bohs

to how to —
write a sales slip, how to charge, how to handle a credit card; and
(3) — more important than 1 and 2 —
manner, style. Number 3 is the
really important thing. Our clients are the tip-top of the economic
iceberg of taste, breeding, heritage, et cetera. Those clients expect
first-class products — that's where product knowledge comes in. They
expect efficient service, that's number 2. And much more than and 1
2, they expect to be treated accordingly. And that means memorizing

their names, knowing who they are. Our clients want to be known.
People respond to being remembered, recognized.
25
Voices Are People Too
Recognize and Remember Telephone Voices;
Plus, More "Teople" Information
During my interviews with them,—both Dr. Sheldon Lippman and

Dr. Jesse Manlapaz told me as have many other doctors
—
I
through the years that they'd love to be able to connect a
name (and medical problem) to a telephone voice. Why? Because

they're often called at home by their patients. They'd like to leave the
impression that each patient is important.
Not all people are polite enough or thoughtful enough to identify
themselves immediately when they run into you unexpectedly or call
on the telephone. No, some people thoughtlessly say only hello and let
you stew, forcing you to say, on the telephone, "Who's this?" Most
executives would simply rather not have to do that; it is an admission
of forgetting.
202
Voices Are People Too 203
J. K. Hartman: We do much business over the phone. It'd be just

terrific to be able to say a caller's name before he or she says it.
That's as important as connecting a name to a face. It's part of
effective communications and relationships.
Alan Greenberg: As you can see, Harry, there are hundreds of

people sitting in this room, and most of them are on the telephone.
It goes without saying that it's important for them to recognize,
remember, voices. It's impressive, it's good business to be able to
say, "Hi, Mr. So-and-so," before he tells you that he's Mr.
So-and-so.
I've taught blind people how to remember voices; that is, how to
tie a name to a voice. This ability is important because quite a few

blind people do telephone work. It is, obviously, also important in
business generally. And because, like faces and fingerprints, all voices
are different, it isn't a difficult thing to do.
The principle is the same as the one that works when you associate
a name to a face. You need a hook, something onto which to hang that
name. And just as searching for an outstanding feature on a face forces
you really to look at that face, trying to choose one outstanding
characteristic of a voice forces you really to listen to that voice. That,
of course, is more than half the battle; you've forced yourself to
concentrate, to listen, to be originally aware.

The characteristic you select can be anything, as is true when
working with faces. It could be an accent of course, but it could also
be a squeaky quality or a screechy one. Huskiness is a voice
characteristic; a particularly low or high voice might grasp your
attention. There are gravelly voices, resonant voices, soothing,
smooth-as-silk, or irritating voices. There are slow talkers and fast

talkers. Use anything — from a speech impediment to a staccato way
of speaking to a drawl. It doesn't matter; what does matter is that you
have no choice but really to listen, with Qffcciive, focused attention, in
order to zero in on a characteristic.
Then, associate the person's name to the voice characteristic. If
Mr. Bradshaw has a very deep voice, associate your Substitute Word
for the name to deep. For example, you might see yourself burying
millions of brads (small nails) very deep at the shore — brad shore/
deep.
If you have to use gravelly many times, do so. It's okay to use,
say, high foreheads over and over when you're applying the system to
names and faces; and it's okay to use the same characteristic for
different voices. After you've thought of your picture and used the
name when hearing the voice three or four times, you'll simply know
the name and voice. The characteristic and the picture you used will no
longer be important.
Richard Schlott admits that his secretary usually tells him who's
on the phone. But, he adds, "I do occasionally pick up myself.
Someone who's giving us millions of dollars worth of business expects
to be recognized. I'd better fit name to voice." And Peter Kougasian
makes it a habit to "pick up my own phone calls. It is very important
for me to know who the voice belongs to."
Richard Roth, Jr.: I'd be pretty embarrassed, and might conceiv-

ably lose business, if the person on the phone is the one who
controls the money that will pay for the designing and building of
a skyscraper and I don't recognize him or her instantly.
Ruth Mass: It's very important to remember the name that goes
with a voice. And it'd be wonderful if that would also trigger my
memory for his or her travel likes and dislikes — smoking or
nonsmoking, aisle or window seat, won't stay above the seventh
floor of a hotel, which airline is preferred, corporate affiliation,
secretary's name.
As a matter of fact, at Ruth's firm, a "profile card" is filled out for

each new client. That card contains at the head of the page information
such as name, title, affiliation, address, telephone number, spouse's
name, and secretary's name. You already know how to Link that kind
of information.
Let's consider the association of only name to travel likes and
dislikes for a moment. Ms. Levine prefers to travel first-class, in an
aisle seat, nonsmoking. She's a vegetarian. She's a member of the
Admirals Club (American Airlines), and her A Advantage number is
Voices Are People Too 205
7739485. When a rental car is needed, she prefers a Hertz car. She will
not stay higher than the seventh floor in a hotel.
That's basic information; many other details may be, and usually
are, included. It's easy to Link the information. Start with the
Substitute Word for the name, of course. The vine (Levine) would do
it. You can see a large vine growing over the first-class cabin.
Visualize only aisle seats in that cabin — no window seats;
strange-looking plane. (You can see an isle [with palm tree] in the
cabin, if you'd rather.) Smoke billows around that single line of aisle
seats — the seats frantically wave it away (nonsmoking).

See smoke billowing out of hundreds of huge vegetables (vege-
tarian). A gigantic vegetable is on a large ship — being the admiral. A
large ship and the admiral fly millions of American flags (American
Airlines). From a gigantic flag, you see a cucumber fall (AAdvantage
number 7739485). If you think it's necessary, you can see a cushion on
the ground — the cucumber takes advantage of that, and twists during
its fall to land on that cushion. (You'd probably know that the number
is the AAdvantage number, so it isn't really necessary to include a
reminder for it — but it can't hurt!) The cucumber falls — it hurts
(Hertz). Final picture: someone tries to climb over (higher than) a cow
(7th floor); she can't — it hurts.
Review that Link mentally two or three times and you've got it.
Not only do you "have" the voice and the name that goes with it, but,
if you've associated the other bits of information to name (and voice),
the floodgates automatically open and all those bits of information
come rushing in — you simply know them.
HL: What would bring an employee to your attention, Mike (assuming
that that might result in his or her promotion)?
Michael K. Stanton (Partner, Weil, Gotshal and Manges, among the
top twenty U.S. law firms): Innovative thinking, effective communi-
cation, writing ability, motivation, reliability. And memory is needed
in all those areas. One certainly can't be reliable if one doesn't
remember what he has to do or where he has to be.
HL: Most executives have great memories, but it's taken for granted.
They themselves don't realize it, nor how important it is.
MKS: Well, I know it's critical for the entire operation. I don't need
people saying, "I'll look in the file," for everything; I can do that
myself. It would be great if I always could get the answer I want or
need immediately. Time is money.
24
Memory
and Management
Mostmemory. aspects
I
of managing depend on and revolve around
asked every executive I interviewed to give me
his or her thoughts on managing people. All of them
mentioned showing confidence in employees in almost all management
situations. Also mentioned by all: building employees' self-esteem,
expressing personal appreciation, pinpointing the business problem
rather than blaming the employee, asking for and showing interest in
employees' opinions and feelings. One way to show confidence in an

employee, of course, is to reinforce the good things that person has
accomplished in the past. You can say things like, "Take care of that
the way you did with ABC Corporation six years ago — that was
207
terrific. I know you can do it again." (You remembered what that

person had done six years ago to solve the ABC Corporation problem.)
Scott Marcus: I have a very good memory. I believe that helps me

to be a good executive and a good manager. I believe I could be a
good executive/manager in any business because of my good
memory. It's obvious to me. A functioning executive must
remember what happened before, must be able to answer questions
asked by people under him. He has to be looked up to and admired
for his memory and ability. Without memory there is no ability.
Evan R. Bell: A good manager doesn't repeat mistakes because he

remembers them.
The lower-level employee doesn't really have to remember any-

thing except how to handle his or her one area of responsibility
properly. The good manager has to remember the basics of every area
within his or her larger area of responsibility. That's why I find it
difficult to pull apart those two magnets — management and memory.

Managing people effectively is a skill that can be acquired (just as
a trained memory can). And it's obviously a useful asset in business.
Understand that the craving for appreciation is one of the deepest
feelings of human nature — everyone wants to be appreciated and
thought of as unique. Self-interest, the desire to be important,
motivates us, is at the core of human behavior. Understand, remember,
this truth and apply it when dealing with people; it's a powerful
management tool.
Yes, you can "deal" with people if you don't remember who they
are, what their interests are, but not on a management level. As a
manager, you must make each person under you feel important.
Getting a person to think well of you is nowhere near as important as
getting him to think well of himself. Pay attention to and remember
facts about individuals. Make the effort to remember and use a
person's name (it's his or her most prized possession!); make the effort
to remember facts about his or her professional and personal life.
Justice Felix Frankfurter said that "courtesy is the lubricant of
society." It is. And each time you're courteous to someone in the ways
Memory and Management 209
mentioned above, you're acknowledging that lie or she matters, that
you care enough to havemade the effort to remember him or her.

Applying the memory systems I've taught you will enable you to
practice listening I —
mean really listening. There's no way to
associate or Link the facts someone is giving you without pinpointing

your concentration, without paying effective attention. And it's impos-
sible to separate attentive listening and interest. Really listen and you
may even learn something! Stop talking about your favorite subject —
you. Talk about the other person to that person. Work at getting him
to talk about himself; what he'd like to do. what he's interested in or
proud of — and remember those things. Utilize his or her self-interest

to help you increase your own power. That's an ability possessed by
most successful leaders and executives.
Harvey Leeds: The capable manager has to remember to whom he

delegated what. He has to remember to follow up on it. remember
that it's something that has to be completed. If his memory fails,
things can drop between the cracks — they're forgotten and don't
get done.
Apply the memory systems to remember the good things an

employee accomplishes. All you'd need to do is to associate his or her
name, or the Substitute Word for the name, to the accomplishment, to
the suggestion, to the amount of work done by that individual. Then,

be sure to show appreciation. That's important. Experiments have
proved that people who receive praise improve most in their work;
people who receive reproof rate next, and those who receive neither
show the least improvement. So, be sure to remember to show
appreciation. It can sometimes be more important than financial
rewards.
If an employee makes a mistake, don't put him down. Rather, you
might say: "You're so close. You can do it. What do you think about
doing so-and-so?" Again, here's an area where remembering what
came before is important. It's the good manager who can suggest a
solution because he remembers that that solution solved a similar
problem years ago, perhaps even at a different firm.
We tend to imitate other people, particularly the boss. Remember,

your behavior will induce similar behavior. Do as you want others to
do. and they'll tend to follow your lead. You can't expect loyalty from
friends and employees if you're not loyal yourself. And if your
memon. for business detail is obviously exceptional, your people vnill
see that you place a high value on that ability. You have facts at your
fingertips: they will attempt to imitate you. They'll also realize that the
"T forgot" excuse is unacceptable.

So you can make people do what you want by example or by
suggestion. The best way to guide actions is to guide Thinking. To
guide thinking, guide the other person's wanting by showing him how
he can get what he wants. Give him the motivation that gets your ideas
working in his mind. Then he'll do what you want him to do because
it's what he wants, tool
Thinking of the other person can lead to your success. I remember

asking a man who earned over a million dollars a year what had led to
his success. He instantly replied, ""Caring for other people." When he
started out. he wasn't thinking of his own success as much as his
clients' success. Helping them become successful automatically

brought him success, too.
With few exceptions, most of the successful people I know
(including most of those I inter\iewed for this book and myself as well)
became successful that way — by sincerely trying to help others be
successful, and remembering their likes, dislikes, and idiosyncrasies.
The idea may seem obvious to you. yet it's amazing that many
ambitious people, eager to climb the ladder of success, do not think of
it. They probably won't make it, because looking out for the other
person is often the best way to climb to the top yourself.
But, hey. let's be honest. The most marvelous, tried and true methods
aren't always best. In the memor>' area — sure, occasionally just write
it down, as I do — occasionally. And sometimes diplomacy and tact
won't work. Years ago, I did appearances at an industrial show. An

American corporation brought planeloads of people to a hotel near
Caracas, Venezuela. Each group stayed for three days. I was the
keynote speaker for each group on the night of arrival.
A young lady sang two songs, then introduced me. A company

executive, Vincent Walsinski (not his real name) was entertainment
Memory and Management 211
chairman. I had told him that I wouldn't start until waiters were off the
floor.
The first night the meal was served and concluded. Vincent asked
the captain of waiters to clear the floor. The captain said that cookies
still had to be served. Well, a large tray of cookies was served to each
table — and it took over an hour. The show couldn't start until all the
cookies were served.

This was not good. The singer, who was really an actress, got
progressively more nervous. The people were tired. Vincent was

annoyed. He told the captain to serve the cookies faster, or not at all.
The captain said okay. The next night — no change. It took over an
hour to serve the cookies. Vincent was angry.
He spent fifteen minutes telling the captain to put the cookie trays
on the table before dinner, or to forget about them. He was assured that
it would be taken care of. Next time, it still took over an hour to serve
the cookies! Vincent was very angry.
He sat down with the captain and calmly (outwardly) applied all
the dealing- with-people methods he knew. The captain gave his word
that the situation would definitely be straightened out on the next show
night. Need I tell you? That night nothing changed; Vincent trembled
with rage.
He applied a nonfail method, or solution. Vincent was about five
feet, eight inches tall, stocky and strong. The captain stood over six
feet. I saw Vincent grab the captain's entire shirt front in one hand. He
lifted him off the floor and slammed him against a wall. Nose up to
nose, he roared: "If you serve cookies tomorrow night, I'll kill you!
Understand? Serve one cookie tomorrow, and I'll kill you with my
bare hands."
The next night the show started at a reasonable hour — no cookies
were served! Vincent had found the correct method of dealing with
people for this particular emergency.
(The nervous singer in this true story was Valerie Harper. You
know her today as Rhoda of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and then as
the star of her own television show, Valerie.)
HL: Peter, what's important for you to remember?
Peter Kougasian (Assistant District Attorney and Director of Legal
Staff Training, Manhattan, New York): Oh, so many things. I'm
primarily a trial attorney. In court, I need to remember the facts and the
law. It's nice to have documents and briefs, but it isn't effective to
have to go through hundreds of pieces of paper to make the point. It
takes too long; the opposing attorney can make several points in the
interim.
A jury wants to believe that you are in complete control of the
case. Your much higher if they see you
credibility with that jury is
remember all the facts. It can also make a good impression on the
judge. If the judge thinks it's fresh in your mind, that can make a big
difference — to your benefit. It is most effective if you can immediately
state a precedent; no hesitation, just say it — know it.
25
Law, Tax, and
Insurance
Remember Important Information as You Read
in a Fraction of the Time It Piow Takes —
Precedents, Law Section and
Internal Revenue Code numbers, and More
HL: So you're telling me that memory is of utmost importance to

you; that you'd better remember when you're in front of a judge
and jury.
Peter Kougasian: Without question. An example is citing statutes.
When the legislature passes a law it is fitted into a series of books

and assigned a number by which the law is cited. For instance, the
statute defining disorderly conduct is penal-law section 240.20.
Any lawyer handling criminal cases should know that.
The first use I made of your memory systems, Harry, as a new

lawyer, was to learn the statutes and their numbers by turning the
numbers into mental pictures. In a courtroom, the judge or lawyers
will often refer to a statute merely by its number. The judge might
213
ask, "Are you adding a count of 240.20?" It wouldn't do if I had

to shuffle pages in order to know that the judge was asking if I'm
adding a disorderly conduct charge onto the other charges.
It works vice versa, too. The lawyer would say the penal-law
section number instead of reading the entire law. Saying it that
way says it all, because every judge, of course, also remembers the
statute numbers and subdivisions.
Also, it's important for me to make eye contact with the judge,
to "read" him or her. And I can't do that if I'm looking down at
documents.
Michael K. Stanton: I'm at trial mostly with corporate, commer-

cial cases. Would the judge be impressed if I stated the facts of the
case without looking at documents? Yes, yes, yes — he certainly
would be. He has to think, "This guy cares about the case, he
cares about his client, and he's fully prepared — ready to go. He
knows what he's talking about. Also — and this is important — if
you're looking down at documents, you can't "read" the judge.

It's important for me to see how he's reacting. Then, if I see that
the line I'm taking is turning him off, I can move to a different line;
I'll find a better time to jump back to that first line of questioning.
HL: So a lawyer in a trial who reads every word is not

situation
going to be as good as the lawyer who remembers/ knows the facts

and doesn't have to read?
MKS: Not in my judgment. He might be good, but certainly not

as effective. If you define memory as knowing the facts of a case,
on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd score memory 10. It's that critical.
Peter Kougasian mentioned that disorderly conduct is penal-law

section 240.20. To remember that just associate nears nose, Nero's
nose, nurse nice, or anything that phonetically means 240.20 to
disorderly conduct. (Nero's nose is being disorderly!)
Another example: The statute defining murder in the second degree
is 125.25. Visualize someone committing murder in the second degree
with a gigantic toenail and a regular nail to remind yourself of that. If
you need a subdivision number, simply put the Peg Word for that (tie,
Noah, ma, et cetera) into the picture. If the subdivision means, say.
Law, Tax, and Insurance 215
"killing with intent" (subdivision 1), see that; if it means "wanton

killing" (subdivision 2), see that, and so on. You'd know that the page
number is 396 if you put ambush into the picture also.
Peter Kougasian: To be a good lawyer you have to be memorizing

laws constantly, old ones and new ones. It's ineffective to say to
a judge that you have a case number, a precedent, upstairs — but

"I forgot the name." That doesn't make points. An example of a
precedent I memorized — a great old case: Johnson vs. Lutz. It's
a precedent regarding introduction of business records, which

would ordinarily be hearsay. It's most important to remember the
name of the case, but how much better also to remember the
volume number, page number, the court in which it was decided,

and the year. If you can cite all that it can't help but make a
favorable impression on the judge.

I memorize things like this as I'm doing research, using your
systems. Simple thing; but it makes legal research so much
easier— and saves faster. It trips to the law books, and so on.
Oh, you may be interested in the story about a very famous
lawyer — one who was legendary for his "photographic" mem-
ory. Something would come up during an argument, and he'd say
something like, "Oh yes, if you'll notice, on page 389 of the
transcript (this is during an appeal, where a transcript of the lower
court trial is in use) it says such-and-such, and I'm glad you raised
that point. Your Honor, because on page 592 it says
such-and-such," et cetera. And, are you ready for this? He was

He felt that citing page numbers was that important.
bluffing!
HL: He got away with it for a long time, didn't he?
PK; Yes. My friend, the one who told me this, finally caught him.
He asked the court to turn to the page this famous lawyer quoted —
and they found he was bluffing. But he did get away with it for
years.
If I wanted to remember the Johnson vs. Lutz precedent, I'd see a

gigantic 70/1/7 (toilet) and its son introducing a large record (album) to
empty lots (Lutz) at a business meeting. In one of those empty lots is
a new lamb (volume 253) standing on the Empire State Building (New
York — Court of Appeals) having dinner (page 124). The dinner is a

mouse (30— 1930). I'd know that 30 meant 1930, not 1830. If I
didn't think I'd know that, I'd stick a tub into the picture. Again, bear
in mind that you can see this silly picture (or pictures) in a fraction of
the time it takes for me to write it, or for you to read it.
I'll anticipate a question. You do not have to associate this kind of

information in the same order each time; that is, you'll know which
association represents which piece of information.
Peter "saw" an official-looking person in his official capacity (a
judge banging his gavel) being sued (handed a summons) in a cave —

to remember that Article 78 covers the suing of an official person over
an official action. (As when, in a recent case, a judge closed a trial to
the public and the news media sued to have it opened again.)
"Do" a picture in your mind of, with, or between ma berry
(Marbury) and mad at son (Madison) and tie (1) and crunch or ranch
and atomic (137) and dove sum (1803) to help you know that the
famous case (William) Marbury vs. (James) Madison is in the first (1)
volume of the Cranch reporter at page 137. The year — 1803. A

lawyer knows just what I'm talking about, and would say it, "Marbury
versus Madison, one Cranch one thirty-seven, eighteen oh three."
He'd be able to say it this way without looking at documents if he'd
made the associations or the Link I've suggested.
In his capacity as an attorney and CPA, Gerald S. Deutsch deals with

important clients. He told me, "It's very impressive to people
attending a meeting with me for me to be able to spout from memory
sections of the Internal Revenue Code, tax regulations, or both."
It's impressive and it's easy. Tax code section 274 has to do with
the keeping of records for business entertainment. See a new car (or
Niagara) entertaining a business acquaintance. That's Number
all.
274(n) is the new law that allows only 80 percent of business

entertainment to be deducted. A hungry hen represents 274(n);
associate that to 80 percent {fuse, fez, fuss, vase) deduction (D duck,
or D duck shun — if you need a reminder for that).
Section 267 of the Internal Revenue Code discusses disallowances

of losses between related parties. (You can't sell stock at a loss to your
spouse or to your own corporation and then deduct that loss.) See
Law, Tax, and Insurance 217
yourself selling something to a relation but you will accept no check.

Picture a raven owning two entities (property under each wing,
perhaps) and a large hand moving parts of one entity to the other, and
vice versa. This will help you remember that section 482 states that if
there are two entities controlled by the same taxpaying corporation the
government (large hand!), under certain circumstances, can allocate
income or expenses from one to the other. Again, these are the pictures
I'd see; you'd see the ones you thought of, which locks in that
information. Annul (or annual) sum sea to trusting a minor (or miner
or mynah bird) would tell you that trust for a minor is discussed in
section 2503(c).
I was asked to teach a group of insurance agents how to memorize the

premiums for the new term insurance policies the company was
offering. The yearly premiums were different for $100,000 and
$250,000 policies; they also varied, of course, for different ages and
for males and females within those age limits. The chart looked
something like this (I've shortened it and made up the amounts — you
probably won't find policies this cheap):
$100,000 $250,000
Age Male Female Male Female
25 $ 85.00 $ 83.00 $175.00 $170.00

30 90.00 84.00 180.00 173.00
35 95.00 88.00 182.00 179.00
40 117.00 105.00 223.00 194.00
The agents learned the Phonetic Number/Alphabet and how to form

associations in order to Link one piece of information to another. Since
they knew that these premiums were for $100,000 and $250,000
policies, those numbers didn't have to be part of the associations. What
I taught them to do was to start each short Link (or picture) with the
Peg Word that represents the age — and to go from there. There are,
as usual, many ways to go. Quick examples: A gigantic nail (25) is
covered with foil (85) and foam (83); the foam oozes off the nail to
tickle (175) some ducks or tacks (170). Are you with me? See the
pictures, make the associations, and you'll know the premiums for a
male or female up to age 25.

A mouse (30) is driving a bus; a bus is covered with fur; millions
of doves are wearing fur coats: someone comes to take the furs — the
doves shout, "Take 'em."

A mule (35) rings a bell with a fife while sitting on a divan (or
while divin') holding a teacup. This is an example of a "story" Link.

You may use it, but I'd prefer: mule to bell, bell to fife, a gigantic fife
is divin' (into a pool), a teacup is divin' into a pool.
A rose (40) has a toothache, a gigantic tooth twirls a tassel, a

no name (you can "see" it saying so, or it's wearing a blank
tassel has
name tag), a gigantic diaper has no name. (For 223, you could also
have "seen" a tassel being overlooked, and shouting "No no, me!"
The same for the diaper.)
The people I talked to in these business areas — law, tax, insurance —

couldn't stop expounding on how much data there is to remember
within those fields. The point all of them stressed was the expanding
and changing nature of the information. There are so many more law
precedents to remember now than there were years ago; tax laws are
continually changing (as, of course, you know), and so are insurance
premiums and coverages. The amount of data in each area is vast. But
that's when my systems shine! If there was only a bit of information
to know, you'd eventually know it (so would everyone else in that
field; you wouldn't stand out), and that'd be when the amount
that. It's
of data is vast, and changing, that you need a trained memory. Apply
the systems and you have the opportunity to stand out, be noticed, and
make a strong impression — gain that critical edge!
Dr. Jesse Manlapaz (Neurosurgeon, Danbury Hospital, Danbury,
Connecticut): If I had the gift of a great memory, how would I apply
it? Well, rd certainly remember everything that ever occurred while I
was doing brain surgery, and what I did to stop it, correct it, use it.
There's no substitute for experience — and remembering everything

that occurs becomes that body of knowledge called experience.
And it's quite essential to remember information I read in medical
journals. It'd be great if I could read about a new drug and, as I read,
remember the trade name, generic name, manufacturer, indication
[what it's used for], and side effects, if any.
26
Medicine
and Related Fields
Rx for Remembering Trade/Generic" names.
Journal Articles, and Other Medical Information
doctor spoke to mentioned the importance

I of remembering
Every
drugs — trade and generic names, what they're for, and so on.
(One doctor said, "It's important to remember new drugs for
two reasons — for your work, of course, and so as not to look the fool
to a patient who has heard of a new drug when you haven't, or have
and have forgotten it!") Pharmacists have a book that lists most of the
trade/generic names. But every pharmacist I spoke to told me that
remembering them would save lots of time. When a doctor writes a

prescription for a generic drug, he doesn't necessarily have to know
that generic name. He may write the trade name and then simply write
"gen" or "generic" next to it; or he doesn't put a check in the box on
220
1
Medicine and Related Fields 22
his prescription blank marked DAW — dispense as written. The

pharmacist must know what the generic name of that drug is.
It should be obvious to you that all you have to do, basically, to
remember these things is apply the Substitute Word System plus

association. A doctor showed me the following information and
wanted to see if I could remember it in one reading (or hearing). I did,
of course, as I read it. So can you.
Mevacor is an anticholesterol drug manufactured by Merck and

Company. Its generic name is lovastatin. Lifelong use of the drug
may cause cataracts or liver problems for some people.
The first thing I did was to see myself calling to a large chunk of
coal, saying, "Hey, coal, let's roll," as if we had work to do and I
wanted to get it done. It sounds enough like cholesterol, certainly, to
remind me of it. Of course, I know it's anti, not pro. If I didn't, I could
have put auntie into that picture.
The work we had to do was to move a gigantic apple core — move
a core to remind me of Mevacor. An enormous apple core moved is
through murky (Merck) weather. My lover is walking through murky

weather, and I call to her, "Lover, stay thin" — lovastatin. {Low vest
o' tin would also do.) Lover to cat oar acts to liver (the organ, or one
who lives, or leave her) reminds me of the possible side effects.
Sinequan is the trade name of a drug manufactured by Pfizer, Inc.
The generic name is doxepin, and it is used as maintenance therapy for
depression. Drowsiness is the usual side effect; it can also cause dry
mouth and blurred vision, among other things. All easy to remember
if you associate cynic wan (or sin nick won) to visor or wiser (Pfizer)
to docks a pin (or doc see pin) to the press to drowsiness, and so on.
Try it; see for yourself.
Valium is name
a trade —
associate valley or valiant to die ace a
pan (or a girl named Pam, or palm) to remember that the generic name
is diazepam. Associate Dolobid {dole a bid or bed, or dollar bid) to the
generic name diflunisal {dive loon is all). Rolcatrol {roll, cat, roll or
roll control) is the trade name of another drug; calcitriol {calls it real
or call sitter he old) is the generic equivalent. Mephyton {me have a

ton, me fittin , or me feet on) is a trade name; the generic name is
phytonadione {fight on a Dionne, fightin a Dionne, fittin' a Dionne, or

fittin' a dye own). (As I've told you, the older you get, the more you
know, which means that you have more ammunition to help you form
Substitute Words. If you aren't old enough to remember the Dionne
quintuplets, you wouldn't have that to use as I did in this example. But
a younger person might have visualized pop singer Dionne Warwick.)

Remember, the slight effort involved in thinking up Substitute
Words plus forming a silly picture between two of them traps that
fieeting thought for you.
Again, it's what comes to your mind for any component that's the best
Substitute Word for you to use. Usually iht first thing that comes to
mind will work best. If you thought of it, it will remind you of what
you want it to remind you of — instantly. For example, I used cat oar
acts as the Substitute Word for cataracts because that's something
everyone can understand. But if you visualized a person who couldn't

see too well because that's what came to your mind as you read, that
would certainly remind you of cataracts. The same would be true if you
visualized a person you knew who is suffering from cataracts. It's an
individual thing. Someone else may have thought of cut her axe —
fine. It doesn't matter. What matters is that it reminds you of the piece
of information. And, as you continue to apply the idea, it gets easier
and easier.
HL: Sheldon, are you equating being considered an authority in a
field to remembering everything in that field?
Dr. Sheldon Lippman: Sure. And the Specialty Board tests you
on your ability to remember. After graduation, residency, you can
practice pediatrics, that could be your specialty. But to get the
recognition of your colleagues, you take your Specialty Board —
the Board of Pediatrics. The first part is a written exam and, after
a few years, you're given an oral exam. You're being tested
on your knowledge in that field — they're testing your memory.
It's prestigious, professional recognition, to pass your Specialty
Board to become a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediat-
rics.
Medicine and Related Fields 223
HL: Boils down to being a memory problem, doesn't it?
SL: Without question. And when you're recognized by the
Academy, you have to recertify yourself every six years. You may
be asked about areas outside your specialty. Boy, do you ever need
a good memory! Extremely important.
Dr. Lippman delivered a ten-minute talk in front of his peers. Here

are the highlights of that talk. Obviously, each fact reminded him of
other details, since he'd studied the information in order to speak
intelligently about it. He basically knew what he was talking about —
he just needed a synopsis, he needed reminders.
Moyamoya is a disease that was discovered in Japan. The name

means "puff of smoke." The test used to locate the disease is
angiography. It's a brain X-ray using dye injection to make the
blood vessels visible. When the disease exists, the blood vessels
look like a puff of smoke.

It's a children's disease whose symptoms imitate seizures, like
little strokes. Other symptoms are weakness on one side of the

body, and losing touch with reality — like gazing into space. The
wrong tests can make it seem like a neuromuscular degenerative
disease — multiple sclerosis, for instance — rather than the vas-
cular disease it is. One child had the symptoms three times before
she was given the angiogram test. Then it was correctly diagnosed
as moyamoya. The neurologist hadn't seen a case in fifteen years;

it's that rare. The definitive treatment is surgical (grafting); drugs
are used to prevent seizure and spasm.
What follows is what I'd use to remember this short talk. See
yourself walking through a gigantic puff of smoke in Japan. You can't
breathe, so you shout, "More air, more air." This tells you the name
of the disease, that it was discovered in Japan, and means "puff of
smoke" in Ann gee ogre fee or hen geography
Japanese. Associate
(angiography) to more air. Perhaps Ann needs more air and, gee, an
ogre gives her some for a fee. You can see (X-ray) the blood vessels
in an ogre's brain.
The blood vessels (you can visualize ships) sail over some children
(children's disease) who seem to be having seizures or small strokes —
all on one side. They all gaze into space. Nero (see a man playing the
fiddle in a fire — Nero fiddled while Rome burned!) is muscular
(neuromuscular). Many (multiple) see-through (clear) O's have sisters
who are muscular {multiple clear O sis — multiple sclerosis). Some

fast cool air (vascular) blows over the sisters; they say, "That's the
real thing" (it is a vascular disease).
A child's ma (three times) is named Ann; she says '

'gee' ' as she gets
a telegram {Ann gee a gram) that says "moyamoya" (the angiogram

correctly diagnosed the illness as moyamoya). See the telegram using a
towel ( 15) on a stethoscope (doctor). (The neurologist hadn't seen a case

of moyamoya in fifteen years.)
The stethoscope is performing surgery; it is having a seizure, a

spasm. Drugs pour over it and relieve the seizure/spasm.
That would do it. For me. Remember, you may select different
words, different pictures, and that's just as it should be. Another way
to go would be to Link the following key words: more air, puff, Japan,
Ann gee ogre fee, brain/X-ray, children, strokes, one side, space (or
gaze), Nero muscular, fast cool air, ma (if you want to be reminded
that one child had the symptom three times), Ann gee a gram, towel,
surgery/drugs.
This Link would tell you the sequence of thoughts that make up
your talk. The more familiar with the material you are, the less
components you'll need within the Link.
My rationale for using these medical examples — and all the eclectic
examples in this book — should be obvious. It's important for you to

realize that my memory systems may be effectively applied to any kind
of data, in any business or profession.
27
Last Word
Memory is the stepping-stone to thinking.

There can hardly be one without the other.
Without memory, all intelligence and learning are lost.
no question that my memory systems work. Work they

There is
have (for many years); work they do (for millions of literally
people, in all walks of life); work they must (since you tried
them as you read, you know that). Not only does the method work, but
it is the only art/skill I know that shows results immediately, as you're
learning! And it's the only approach I know that betters you in a vital
area even if it doesn't work.

So the question isn't whether or not the systems work, the question
is how much do you want them to do for you? If you haven't actually
tried them (and I refuse to believe that), you still don't realize how
powerful, fascinating, imaginative, important, and efficient they are.
225
The incredible weapon is there; all you have to do is pick it up, cock
it, use it.
Oh, yes, some effort is needed to pick it up. Tell me how many
times you've acquired something valuable without applying at least a
bit of effort? Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Let's face it, if I could
put my systems in a bottle, everyone would have a great memory! And
yet, that's almost what I've done — you're holding the bottle in your
hand. Uncork it, for heaven's sake!
Of course I realize that not all the examples I've used apply directly to
your particular problems. Please understand that the concept taught in
each example most likely does. If I've made it clear that once you
know the three basic ideas — Link, Peg (Phonetic Number/ Alphabet)
and Substitute Word — just a bit of imagination, a bit of a change or
twist, can enable you to apply them to, solve, any business-related
memory problem, then I've accomplished my purpose.
What you have to do is use the techniques you've learned to
accomplish your purpose. If the title Memory Makes Money had
anything at all to do with the fact that you picked up this book, then
your purpose is clear: you want to make (more) money. Well then, use
the techniques you've learned as recommended — by me and by the
top-level executives who spoke to you through me — to forge ahead in
business, to acquire that keen business edge that will set you apart from
all the others, all the others who don't have the fantastic memory you
now do. Your memory is ready to make money for you!
No one I have ever spoken to has questioned the importance of

memory. Even the ancients knew its value. Witness this quote from a
fragment of Greek writing known as Dialexeis that the experts date
back to about 400 BC: "A great and beautiful invention is the art of
memory, always useful both for learning and for life."

And, I'd add, for business.
— Harry Lorayne
Here's just a sampling of the corporations and other organizations
whose headquarters or divisions (or both) use Harry Lorayne's
memory systems as an ongoing part of their training programs:
Exxon Corporation; Phelps Dodge, Inc.; Metropolitan Life Insurance

Company; NCR Corporation; NASA Headquarters; Texas Instruments,
Inc.; IBM; Singer Company; McDonnell Douglas Corporation; Safeway
Stores, Inc.; Mack Trucks, Inc.; Bendix Corporation; Indiana Bell

Telephone Company; GTE
Products Corporation; Bank of Nova Scotia;
Wang Hughes Helicopters; General Motors Corpora-
Laboratories, Inc.;
tion; Litton Systems Canada, Limited; ARCO Oil and Gas Company;
Keebler Company; Morgan Guarantee Trust Company of New York;

Standard Oil Company (Ohio); Martin Marietta Corporation; Boeing
Computer Services Company; Chevron Corporation; Prudential Insurance
Company of America; AT&T Long Lines Department; General Mills,
Inc.; Irving Trust Company; Westinghouse Electric Corporation; Allied
Chemical Corporation; Nestle Company, Inc.; Bell Telephone Laborato-

ries; Grumman Aerospace Corporation; Superior Oil Company; Stouf-
fer's; Hartford Insurance Group; Pratt & Whitney; International Paper

Company; A. C. Nielsen Company of Canada; DuPont Canada, Inc.;
United States Automobile Association; Celanese Fibers Operations;

Illinois Central Gulf Railroad — and more.
;.*
•«

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How TO Develop a Super-Power Memory

Instant Mind Power

Memory Isometrics Course

Mental Magnetism Course

The Magic Book

The Page-a-Minute Memory Book

Little, Brown and Company

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED IN

Artwork by Robert E. Lorayne

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

BF385.L7553 1988 153. r4 88-9494

Designed by Jacques Chazaud

Published simultaneouslyin Canada

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

There can be no better memories

2 Learn from Top Money-Makers 9

Your Business or Profession

3 An Interview with Mel Brooks, CEO 16

4 How Good Is Your Business Memory? 24

5 The Biggest Little Nuisance in Business:

6 The Trick That Makes Numbers Easy to Remember 53

7 No Paper! Your Mind Is Your Daily Planner 63

8 Memory Makes for Effective Time Management 73

9 Decision Making / Problem Solving / Memory 78

10 Continue Making Numbers Easy to Remember 85

1 Memory Power — Pyramid Power 97

12 The Name Game 101

Remembering Personnel by Name Equals Administrative

13 In Business, It's Who You Know and What

14 Learning and Retrieving Business-related Codes

15 Remember Speeches and Sales Reports Easily and

Read or Listen and Remember Any Business Material

16 "Staying/Graying" Power 135

Double the Memory Power You Had at Twenty!

17 How the Ultimate Wall Street Pro Turned

18 Razor-sharpen That Business Edge: Numbers 154

19 Meetings of the Mind 167

Leave a Meeting with All the Facts in Your Mind

20 Memory Leads to Creativity — in Any Business 174

21 Specific "Day/Hour" Appointments 182

The Weekly Appointment Calendar in Your Mind!

22 Place That Face! 190

In Business, You Must Force Each Face to

Tell You Its Name

23 Voices Are People Too 202

Recognize and Remember Telephone Voices; Plus,

24 Memory and Management 207

25 Law, Tax, and Insurance 213

Remember Important Information as You Read in a

Fraction of the Time It Now Takes — Precedents,

26 Medicine and Related Fields 220

Rx for Remembering "Trade/Generic" Names,

27 Last Word 225

My thanks to all of the following — none of whom I'll ever forget:

My editor, Fredrica S. Friedman, who made me sound better than

I really do; Frank V. AtLee; Phyllis Barr; Evan R. Bell; Philip A.

Clausi; Steven A. Conner; Ralph Destino; Gerald S. Deutsch; Alan

Levitt, Jr.; Dr. Sheldon Lippman; Saundra Malvin; Dr. Jesse