And the lessons learned.
An action manual of higher awareness and applied intuition

Nominated to "Forbes' Top 20 Most Influential Business Books of the Past 20 Years"
Revised edition, now published by Career Press.

 

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This is a bit of an unusual business book...

I never expected to expect to write another business book because there are so many good ones out there. Nevertheless, instead of giving you a pitch for buying and reading it, let me give you some background of what went into it:

I took my very first self-improvement workshop in the winter of 1980, it was called "Playground" written by Paul Larsen of Summit Workshops.
I went because I had just read Winning at Office Politics and I wanted to ingratiate myself at Texas Instruments with our operations Manager.
I was blown away by what I experienced and learned.
Over the next 15 years I took every one of their workshops — and a few of them several times.

Since the beginning I knew I wanted to have my own company and I wanted to learn as much as possible about human nature, including myself, as applied to starting, building and managing a successful business.

It never ceased to amaze me what would change in my world after I would reconcile some issue blocking me from being effective — first, I realized that most 'realities' were merely a point-of-view.
When I changed my point-of-view — things changed.
Sometimes everything changed....
Even the telephone would ring from someone I haven't spoken to in years...
A customer would call in order...
Stuff like that.

We did workshops using horses in the Arizona desert.
We learned scuba diving as well as many metaphors useful to everyday life gleaned from that training.

I've taken workshops given by former EST trainers

I took all of Anthony Robbins' courses...
walked on fire (several times), climbed to the top of poles, dropped into a city for a 24-hour period with nothing, but a quarter in apple (I ate it right away)

I started taking karate lessons about the same time I started Jian in 1988. I have a 2nd degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo.

I learned to fly.
Today I have 760+ hours and I'm instrument-rated.
I even owned a 1980 Beech V-tail Bonanza (V35B).
There are many things one can learn about business from flying an airplane.

I can't tell you how many self-help, psychology, and business books I've read.
Every one of them had at least several gems.

I sold electronic components for Texas Instruments.
I was the Electronics Buyer for The Sharper Image catalog.
I was in promotional videos for Apple, HP, Tandem Computers, Xerox, ...
I even acted in TV commercials for Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota, Yuban, and SuperCuts!
I worked with former summit trainers and former EST trainers who consulted with me for my company for many years.

I belonged to TEC (now Vistage) — 12-15 company CEOs meet once a month, learn something profound from an expert,
have lunch, then spend the afternoon solving each others' problems.
I could turn every session into a Jian software product.

Believe me, I would never have undertaken to write this book if there wasn't something more to say.

Everything I learned, I applied to my own business
Everything I learned from the workshops I participated in...
from the consultants I worked with...
from my experiences working for large and small companies...
as well as for 20 years invested in developing business-building software tools.
Most of that worked, and some of it needed some tweaking to make it work.

This is what Business Black Belt is about.
I have a lot to say, but I say it quickly.
I share many anecdotes that will help you keep your head on straight.
I think every chapter could be an entire book on its own,
but you can get the point immediately — enough to take action.

Read Business Black Belt.
I assure you that you will get a lot from it.

“ I loved Business Black Belt! This book is a uniquely powerful success manual. It is jam-packed with useful insights that will enable you to win in business and in life. Author Burke Franklin has total credibility thanks to his accomplishments in the martial arts combined with his brilliant career in business. Compared to this tour de force, most other business books I read spend lots of pages hitting and missing and groping and fumbling when it comes to delivering practical information. This one flies to the mark over and over again, on page after enlightening page. Most unusual of all, and most gratifying, is that Franklin genuinely succeeds in applying lessons from the martial arts-and from other forms of physical endeavor-to the world of business. The typical book that promises benefits from a field of endeavor outside of business, be it sports, war, or whatever, never actually succeeds in importing the mastery of one field into another. I suspect that the reason the attempt so often fails is that it was never intended to be much more than a gimmick for a clever title. In the case of Business Black Belt, the different disciplines are truly merged. There is also a rare sense of thoughtfulness. The ideas Franklin presents are not off-the-cuff notions slammed down on the page to meet a publishing deadline; they are hard-won insights culled with honesty and integrity from his own experience and set down with clarity so that the reader can profit from them. Wherever you are in your career, whatever the stage or situation of your present business, reading Business Black Belt will energize and stimulate you with wisdom that is at once hard-hitting, subtle, and profound.”
~ Scott DeGarmo, former Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of SUCCESS Magazine

70+ tricks & tips to help you ideas to help you make better decisions faster.

Build your business with what you already have! Picks up where the business schools, consultants, and gurus leave off...
Refined ideas deal with the realities for successfully building your business.

• A fast, informative read.
• 70+ short chapters clearly make each point in one sitting.
• A great gift for the entrepreneurs in your life!

"Finally, some great business ideas that are much more than just what to do, he actually explains how to do them."
- Bill Hayes, President, Automatic Rain, Menlo Park, CA

"Business Black Belt is a fascinating account of hundreds of business situations and how one might approach them. I found nuggets on every page. The chapters are short and filled with poignant examples."
- Roger McManus, Publisher, North Carolina Entrepreneur Magazine

"If you're looking for practical tips and tricks you should know and use on a day-to-day basis, they're in here!"
- Larry Moore, Larry's Auto Works, Mountain View, CA

"Once I started reading Business Black Belt, I couldn't put this unique book down.
It is a compendium of information, anecdotes and lessons that can be easily and immediately, applied to transform effort into success.
A one of a kind book by a businessman who has been there and can show you how to get there."
- Joe Kolezynski, Executive Director, Professional Golfers Career College, Windermere, FL

Ask for it at your favorite bookstore
You can ask for Business Black Belt by name at your bookstore--they may have it in stock or can get it for you very quickly.

(ISBN # 1-56811-016-2) 356 pages. Hard cover.