» By: Dr. Gary S. Goodman

When I was a preschooler, I’d hang out at home without much to do, so sometimes, I’d just imitate what my brother or sister were up to.

Sis was the artist in the family, and everybody encouraged her.

On weekends, she’d draw pictures with crayons, and upon completion she’d receive praise and a few pennies, or even a nickel, if her works were especially meritorious.

I noticed, and I wanted in on the action.

So, without any talent to speak of I started drawing, too, and yes, I received a penny here and there, but not as much as Sis.

But unlike her, I was a budding businessman, and I sniffed opportunity.

I decided to streamline the process, laying off the thick use of color, sticking increasingly to monochromes, and leaning heavily toward the abstract.

In other words, my stuff was simple and completely unrecognizable, but it was FAST.

I became a one-boy assembly line, churning out pictures galore in record numbers and short order. My cash flow increased, much to the consternation of Sis, the true artist.

Anyway, this is quite a long way to go to make a point about the martial arts, isn’t it?

As you know, there are some dojos and purported gurus out there who teach the way I drew. They’re banging out huge numbers of students, transforming them into Black Belts in record time, because they too see a commercial advantage in it.

Who wouldn’t? I’m sure nearly every new student asks the key question: “How long does it take to reach Black Belt?”

If you can abbreviate the time it takes, you can satisfy more customers, right?

So, enter a dojo, or better yet, enter ten of them and ask this question, and you might hear this, uttered at one Tae Kwon Do studio, in Southern California:

“We have a two-year Black Belt program.”

“So, if Junior joins, he’ll get his Black Belt in two years?”

“Yes.”

Wow. What if Junior is a non-talent, as I, the artist, was?

Will he still achieve this top honor?

You bet.

A genuine dojo will not make this kind of guarantee for several reasons:

(1) Talent varies, and some folks don’t have agile enough bodies or enough stamina to make it.

(2) Commitment varies, and some simply won’t get into the dojo 3-4 times a week, or more.

(3) Character varies, and many don’t have the right type to be “knighted.”

(4) A dojo is a place of enlightenment first, and a place of business, second, and only reluctantly.

(5) The belt system is subjective. There is no universal standard for achieving a given level, despite the fact that you must master a certain number of techniques and learn kata. In the West, we love objective criteria; they suggest fairness to us. But most martial arts are from the East, where the rapport between student and master determines progress, in addition to verifiable physical ability.

My Black Belt took eight years to earn, and on average I was training EVERY day, in and out of the dojo.

No one guaranteed me a Black Belt, or any other color, for that matter.

Sis knew the difference between being a true artist and something else, like a mere businessman.

You should too.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to: http://www.customersatisfaction.com