John H. Brown: The History Behind Him
A native of the Midwest and long-time entrepreneur and acclaimed storyteller, Brown is managing partner emeritus of the Dale Carnegie Training Franchise in Greater Kansas City.
Research and writing became the dominant skills when he went into business for himself at age 48 when he retired from a 25-year corporate career. After succeeding in a series of ventures, Brown and partner Mike Powell opened MAJEC, a consulting and video production company in Leawood, Kansas, where they developed a video training system that was embraced by businesses and corporations nationwide.
Many of Brown's writings became standard for that industry, and technical manuals and videos he and his partner created two decades ago are still used as standard training aids. In the process, he produced 65 soft-skill video productions on subjects ranging from conflict resolution and dealing with difficult people to documenting discipline, and telephone skills.
He is a partner in New Horizons, a Des Moines, Iowa-based computer skills-training company and he is chairman of MAJEC/M, a distributor of specialized computer skill-training aids. He became nationally recognized as an entertaining and knowledgeable speaker in the industrial world where he consulted with world-class manufacturing companies in relation to their conduct of business through two- and three-tier distribution.
Brown's commercial successes began in 1959 when he joined IBT, then a newly formed company in Kansas City, Missouri, which sold mechanical apparatus, such as bearings, motors, gears, clutches, brakes, and other rotating components. A natural-born leader and professional salesman, he contributed to the firm's growing prosperity.
Under his tutelage, IBT developed what at the time was widely acknowledged as the industry's finest internal training program. This preparation enabled the company to place highly qualified representatives in front of clients and provide them with excellent telephone resources as the firm became established throughout dozens of locations. During Brown's 25-year tenure with IBT, the firm grew into one of the largest of its kind and was consistently regarded as one of the best managed firms in the industry.
In 1957, at the age of 20, Brown graduated with honors from the University of Missouri and thereafter completed military service as a field artillery and guided-missile officer.
He and his wife of 50 years live in Leawood, Kansas. They have two daughters and five grandchildren. They also maintain a large acreage complete with a lake house on the bank of the Lake of the Ozarks in the area near the remarkable conclusion of A Wind of Many Colors.
