{"title":"Books - Under Pressure","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"in-the-black-leadership-when-certainty-disappears","title":"IN THE BLACK: Leadership When Certainty Disappears","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat does leadership look like when a decision must be made before all the answers are available? Drawing on his military background and years of professional experience, David Burnell examines principles of judgment, readiness, responsibility, and human performance under stress. IN THE BLACK brings those lessons into the worlds of leadership and business, where uncertainty, incomplete information, and pressure test teams and individuals alike. This is a practical reflection on staying effective when circumstances become difficult—without confusing urgency with wisdom or confidence with preparation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePressure reveals the limits of habits that seem reliable when conditions are easy. Burnell considers the cost of hesitation, the danger of false certainty, and the need for teams to build judgment before the difficult moment arrives. He draws a connection between environments where performance has immediate consequences and modern workplaces where leaders must act responsibly despite imperfect information.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRather than presenting stress as something to glorify, the book examines the systems and behaviors that help people remain effective: preparation, communication, accountability, disciplined decision-making, and learning after the event. The lessons are intended for business owners, managers, instructors, and anyone entrusted with decisions affecting other people. The central question is not whether pressure can be removed, but how we can become more useful when it cannot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailable formats:\u003c\/strong\u003e Downloadable EPUB eBook or MP3 audiobook. This is a digital product, not a physical book.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David Burnell","offers":[{"title":"eBook (EPUB)","offer_id":71629744734461,"sku":"DB-BOOK-011-EPUB","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audiobook (MP3)","offer_id":71629744767229,"sku":"DB-BOOK-011-MP3","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0848\/7800\/0381\/files\/IntheBlackEbookCover.png?v=1792637642"},{"product_id":"sun-tzu-made-simple-ancient-wisdom-for-modern-conflict-leadership-and-real-world-strategy","title":"Sun Tzu Made Simple: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Conflict, Leadership, and Real-World Strategy","description":"\u003cp\u003eSun Tzu’s The Art of War continues to influence discussions of strategy, competition, and leadership, but its language can seem distant from ordinary decisions. In Sun Tzu Made Simple, David Burnell makes the core principles accessible and relates them to planning, awareness, human behavior, judgment, and responsible action. Instead of turning ancient maxims into slogans, he invites readers to consider what these ideas can teach about preparation, understanding the situation, and choosing wisely when the stakes are high. An accessible guide for readers interested in strategy and leadership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStrategy begins with seeing the situation as it is, not as we wish it to be. The book unpacks concepts such as preparation, timing, adaptability, the use of information, and understanding opposing interests. It places those ideas in a contemporary framework without suggesting that every disagreement should become a contest or that winning justifies any method.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe result is a plain-language companion for approaching complex decisions with greater clarity. Readers can use the principles to reconsider how they plan, allocate attention, assess risk, and respond to uncertainty. Whether their interests are military history, management, or personal development, the value lies in learning to think deliberately before acting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailable formats:\u003c\/strong\u003e Downloadable EPUB eBook or MP3 audiobook. This is a digital product, not a physical book.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David Burnell","offers":[{"title":"eBook (EPUB)","offer_id":71629745127677,"sku":"DB-BOOK-012-EPUB","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audiobook (MP3)","offer_id":71629745160445,"sku":"DB-BOOK-012-MP3","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0848\/7800\/0381\/files\/SunTzuMadeSimpleeBookCover.jpg?v=1792637518"},{"product_id":"fight-through","title":"Fight Through: Resilience, Resolve, and the Will to Continue","description":"\u003cp\u003eResilience is not a slogan, and determination is rarely tested when the road is easy. In Fight Through, David Burnell draws on years of training, rescue experience, and work with people under intense stress to examine what makes it possible to continue after setbacks. He explores resolve, endurance, the realities of fear, and the discipline required to make useful decisions under pressure. The focus is not on denying exhaustion or forcing optimism, but on developing the habits and perspective that help people face adversity and keep moving with purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePerseverance can be misunderstood as refusing to recognize limits. Burnell takes a more demanding view: persistence is meaningful when it is joined to judgment, recovery, responsibility, and a clear understanding of why the effort matters. He examines the realities of setback, frustration, fatigue, and the internal arguments that emerge when progress is slower than expected.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing from personal experience and the people encountered during a life of service, Fight Through offers a practical and reflective look at determination. It encourages readers to strengthen habits that support endurance, recognize the help they may need, and continue toward worthy purposes without confusing stubbornness with courage. This is a book for difficult seasons, long efforts, and the next step that still needs to be taken.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailable formats:\u003c\/strong\u003e Downloadable EPUB eBook or MP3 audiobook. This is a digital product, not a physical book.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David Burnell","offers":[{"title":"eBook (EPUB)","offer_id":71629745520893,"sku":"DB-BOOK-013-EPUB","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audiobook (MP3)","offer_id":71629745553661,"sku":"DB-BOOK-013-MP3","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0848\/7800\/0381\/files\/FightThrougheBookCover.png?v=1792637330"},{"product_id":"combat-ready","title":"Combat Ready: Stress, Decision-Making, and Human Performance Under Pressure","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat happens when training stops being predictable? From 2002 to 2012, David Burnell founded and operated the Urban Warfare Center, where military personnel, law enforcement officers, and others confronted realistic problems through scenario-based training and disciplined evaluation. Combat Ready draws on that decade of experience to examine stress, decision-making, leadership, communication, learning, and the ethical responsibility of instructors. It explains why after-action reviews matter, why safety and realism must work together, and why the measure of training is not how intense it feels—but what it prepares people to do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Urban Warfare Center was built around the premise that realistic training should expose problems safely, not simply make participants feel capable. Burnell examines the influence of uncertainty, human opposing forces, and unexpected outcomes on decision-making. He considers the role of briefing, scenario design, instructor judgment, communication, and careful after-action evaluation in turning an exercise into meaningful preparation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt its core, the book argues that intense training is not automatically effective training. A sound program balances realism with safeguards, gives participants useful feedback, and measures readiness through performance rather than confidence alone. Instructors, leaders, and readers interested in human performance under pressure will find a disciplined account of what serious preparation demands from everyone involved.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailable formats:\u003c\/strong\u003e Downloadable EPUB eBook or MP3 audiobook. This is a digital product, not a physical book.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David Burnell","offers":[{"title":"eBook (EPUB)","offer_id":71629745586429,"sku":"DB-BOOK-014-EPUB","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audiobook (MP3)","offer_id":71629745619197,"sku":"DB-BOOK-014-MP3","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0848\/7800\/0381\/files\/CombatReady_PerformanceUnderPressure.png?v=1792637254"}],"url":"https:\/\/davidburnell.com\/collections\/under-pressure.oembed","provider":"DAVID BURNELL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}