15 Facts About FranklinPlanner’s History

The FranklinPlanner has transformed the lives of millions of people worldwide. Here are a few fun facts about our history that you may not have known:

1. The FranklinPlanner is named for American visionary Benjamin Franklin, who valued time management and kept a small black book in his pocket to jot down ideas and notes.
2. Benjamin Franklin kept his days organized with a consistent routine:
3. When Benjamin Franklin was 20 years old, he recorded 13 Virtues: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility. He set goals in one or two of these virtues at a time, a practice he continued for 64 years–the remainder of his life.
4. Hyrum W. Smith created a system of prioritizing daily tasks, helping his clients take care of first things first. When he created the Franklin Day Planner in 1984, he incorporated this process with his industry-changing Prioritized Daily Task List, a feature that remains in many of our planners to this day.
5. Stephen R. Covey introduced the world to his 7 Habits in 1986 with a series of six audio cassettes.
6. Hyrum W. Smith founded the Franklin Institute in 1984, before changing the name to Franklin Quest in 1992, when the company went public.
7. Stephen R. Covey’s landmark book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was published in 1989.
8. The Pocket planner size was introduced in 1992. Designed to fit into a suit pocket or a small purse, it expanded the FranklinPlanner’s portability. It joined Classic, with sheets nearly the size of a half sheet of paper; Compact, with a slightly smaller page than classic; and Monarch, with full letter-size pages.
9. In 1993, 280,000 people worldwide received training on how to use a FranklinPlanner.
10. Time named Stephen R. Covey one of the 25 Most Influential Americans of 1996.
11. In 1997, Franklin Quest merged with the Covey Leadership Center to become FranklinCovey.
12. In 1984, the Franklin Day Planner came in one design and one format. Today, there are more than 20 different designs to choose from—with new designs developed each year.
13. In addition to daily planners, we now feature weekly planners for more long-range planning.
14. Currently, FranklinPlanner.com has 68 employees, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Cebu, the Philippines.
15. Our Flagship Retail Store is open for business in Salt Lake City, Utah.