July 19, 2013
Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks - One CEO’s Quest for Meaning and Authenticity.

Monks are known for living in silence and seclusion, but entrepreneur August Turak knows that they hold something of great value to the secular world—the key to business success. In his new book, “Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO’s Quest for Meaning and Authenticity,” Turak tells the story of how he spent the past 17 years working part-time alongside Trappist monks as they ran high-margin businesses producing widely sought after commodities such as beer, eggs and exotic mushrooms. Turak started out searching for enlightenment but ended up with a lifetime of lessons that taught him that success does not mean sacrificing happiness for big profits. You can have both simultaneously. The monks break every rule of business 101 except one – commitment to quality – and therein lies the secret. Rather than obsess about profits and the bottom line, the monks succeed in business by practicing the idea of “service and selflessness.” And the profits always take care of themselves.