Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO's Quest for Meaning and Authenticity (Columbia Business School Publishing) by August Turak

Author:August Turak [Turak, August]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: BUS041000, Economics/Management, Business &#38, Economics/Business Ethics, BUS008000
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2013-06-03T14:00:00+00:00

LIKE FATHER GUERRIC in the throes of his own formation, struggling to put the interests of the community first, the members of our community began offering as much compassion to the community as they did to individuals only with great difficulty, amidst continual reminders. And meanwhile, the toughest part of my job as leader was facilitating that transformation in attitude and outlook while not coming across as insensitive to individuals.

About a year after we started RGI, a young woman from our Friday meetings joined as a sales rep. One day she came to my office and said that her father was dying and she needed a leave of absence. We granted her request, but after several months her father stabilized, and she returned to work. Six months later her father relapsed, and she requested another leave. I told her that I was deeply sympathetic, but that if she left again, I would have to fill her job. Understandably, she was deeply upset.

Several hours later one of my partners told me that he and the other sales reps thought I was being heartless and unfair.

“This is a community,” he said. “We’re supposed to take care of each other.”

I explained that we did not have enough cash to both stay in business and have one of our four sales reps go on leave again.

“But I do have an idea,” I said. “If you and the other reps just split up Janet’s sales target and add it to your own, we can pull it off.”

His eyes got as big as saucers.

I continued, “You are all assuming that it is the community’s job to replace 25 percent of our revenue without replacing Janet. You guys want to extend compassion without the burden of paying for it.”

He thought for a moment and then suddenly said, “I got it. No more unfunded mandates.”

He returned and spread the word. We all pulled together, and somehow we managed to keep the company going and bring Janet back after her father eventually did pass away.

It was only little by little and through countless mutual reminders that our company was gradually transformed from a collection of well-intentioned individuals into an authentic community. And paradoxically, the stronger the community became, the easier it was to offer kindnesses to individuals, like unasked-for raises or surprise bonuses. The shortest distance between two points is the long way around.

The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard used vivid biblical and mythological examples to argue that what makes living an ethical life so difficult is the countless ways in which the interests of individuals conflict with the interests of the community. The monks of Mepkin Abbey transcend this conflict by so selflessly serving their community that the community in turn can support monks like Father Guerric, living out his dream.

In my own case, trying to be fair both to individuals and the community was the toughest and most painful part of my job. It meant many a dark night of the soul as I agonized over decisions and then kicked myself when I was wrong.

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