NOVEL SOLUTIONS
Aiming Past Profi ts
NICHOLAS LEIDER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
ent contradiction of contemporary corporate America with the staid lifestyle of the Trap- pist monk is what led me—and, I suspect, a lot of other readers—to this book, from Columbia Business School Publishing. T e work is a result of Turak’s treks over the
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past 17 years to Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, S.C., where two dozen monks lead lives of quiet prayer and refl ection, while spending only a few hours a day harvesting exotic mushrooms to sell to tourists and local communities. “Business Secrets” eff ectively mixes real-world business experience with a sprinkling of honest self-refl ection, which makes this book more than a simple trick to sepa- rate you from a few bucks. Divided into 12 chapters, including titles like
“T e End of Selfi shness” and “Excellence for the Sake of Excellence,” Turak’s work off ers what can be a challenging view: You are not in business for the sole purpose to make money. T e theme, dubbed “aiming past the target,” is a recurring message that provides a convenient summation for many of the lessons learned by way of the Mepkin monks. Turak advises, “Profi t is not the goal of a busi-
ness. It is merely a yardstick that measures how well we are accomplishing our mission.” Aim for something greater than profi ts, and the bottom line will take care of itself. Like the monks, who spend only a few hours at work yet make more than enough to provide for themselves, the author encourages you to incorporate a higher mission into your business. T e book’s tagline, “One CEO’s Quest for Meaning and Authenticity,” alludes to a weakness. Turak’s belief in his message and authentic delivery cannot be doubted, but for the average business executive, especially in the metalcasting industry, the message often teeters too far toward self- improvement and not enough for nuts-and-bolts improvements to your operations. T at being said, “Business Secrets of the Trap-
pist Monks” is an easy read that off ers a fresh take on corporate culture. T e book might not boost next quarter’s profi ts by 5%, but, as the author argues, maybe that’s not the point.
64 | MODERN CASTING February 2014
“Trappist monks don’t have a mission, something to be kept
safely tucked in a drawer until the annual meeting rolls around. … Instead the monks live their mission every single day.”
Metalcasters’ Translation: No matter what you do on a day-to-day basis, whether it’s
fi lling customer orders or managing hourly employees, you need to believe in the mission of the business. Investing not in profi ts but in positively aff ecting those around you can improve your working environment and ensure the balance sheet tilts in your favor.
don’t believe it’s an insult to say the title of August Turak’s “Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks” is a gimmick. The appar-
ABRIDGED
Relevance to Metalcasters Technical Diffi culty Self-Help Fluff Profi t Booster
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