Episode #025: August Turak, Author of Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks

August TurakAugust Turak is a successful entrepreneur, corporate executive, award winning writer, and author of Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO’s Quest for Meaning and Authenticity (Columbia Business School Publishing).

He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Selling Magazine, the New York Times, and Business Week, and is a popular leadership contributor at Forbes. And, he rocks! Just ask my friend Jeff Sanders.

Hear Our Conversation Now

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Augie, as his friends call him, shares how he defines career, leadership, and business success. Simply put, at the center of a great business and a great life is service and selflessness.

In today’s episode, August shares:

  • What the monastic tradition brings to the table that 21st century businesses need to examine
  • What applying the monastic model looks like for organizations and the importance of satisfying your customers’ and employees’ desire for transformation
  • How even when you think someone is un-coachable, you’re probably wrong
  • Why and how selflessness should be at the heart of your organization and life
  • The three kinds of Transformation and the distinction between each

Some of my takeaways from our conversation include:

  • The task of leadership is not to make me successful but to make other people successful
  • It is in my self-interest to forget my self interest
  • The less I worry about money, the more money I make
  • Great leaders share values and attitudes, as opposed to skills and knowledge

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Podcaster AcademyPodcaster Academy, a new online course taught by Read to Lead Podcast creator and host Jeff Brown, launches in February 2014. It has been especially created to enable you to learn the key insights, techniques and habits Jeff has spent the last 25-plus years mastering. Weekly modules will include:

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Resources from August

Pick up a copy of Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO’s Quest for Meaning and Authenticity (Columbia Business School Publishing) today (affiliate link). If you just can’t wait to get it, it’s available for the Kindle as well.

Books August Recommends

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Crime and Punishment (Illustrated) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

And plenty of Russian literature

Connecting with August

If you enjoyed this episode, let August know by sending him a tweet to @AugustTurak.

You can find August on the web at AugustTurak.com

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Finally, thanks for listening and remember, “Leaders read and readers lead.”

Hear Our Conversation Now

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3 thoughts on “Episode #025: August Turak, Author of Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks

  1. Seek first … so true. I have found in over 30 years of leading people that that is the truth. Put people first and everything else follows, seek to serve and everything else just seems to work out. Really enjoyed this episode and the thought provoking questions, answers and wisdom shared, looks like the wallet will get another beating!

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