Entrepreneur Argues Having Higher Purpose Can Lead To Profits
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Success in the business world is often measured in dollars and cents, but an entrepreneur argues that adopting a higher purpose can actually lead to higher profits.
August Turak's enlightenment was painful. After breaking his ankle skydiving and having a personal crisis, he went to Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina in 1996.
As his body and soul healed, he says he noticed that the monks were successful businessmen working about a 10th as hard as he was. He realized over years of interactions that the secret is service for the customer.
"The most important thing is to realize in your heart of hearts, not just in your head, that it is in your own self-interest to forget your self-interest. The more you concentrate on serving other people and helping other people, the faster you're going to become successful," Turak says.
Turak's business bible, if you will, is his Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO's Quest for Meaning and Authenticity. He says that, for decades, business leaders and college programs alike have been locked in a quantitative model, going strictly by the numbers. But Turak says using a qualitative approach that is both ancient and emergent creates loyal customers who know you are looking out for them.
