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Turak Talks on CBS Radio - Career Coach Caroline
by August Turak
On Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 August talked about his book with Caroline Dowd-Higgins on her CBS Radio show, Career Coach Caroline. Turak's book, Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks was the main topic as he shared business lessons he's learned from the Monks of Mepkin Abbey and how he applied those lessons to his own businesses with super successful results.
Click here to listen to the podcast. Thank you to August for being a terrific guest on Career Coach Caroline last night. The way he uses the lessons he learned from the monks is fascinating and certainly gives the audience a new way to approach their work life. We wish August great success and please keep us posted with his news. - Coach Me Radio, Caroline Dowd-Higgins
Click here to listen to the podcast. Thank you to August for being a terrific guest on Career Coach Caroline last night. The way he uses the lessons he learned from the monks is fascinating and certainly gives the audience a new way to approach their work life. We wish August great success and please keep us posted with his news. - Coach Me Radio, Caroline Dowd-Higgins
Four Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks on MSNBC's Your Business
by August Turak
JJ Ramberg talks with August Turak on MSNBC's Your Business
Honesty, integrity and empathy are key virtues to nurture when it comes to building a company that people can trust. On July 10th, 2013 Turak joined host JJ Ramberg on MSNBC's Your Business - Business War Chest, to talk about his new book, Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks and the timeless principles he learned while living and working with the Trappist Monks of Mepkin Abbey.
Click here to watch the interview!
Honesty, integrity and empathy are key virtues to nurture when it comes to building a company that people can trust. On July 10th, 2013 Turak joined host JJ Ramberg on MSNBC's Your Business - Business War Chest, to talk about his new book, Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks and the timeless principles he learned while living and working with the Trappist Monks of Mepkin Abbey.
Click here to watch the interview!
August Turak Unplugged on Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks Book
by August Turak
In this video, Turak candidly speaks about his first book: Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO's Quest for Meaning and Authenticity (Columbia Business School Publishing; July 2013). He shares a behind the scenes look at why he first went to Mepkin Abbey back in 1996. Attributing much of his success as a successful entrepreneur, corporate executive, and award winning author to living and working alongside the Trappist monks of Mepkin Abbey, he explains he never could have imagined then that he would write this book... A book that shares the secrets he learned firsthand from the monks as a frequent monastic guest as they grew an incredibly successful portfolio of businesses.
Order now through Columbia Business School Publishing
EPA on Memorial Day
by August Turak
On Thursday, May 26th 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency held a Memorial Day Celebration and welcomed August Turak as their modern day Renaissance Man and the guest speaker. With 40 years of protecting health and the environment, the United States Environmental Protection Agency knows what it means to recognize the selfless service of others and continues to strive towards what Turak describes as a Transformational Organization. Turak demonstrates through stories and case studies why motivation and passion are in short supply and why these are the two most important things in life.
Thank you!! –Elaine Manning, EPA
Great speaker. While society may now view it as just another holiday, we can do all in our power to make sure Memorial Day is properly acknowledged. Great Speaker....
Thank you!! –Elaine Manning, EPA
Great speaker. While society may now view it as just another holiday, we can do all in our power to make sure Memorial Day is properly acknowledged. Great Speaker....
Start With Leadership
by August Turak
What do I do?
It’s always better to manage culture, not people. Start today by being the person who shows a dedication to hard work, selflessness, and your customers. Your colleagues will follow suit.
Don't figure it out, find out: Make a commitment to excellence and keep it. Find out what Turak is really offering those who are willing to take the trip. Begin by leading yourself. Read how Turak suggests that you overcome the resistance that creeps up even when you are doing your best to put others first. Start by doing small things. Read Turak’s response to the question: What did you lose, and find out what was at stake as he was transformed from a selfish to a selfless person. Demonstrate leadership...
Don't figure it out, find out: Make a commitment to excellence and keep it. Find out what Turak is really offering those who are willing to take the trip. Begin by leading yourself. Read how Turak suggests that you overcome the resistance that creeps up even when you are doing your best to put others first. Start by doing small things. Read Turak’s response to the question: What did you lose, and find out what was at stake as he was transformed from a selfish to a selfless person. Demonstrate leadership...
8 Steps to Winning Friends, Influencing People, and Getting Any Damn Thing You Want
by August Turak
Sooner or later every leader realizes that most of the people he needs to be successful don’t report to him. Business success as well as personal success relies on persuasion. Here are the 8 persuasive secrets from the most persuasive person I’ve ever met.
It was 9:30 in the evening and I was wrapping up an SKS meeting with some undergraduates at Duke University when Meredith Parker, the student president, asked if she could walk me to my car.
“Uh oh,” I thought, “she wants something.”
I was running two cash starved start-ups at the time, and I was so worn out that it was all I could do to facilitate these weekly meetings. Despite my fondness for Meredith, I promised...
It was 9:30 in the evening and I was wrapping up an SKS meeting with some undergraduates at Duke University when Meredith Parker, the student president, asked if she could walk me to my car.
“Uh oh,” I thought, “she wants something.”
I was running two cash starved start-ups at the time, and I was so worn out that it was all I could do to facilitate these weekly meetings. Despite my fondness for Meredith, I promised...
Change Everything
by August Turak
What do I do?
Begin to practice detachment by looking at your situations realistically and objectively. Try to separate your emotions when you take an honest look at yourself. What things need to change and how do your actions affect others. Write down 3 things you can do to improve yourself and your relationships. Ask people close to you to remind you when you are not improving them.
Don't figure it out, find out: Apply wisdom, equanimity, and detachment to every challenge… including love. Find out what Turak is really offering those who are willing to take the trip. Start by leading yourself. Read about how Turak’s offer to work for Louis R. Mobley, founder of the IBM Executive School for free if Mobley...
Don't figure it out, find out: Apply wisdom, equanimity, and detachment to every challenge… including love. Find out what Turak is really offering those who are willing to take the trip. Start by leading yourself. Read about how Turak’s offer to work for Louis R. Mobley, founder of the IBM Executive School for free if Mobley...
Steve Jobs and the One Trait All Innovative Leaders Share
by August Turak
Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly. ― Arnold Edinborough
One day the teacher asked Johnny a question.
“Johnny, the baseball game last night started at 8:00 and ended at 10:43, how long did it last?”
“That’s an easy one,” Johnny said excitedly. “I watched the game. It lasted nine innings.”
Johnny was quickly diagnosed with ADHD, but at last report he is now doing much better. * * * I watched a wonderful documentary, Steve Jobs: One Last Thing, and what struck me as the overarching secret to his success was his voracious curiosity. Jobs wasn’t curious about things that would make him successful. He was successful because he was so...
One day the teacher asked Johnny a question.
“Johnny, the baseball game last night started at 8:00 and ended at 10:43, how long did it last?”
“That’s an easy one,” Johnny said excitedly. “I watched the game. It lasted nine innings.”
Johnny was quickly diagnosed with ADHD, but at last report he is now doing much better. * * * I watched a wonderful documentary, Steve Jobs: One Last Thing, and what struck me as the overarching secret to his success was his voracious curiosity. Jobs wasn’t curious about things that would make him successful. He was successful because he was so...
What Recession? 10 Ways to Keep Your Job and Your Customers in Tough Times
by August Turak
In business we’re forever looking for magic bullets. But when times are tough it means getting back to basics. These lessons from Life 101 will make you indispensable to your employer and your customers.
Several months ago the skylight in my kitchen suddenly sprang a leak. Besides a soggy floor, what was particularly distressing was that I didn’t know anyone I could trust to fix it. Since moving onto a 75 acre farm in rural North Carolina 11 years ago, I’ve had plenty of experience with what the locals affectionately refer to as “jacklegs”: Contractors of all stripes who show up late or not at all who uniformly provide as little indifferent work as they can get away with.
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Several months ago the skylight in my kitchen suddenly sprang a leak. Besides a soggy floor, what was particularly distressing was that I didn’t know anyone I could trust to fix it. Since moving onto a 75 acre farm in rural North Carolina 11 years ago, I’ve had plenty of experience with what the locals affectionately refer to as “jacklegs”: Contractors of all stripes who show up late or not at all who uniformly provide as little indifferent work as they can get away with.
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Determined and Eager
by August Turak
Even my febrile brain is at a loss as to how to apply this wonderful video to business or anything else that is “practical.” It is just such a wonderful piece that I had to watch it over and over and now feel compelled to share it. On the one hand it is only a video of a singleman, Mark Alouf, trying his hand at feeding the baby (Sophia) of another close friend, Jonathan Cook. Yet there is a tad of awkwardness on Mark’s part that when coupled with the eagerness of Sophia touched me. Maybe we all need to be as determined as Mark is to share and as eager as Sophia to receive. Hope you enjoy it half as much as I did.
Determined and Eager
Determined and Eager
Let Go of My Ego
by August Turak
In 2002 three of my brothers were snowmobiling in the mountains of Colorado when, snow blinded by a sudden squall, they daisy chained over a 400 foot cliff. One of my brothers, Jamie, was killed. Dan and Tom badly injured and frost bitten, spent all night at 14,000 feet in the -40° temperature and -60° wind chill that sent several rescue workers to the hospital.
Arriving at the Denver airport, I will never forget the stacks of searing newspaper headlines that greeted my father, my brother Jon, and I. Headlines insisting that there had been no mistake as we made our way to the hospital and eventually, the morgue.
Tom and Dan eventually recovered and Dan returned to work as an executive with...
Arriving at the Denver airport, I will never forget the stacks of searing newspaper headlines that greeted my father, my brother Jon, and I. Headlines insisting that there had been no mistake as we made our way to the hospital and eventually, the morgue.
Tom and Dan eventually recovered and Dan returned to work as an executive with...
Three Steps to Making Better Decisions
by August Turak
I’m four years older than my brother Tom and though we couldn’t be more different, he is also my best friend. They say great fighter pilots don’t climb into jets they wrap jets around them, and so it is with Tom and spreadsheets. As a partner in our entrepreneurial start-up, Tom was our ace number cruncher; constantly cranking out the analytics we needed to run the business.
One day he came into my office and almost shyly said, “I’ve been trying to figure out how you make decisions for six years. I still don’t know how you do it, but I have to admit you’re almost always right. What’s the secret?”
Coming from a younger brother this was high praise indeed, but...
One day he came into my office and almost shyly said, “I’ve been trying to figure out how you make decisions for six years. I still don’t know how you do it, but I have to admit you’re almost always right. What’s the secret?”
Coming from a younger brother this was high praise indeed, but...
Triangle AMA Event
by August Turak
On January 20th August Turak presented "Cutting Through the Noise: Turning Products and Services into Iconic Brands" at the Triangle Marketing Association luncheon in Raleigh, NC. Following the event, president of the Triangle AMA, Shane Johnston said: "We definitely recommend Augie for another event, including our own!"
Comments from Attendees:
Excellent presentation. Great verbal & visual examples to get points across. –Leigh McLeod, Bank of America
Much of this speaks to psychographics. The underlying emotions aspirations of the audience we seek to tap into as part of marketing. -Diane Staton Loved the Mad Men Clip – it really taught a good lesson & provided a good example. -Emma Finch, University Conference Services Great! I just wish we had more time. Maybe...
Much of this speaks to psychographics. The underlying emotions aspirations of the audience we seek to tap into as part of marketing. -Diane Staton Loved the Mad Men Clip – it really taught a good lesson & provided a good example. -Emma Finch, University Conference Services Great! I just wish we had more time. Maybe...
Top 5 Ways to Cultivate Successful Character Traits
by August Turak
Years ago I was interviewing with a tough, no nonsense, all business CEO. At the end he called in his head of human resources and tartly said, “Scrub his references.” Then he turned to me, “Listen, I don’t want a bunch of your friends. I only want people you worked for or with.”
“We have a problem.” I replied. “Everyone I’ve ever worked with are my friends.”
In this Forbes.com video, The Three Key Traits that Will Get You Hired,Mike Bormant, the CEO of Blue Coats Systems, surprisingly argues that humility is the single most important attribute that a leader must have. While modestly admitting that most of us might find his priorities “atypical,” I was extremely impressed and pleasantly surprised.
As an example of...
“We have a problem.” I replied. “Everyone I’ve ever worked with are my friends.”
In this Forbes.com video, The Three Key Traits that Will Get You Hired,Mike Bormant, the CEO of Blue Coats Systems, surprisingly argues that humility is the single most important attribute that a leader must have. While modestly admitting that most of us might find his priorities “atypical,” I was extremely impressed and pleasantly surprised.
As an example of...
Business Secrets of the Trappists
by August Turak
For more than 12 years I have been going to a Trappist monastery in Moncks Corner, SC, called Mepkin Abbey. As a monastic guest, I wear a habit and temporarily live the life of a Trappist monk. I go primarily for spiritual reasons, but as a businessman and entrepreneur I am fascinated by the worldly aspect of the monastic life.
The business secrets of the Trappists that August Turak learned through his relationship with the monks of Mepkin Abbey are at the heart of the ancient yet emergent business model he calls service and selflessness.
He outlines these monastic secrets and their application to your business in: A four part Forbes.com series:
The business secrets of the Trappists that August Turak learned through his relationship with the monks of Mepkin Abbey are at the heart of the ancient yet emergent business model he calls service and selflessness.
He outlines these monastic secrets and their application to your business in: A four part Forbes.com series:
Greenwich Leadership Forum
by August Turak
The Greenwich Leadership Forum ("GLF") is an organization providing a forum for business executives to explore how faith and religious principles can play an important role in their decision-making, while building and leading successful and ethically sound organizations. Based on Christian principles and Biblical teachings, GLF is an organization that welcomes men and women from all faith traditions.
In this Greenwich Leadership Forum event with David Miller, Director of Princeton University’s Faith and Work Initiative, Turak credits the spiritual business model of service and selflessness that he learned while living with Trappist monks for his worldly success, and teaches us how to do the same. Eventually the interview turns personal as Turak relives his own Dark Night of the Soul...
In this Greenwich Leadership Forum event with David Miller, Director of Princeton University’s Faith and Work Initiative, Turak credits the spiritual business model of service and selflessness that he learned while living with Trappist monks for his worldly success, and teaches us how to do the same. Eventually the interview turns personal as Turak relives his own Dark Night of the Soul...