Wednesday, January 16, 2008

How St. Benedict and his Rules influenced the corporate world

"Of all the monastic rules, perhaps the most valuable is the Rule of Saint Benedict."
"Marked by common sense in every instance, the Rule of Saint Benedict makes success in a man's quest for God seem not only possible, but eminently probable."
"The sanity of Benedict's approach gives added force to his central vision of the quest. He sees it as an ever expanding, enriching exercise of love. Communal life provides each member with the support and comfort of a family in which monks are brothers, sons with Christ of God, and of the abbot whose name means father."
"For the men and women of the twenty-first century, rootless and isolated, such a vision may need transformation before it can be made real, but its appeal is undeniable. Here is the Father's house, the center of light and warmth. Here are your brothers & sisters, united to each other by love and their quest for the God they seek, and thus united to him. One may not be able literally to seek their sanctuary and shelter within its walls, but the spirit that guards them, strengthens them and makes them one is for the asking and receiving."
-- The Rule of Saint Benedict by Anthony C. Meisel and M.L. de Mastro

Benedict's Rule stands tall in the great tradition of Christian monasticism. It is a Christian rule in the sense that its spiritual doctrine picks up on the values of the Bible (e.g., prayer, fasting, service of neighbor) and arranges for a life in which these values can be lived out in community. RB is not written for monastic hermits, though Benedict has high regard for them; it is written for ordinary Christians who wish to immerse themselves in a pattern of living in which the life of Christ can be lived out with understanding and zeal.
RB is still used today in many monasteries and convents around the world. The monastics of today do not follow it literally but still find in it much wisdom to live the common life. It still protects the individual and the community from arbitrariness on the part of the abbot or others; it still provides a way of living the Christian life. Monastic communities accept it as their basic inspiration even as they mitigate it, supplement it, or adapt it to the living conditions of today.
[From The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia (A Michael Glazier Book),
Liturgical Press (1995) 78-79.]
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St. Benedict’s Rule for Business Success
by Quentin R. Skrabec, Jr

St. Benedict’s rule is one of a handful of documents, such as the Magna Carta and U.S. Constitution that make up the foundation of Western civilization. Benedict’s Rule is an organizational blueprint for success and Benedict’s original organization is the oldest in the world(over 1500 years). The beauty of The Rule is its organizational genius, which has wide application beyond monastic groups. The Rule is a basic textbook to create and maintain effective organizations. It offers today’s reader insights into some of the most difficult resource management in business. The Rule is a guide to success for entrepreneurs, managers, and everyone in the world of business. St. Benedict’s Rule for Business Success is must reading for entrepreneurs, managers, and business. Furthermore, it is great for anyone wanting to develop effective organizations, from church groups to Girl Scouts. Quentin Skrabec has had an extensive career in management and business. He holds a BS degree from the University of Michigan and an MS from Ohio State University. Dr. Skrabecalso holds three degrees in Business, including his doctorate in Manufacturing Management from the University of Toledo. Presently he is a professor of business at the University of Findlay, heading up a new operations degree program. He also frequently consults in the field of organizational design.

ST. Benedict’s Rule offers powerful tools to:
• Eliminate negativity in organizations
• Develop the ultimate in team advantage to work
• Apply cooperative advantage to win
• Integrate work and spirituality for productivity
• Achieve Maslow’s top of the triangle—self-actualization
• Build a knowledge-creating organization.


The Rule of Benedict is over 1,500 years old. In spite of its antiquity, what relevance does it have to the modern world of work? When Benedict complied his rule he envisaged a spiritual community, cut off from the world, that would pray, work and be economically sustainable. He had little idea that this “little rule for beginners” would become one of the most important documents in Western civilisation. Neither did he realise that he was laying the foundations for one of the oldest “multi-national” organisations in existence today. -- Dermot Tredget

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