Kit
Dollard, Anthony Marett-Crosby OSB, Abbot Timothy Wright, OSB;
illustrated
by Hannah Garland.
Doing Business with Benedict: The Rule of St
Benedict
and Business Management - A Conversation.
London: Continuum,
2002.
viii,215pp.
Publisher's
recommended price
Hardback ISBN 0826456898, £16.99/$28.95
Paperback
0826467016, £10.99/$28.95
St
Benedict (c.
480-547) wrote a Rule that for fourteen centuries has influenced
monastic
life throughout the world and continues to guide - spiritually and
practically
- the Benedictine order. Ampleforth Abbey in Yorkshire has recognized
the
power of the Rule for guiding life and work in the modern world, and
has
been running courses for business people that explore the value of St
Benedict's
teaching. In this original and inspirational book the authors share the
vision of the Rule on the enduring subjects of leadership,
relationships,
and the management of change and stability.
Managing
people
starts with the ability to recognize and value difference. Businesses
can
best flourish in the long term by being formed as communities based on
respect, trust and support. Clear and imaginative leadership is the
key.
The Rule provides a range of roles that the Abbot, as leader, adopts,
such
as Exemplar, Shepherd, Healer and Steward. Leaders and managers can
learn
that the embodiment of virtues such as mercy, prudence and discretion
can
have a great and powerful influence in their organizations. St
Benedict's
vision of a community is one where the skills and gifts of people are
properly
recognized and given their full opportunity to be realized for the
benefit
of all. Central to the Rule is St Benedict's thoroughgoing realism
about
people's propensity not only for doing wrong but for getting things
wrong.
How companies act in these situations is perhaps the true test of their
ability to thrive in the long term.
Managing
permanent,
rapid change is the ultimate task for business in the modern age. The
Rule
of St Benedict has been helping the Benedictine to enable and manage
change
successfully for over a thousand years. The Rule's stress on realism,
vision
and perseverance in the context of strong communities provides
businesses,
large and small, with a way forward to survival and success.
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