Principled Flourishing
Mike Ferrell and The Monk Principles©
Let Mike help you overcome disconnection and the divided life through the Benedictine Principles that create the soil for flourishing.
Mike Ferrell (The Monk Guy) is an award winning author, speaker, trainer, business and spiritual guide and retreat leader who works with entreprenuers and leaders from all walks of life. Known for his insightful books and teachings, Mike blends business strategy, positive psychology, and Benedictine principles and spirituality in his work.
Ferrell's journey to becoming a thought leader includes over 35 years of experience working with organizations in over 40 different industries and thousands of leaders and entrepreneurs. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies such as Nationwide Insurance, American Express, Transamerica as well hundreds of small businesses, nonprofits and institutions. He also co-founded and facilitated the Certificate of Integrated Leadership, an executive leadership retreat at the Benedictine Leadership Institute at Mount Marty University.
His books, including "Ultimate Breakthrough Planning: The Business Funnel Approach," "The Sweet Spot: Where Business Strategy, Positive Psychology and Faith Principles Converge," and his most recent work, "Sell Like a Monk: Timeless Rules for Modern Selling," have garnered praise for their practical wisdom and innovative approaches. Mike’s new book, More Thriving, Less Grumbling: Monastic Guideposts For Achieving Business and Personal Fulfillment will be published in 2025. Mike has been featured on Real Presence Radio, WCCO Radio and KDAL Radio as well as television appearances. He is a frequent keynote speaker to companies and industry associations throughout the U.S. He has also written numerous articles on sales, leadership and innovation.
Additionally, he is a Benedictine Oblate, reflecting his commitment to the principles of the Benedictine tradition. He is a graduate of St. Thomas University and St. John Vianney Seminary studying theology, philosophy and education. Mike lives in Sioux Falls, SD.
The Road to Benedict
After the 2008 financial crisis Mike spent nearly 4 years helping his clients survive and thrive the turbulent times. However they took their toll on him. In 2013 after going through a very difficult personal time he stepped away from his business to take time to reflect on where he had been, the mistakes he had made and what the path forward looked like. Leaning back into his Catholic faith he did a silent retreat and asked God for wisdom to understand what God wanted of Mike. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to the “little red book”, The Rule of St. Benedict and it had a profound impact on Mike. As he began to dive deeper into the principles of The Rule he found ways that he could reconnect to his faith and connect it to his work. Since then Mike’s message and work connects his faith and the Rule of Benedict to create flourishing in people, organizations, institutions and the church.
The Monk Principles©
The Monk Principles© are taken from a 1500 year old document called The Rule of Benedict. This document was one of the single most important documents for Western Civilization. It lays out a blueprint for how we live and work in community creating positive deviance and flourishing. The Rule of Benedict, a 6th-century guidebook for monastic communities, may seem an unlikely source of inspiration for modern-day leaders, salespeople and organizations, however, beneath its religious context lies a wealth of timeless principles that can be effectively adapted to create connected community, boost performance, foster a thriving sales culture and lead to innovative breakthroughs. Mike connects these principles for leaders, businesses, sales teams, organizations and churches. The Monk Principles are about creating community by doing the right thing, in the right way for the right reasons!
The Heliotropic Effect
All things in nature gravitate toward light, like sunflowers following the sun during the day, this is called the heliotropic effect. This effect results in positive energy and this positive energy can transform people, teams and organizations and create flourishing. When we work in a community that builds trust and cooperation it leads us to deeply fulfilling work and leads to positive deviance (significantly outperforming the norm) in organizations. When we’re happy in our work we bring amazing things into our lives; our work is better, our relationships are better and the world we live in is better, we flourish!
Mike Ferrell works with leaders, businesses, sales teams, organizations and churches helping them implement strategies that lead to a flourishing community based on the Monk Principles© and the heliotropic effect.
With a foundation of “The Rule of Benedict” and the work done in positive psychology and postive organizational develop from people like Martin Seligman, Kim Cameron, Robert Quinn and spiritual giants like St. Ignasius of Loyola Mike has created coaching, workshops, retreats, masterminds and writing that advance these ideas and show you how to put them to work in your life, work and organization. In his writing, speaking and work Mike helps people understand what it means to create community and work well while connecting their faith, and how that can impact all those around us.