Saintly CEO: What Are The Transcendentals, and What Role Should They Play in a Catholic-Run Business
What The Transcendentals Are, How They Work, and How Integrating Them in Your Business is a Win for You, God, and Others.
Hey everyone! Welcome back to Saintly CEO. We are dropping the ‘The’. Just Saintly CEO. Fewer words.
Every Monday, while you sip your coffee, get some tactical advice to run your business fully in union with your Catholic faith.
Each week you’ll find…
CF News/Updates | Tactical Advice to Run Your Biz Like a Saint | Other Catholic Biz Owners For You to Meet (Heavenly Hustlers) | And Some Misc. Resources
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News / Updates
On Tuesday (Nov 11th), we are hosting a Catholic Founders Guild call (must be a member to attend) at 1 pm CT. The topic of discussion? Considering Our Own Legacy. Is it Our Will or God’s Will? If you’re a paid member, you should be in our chat, and you’ll have the invite.
November 20th, in SF, we’ve got a half-day gathering of founders and investors. Register for the event here.
Sometime in December, we’re hosting a dinner for Catholic Founders in NYC. Stay tuned (reach out to help organize/attend/sponsor).
Given the length of today’s piece, I’m skipping the Heavenly Hustlers section.
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Saintly CEO: Using Transcendentals To Win More Business (and Save Souls)
In episode 37 of Catholic Founders, Mallory Root explained how integrating the transcendentals into how she runs her coffee shop has led to over a dozen conversions and better business outcomes. Increased employee retention and customer loyalty, specifically. All because they lean into the transcendentals: Unity (the One), Truth, and Goodness.*
There are a few ways Mallory does this (and it’s worth noting given the conversions).
Everyone get’s treated with infinite dignity. The customers and employees alike. Baristas know that even difficult customers deserve respect, and it shows.
The shop is decorated in good/beautiful taste. It draws people in. It’s comfortable and well done.
Then there is the unity that it creates in the community. In part because of the donations from many of the community to make the shop possible.
Practically speaking, this looks like treating every human with infinite dignity. Put another way, treating them how they ought to be and thereby living in truth. Something about that experience resonates with the customers and the employees. People are drawn to these types of experiences. Why? Because it is transcendental. It transcends existence itself.
If you’re not familiar with the transcendentals, let’s break them down a bit.
What are the transcendentals?
In my words, the transcendentals are things that are core to being itself. Said another way, anything/anyone who exists possesses these traits. Why? Because all existing things come from God – Who is unity, truth, and goodness.
Because we possess these traits, when we experience/witness them, they speak to us – they resonate within us. Some may recognize it as a gut feeling. Something just resonates properly – it feels right. I think that’s transcendentals at work.
Now, there are many deeper, more scholarly ways of understanding this. For that, I recommend deeper reading. But for the purposes of today, I’ll try to summarize them this way.
Transcendentals are aspects of existence that all things possess and therefore have the ability to cut through the noise of life. Almost like a frequency that God has put into the fabric of our being so He can get our attention when He wants to.
Let’s see what the transcendentals look like in real life. But first, check out our sponsor.
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Unity (the One).
In regular life, we can see the unity of two spouses in marriage as an example of this. When they are truly one, they act in accordance with each other, and things are smooth. When there is conflict, there is a lack of unity, and most of us have seen what that looks like. Either in our own marriages or others.
When we receive the eucharist, we are participating in the oneness (unity) of the Church — we are part of the living body of Christ. His body and blood (literally God) are coursing through our veins. Christ is literally in us. His blood mixes with ours, and we are mystically united with God (thinking about this always blows my mind).
In business, it would be the harmony of a unified company. Many individuals are all working in unison for the achievement of the company’s mission. When sales, marketing, and product work well together, each is doing its part to move the whole towards the goal.
We actually discussed this in our episode with Marcellino a while back. Specifically in relation to a unified marketing team, sales, and product team.
Of course, you can always look at the inverse as I mentioned a while ago. When any group that ought to work together is not, it’s noticeable. In the same way, when we know someone living a divided life, we tend to notice it. The conflict between identities and desires creates a sort of dissonance noticeable to all around.
Truth.
Most of us have had tense situations with a friend or family member where a wrong was done. When the truth is told, the wrong is admitted to, and the apology is accepted, the feeling of resolution is a welcome relief. That’s the truth right there. The way the energy in the room is ‘fixed’ — is truth.
On the negative side of the example. Many of us have encountered people who give off suspicious energy. Usually, we suspect them of distorting reality (through dishonesty). The incongruency with reality is giving off the bad vibes (you’ll have to bear with my Gen Z theology here).
In business, it’s the same things as above. But it could also look like transparent reporting to investors or to employees about the state of the company. When things are tough, the tension builds, employees start to talk. Anyone who has worked for a company with over 15 people has probably experienced this.
It also looks like respecting the human dignity of employees, customers, and suppliers alike. This good treatment is in line with the reality of their infinite dignity as humans.
Goodness.
In life, it could be someone helping the homeless. Feeding the poor. Helping an old lady cross the road. All of these things reflect the goodness of the eternal God. It could also look like forgiving someone who has wronged you because this resonates with God’s divine mercy that draws us in.
I like to think about those videos on social media that make you well up with tears of joy. Some dejected person is respected (reminded of their dignity). A person does an extreme act of kindness. A child, in their genuine innocence, does something that just cuts through to your heart.
In business, it’s paying a living wage. Providing safe working conditions. A product that does good in the world. Even something as simple as a well-made product — something that had effort, intention, and love poured into it. This is part of goodness. Contrast that to something that was tossed together and doesn’t last.
Business has many examples of goodness – and unfortunately, many examples of the opposite as well.
It’s also worth noting, the transcendentals are so core to everything that even without explicitly discussing the Gospel, the transcendentals still imply the truth of the Gospel.
Now that we know what the transcendentals are (part of being itself) and what they look like in real life and business — let’s discuss how they relate to conversions. Conversion of hearts, as well as customer conversions.
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As discussed earlier, the transcendentals have a certain way of piercing through to the heart of man. When someone experiences the transcendentals, they are often drawn closer to them. We referenced the divine mercy of God, drawing people in. The same way a strong, unified family is attractive to you (especially if you didn’t grow up with a unified family).
They have a certain kind of gravitational effect to them.
It’s why the Church attracts people. The truth of the teachings. The unity with God. The goodness of charity in action.
Because the transcendentals are part of existing, there is no reason they cannot apply to our businesses as well. People will be drawn to do business with us when we integrate the transcendentals into how we operate.
A unified company culture makes employee attraction and retention easier. Harmony is attractive. A unified team also has less bickering and politics distracting from the goal. A unified company also wastes less time, leading you to be more profitable.
Customers are drawn to you when your product does what sales and marketing said it would. Alternatively, consider how many return customers a business gets when it constantly lies, misrepresents its services, or treats them poorly?
When you love your customer, as a human created with infinite human dignity, that really resonates with them. They tell others about your work. This leads to new customers and more revenue from existing customers. Tim Connors talked about this in the episode we did with him.
Suppliers love it when you pay on time: following through on your commitments. Over time, this could likely gain you preferential treatment from your suppliers (there are many such examples in business).
Goodness is easy to think of examples. When your product or service is of high quality, you’ll get positive reviews. Helping you sell more. When you give back to your community, you gain goodwill with them (and likely gain more customers).
When you are good to your employees, you’ll have higher retention. That means lower recruiting costs.
Good (beautiful) architecture and a clean environment attract in people. Just think the last time you were excited to walk into a grimy gas station versus a clean and well-lit establishment.
There are honestly countless examples that we could cover, but I think you get the point. Transcendentals = better outcomes for the business owner and the customers.
What’s the takeaway?
Through living a properly ordered life, you’ll be able to live out the transcendentals. By following them, you’ll also be living a unified life (as Jeff Schiefelbein talked about), which means your work life will be in unity with your personal life. No double life at the office where you have to put on a special face only to take off the mask when you get home. You are a unified person. Live like it.
For business owners, your company will reflect those values (if you are intentional). You’ll attract customers, employees, and suppliers. This means greater profitability.
But more importantly than any of that, you’ll be living in unity with God’s will for your life. This pleases Him, helps you become a saint in the process, and on top of all that, draws other people closer to God.
What greater motivation could you have to understand these transcendentals and live them fully in your life? You get to be closer to God, help save souls, and have a better, more profitable business. There is no better deal on earth.
If you’re ever trying to figure out how to handle a situation in line with the transcendentals, remember this: every human is created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore has infinite human dignity. Our actions towards them should reflect that.
God Bless & Happy Building
~Silas Mähner
PS: I had a lot of help from Magisterium AI in the research and ideation of this issue. Thank you to the team over there. I’m still mind blown at how valuable that tool is.
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Given the length of this post (and the time it took me to write) we’re skipping the heavenly hustlers section today. (btw, do you like this section? Please provide your feedback. If you want to nominate a Heavenly Hustler, you can do so here.
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Groups:
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Content:
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FOOTNOTES:
*PLEASE NOTE: In modern times, people often cite the transcendentals as Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. But Unity, Truth, and Goodness are what the CCC refers to. Beauty is often considered a non-essential item. You’ll need to research this on your own if you’re curious, since we don’t have time to cover this today.