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Vic Clesceri

๐Ÿ—ป ๐— ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ข๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ (๐—ข๐——) ๐Ÿ—ป

Updated: Jul 8

The Management Sherpaโ„ข was founded in 2015 on a failed summit attempt of Mt. Rainier. An avalanche collapsed our snow bridge ending our climb.


On the descent, I began to reflect on mountaineering as a metaphor for business, specifically OD. Here's a breakdown of how mountaineering concepts inform OD:


๐Ÿญ. ๐—ฉ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด

Just as mountaineers set their sights on reaching a summit, organizations must define clear goals. This involves:

โ–ช Clarity of Purpose: Establishing a shared vision that everyone in the organization understands and commits to.

โ–ช Long-term Planning: Mapping out the journey to the "summit," including milestones and checkpoints to measure progress.


๐Ÿฎ. ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป-๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด

In mountaineering, a skilled leader guides the team through treacherous terrain. Similarly, organizational leaders must:

โ–ช Make Strategic Decisions: Analyze risks and opportunities to determine the best path forward.

โ–ช Demonstrate Adaptability: Be ready to change plans based on shifting conditions or new information.

โ–ช Inspire and Motivate: Encourage the team to push through challenges and maintain focus on the end goal.


๐Ÿฏ. ๐—ง๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป

Mountaineering is a team effort, requiring trust and collaboration. This is also true for organizations, where:

โ–ช Effective Communication: Like mountaineers coordinating on a rope, teams need clear communication to avoid missteps.

โ–ช Role Allocation and Specialization: Each team member has a specific role, just as climbers have designated tasks like carrying gear or navigating.

โ–ช Trust and Dependability: The success of a climb relies on trust in each team member; the same is true for organizations.


๐Ÿฐ. ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฅ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ธ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜

Mountaineering involves overcoming obstacles and managing risks. Organizations can learn from this by:

โ–ช Developing Resilience: Building the capacity to recover from setbacks, just as climbers push through harsh weather or injury.

โ–ช Risk Assessment: Identifying potential risks and having contingency plans, like evaluating avalanche risks or using safety equipment.

โ–ช Learning from Experience: Reviewing successes and failures after a climb to improve future outcomes, akin to post-project reviews in business.


๐Ÿฑ. ๐—”๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป

Climbing routes and conditions change rapidly, requiring flexibility and creativity. Organizations should:

โ–ช Encourage Innovation: Finding new solutions to problems, much like climbers adjusting their route.

โ–ช Be Agile and Flexible: Ability to pivot when needed, reflecting how mountaineers change their approach based on weather or terrain.

โ–ช Continuous Learning: Staying updated with new techniques and knowledge, just as mountaineers learn new climbing methods or technologies.

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