Peak Performance
"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves--in finding themselves." - Andre Gide, Journals
What has mountain climbing got to do with project management? If you accept that project management is fundamentally about getting your team to work together to surmount terrible adversity, moving one step at a time toward a final, shared and common objective, then mountaineering provides an ideal setting to learn about leadership.
Mountain climbing offers a powerful metaphor for achieving any demanding objective--that ordinary persons striving for a goal can achieve what others consider to be impossible. Mountaineering is hard work, and reaching the summit requires total physical, intellectual and psychological commitment. There is no way to cheat and there are no short cuts. It strips your soul bare and reveals your true nature for everyone to see. If you don't walk the talk, you'll only get yourself and your team into serious trouble.
Here's a guide to the essence of high-altitude leadership.
Know the path you're going to take
The first rule of mountain climbing--and project management--is that if you don't know where you're going, then any path can take you there. It never ceases to amaze me how many people kick off projects hastily without first bothering to check where they're headed, how they will get there, how long it will take and what…
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"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." - Mark Twain |
