Reaching the highest point on earth - Mount Everest - requires teamwork of the highest level. The successful climber does not fight his environment. He or she must become attuned to it, interpreting the signs and taking appropriate actions. He or she needs to adapt his or her strategies to the changing realities of the elements, the terrain and capabilities of the other team members. Tackling Mount Everest is an analogy for dealing with personal, team, and organizational challenges.

1. Leadership Lessons
Learning from Mount Everest Expeditions

2. Everest from afar
View of Everest and Khumbu Glacier from the Kala Patthar summit

3. Everest from afar
The radiant blush of a cloud
at the summit of Everest, at
right, suggests a regal
crown—and hints at danger.
This is a lenticular cloud,
which indicates the presence
of strong winds at the
summit, perhaps even a jet
stream raking the peak. Jet-
stream winds can jump
quickly from 30 to 175 miles
an hour (50 to 280 kilometers
an hour) and have been
known to blow climbers off
their feet.
Text: National Geographic
Photograph:
www.bootsnall.com

4. Map of Summit Routes*
* Map of routes
attempted by the
1963 American
Mount Everest
expedition led by
Norman G.
Dyhrenfurth, a
Swiss-American
mountaineer and
film maker. The
successful
expedition placed six
climbers on the
summit. Map drawn
by MIKE REAGAN

5. Context
Imagine your ultimate objective – to put at least one
climber on top of Everest (8850m)
Extreme physical conditions – altitude, weather (cold,
wind), treacherous terrain (icefall, crevasses, avalanche)
Diverse makeup of core and support team elements (i.e.
people, culture, personal versus team objectives and
perspectives)
Extreme logistical challenge to establish base and other
camps and to keep higher camps adequately stocked.
Limited window of time (seasonal and weather limitations)
Pressure of sponsors

6. South-west face of Everest

7. Context
Reaching the highest point on earth requires teamwork of the
highest level. Chris Bonington first reached the summit of
Everest in 1985 at the age of 50, as a member of the
Norwegian Everest Expedition.
The expedition placed eighteen climbers and Sherpas on the
summit in three separate ascents, a record for a single
expedition.
This was possible because of superb planning and
organization, but most of all, because of the teamwork
amongst expedition members.

8. Succeeding with change
Leadership and Teamwork
Crises Management
Dealing with Obstacles
Creating Positive Reactions to Change

9. Context
The successful climber does not fight his environment. He or
she must become attuned to it, interpreting the signs and
taking appropriate actions.
He needs to adapt his strategies to the changing realities of
the elements, the terrain and capabilities of the other team
members.

10. South Summit
Nepal, 1963
Photograph by Barry C. Bishop
“Snow-plumed South Summit of
Everest challenges climbers
25,000 feet [7620 meters] high on
Lhotse’s slanting face. Bracing
themselves with ice axes, steel
boot spikes, and a rope fixed to
the mountain, the men pause for
breath in the rarefied air. Oxygen
here is only two-fifths the density
at sea level, and climbers must
breathe bottled gas.”
—From “Six to the Summit,”
October 1963, National
Geographic magazine

11. Risk and Reward
Ultimate climbing achievement in reaching top of
Everest, and/or
Being part of a successful expedition, and/or
Pioneering a new route up Everest
Versus consequences of failure – ultimate price
death – high mortality rate on Everest expeditions
or at best loosing limbs due to frostbite

12. Required
Technology – leading edge versus proven
 E.g. oxygen equipment, tents, clothing
Climbing skills (technical proficiency)
Mountaineering experience
Expedition track record
Psychological balance (emotional
intelligence)

13. Khumbu Icefall
Nepal, 1999
Photograph by Bobby
Model
Sherpa Fura Gyaljen
gingerly crosses a crevasse
in Everest’s Khumbu
Icefield. A month before,
the same crevasse had
measured six inches (15
centimeters) wide.
(Photographed on
assignment for the
Everest/K2 Expedition,
sponsored in part by the
National Geographic
Expeditions Council)

14. Guide to success (1)
Matching people within a team structure,
e.g. various team roles such as “happy
clown”, “silent proficiency”
Reconcile resources and objectives
Power of preparation
Manage conflict
Reward and recognition

15. Guide to success (2)
No single “hero” in team makes the team,
but it is all about how well the team
integrates as a single unit
Acclimatisation
Attention to detail
Rest and recovery
Celebrate achievements

16. Climber with ice around face

17. Guide to success (3)
Systematic approach
Project planning – sound framework but
flexibility for changing circumstances
Manage emotional roller-coaster
Ensure people are left with a sense of
fulfilment and achievement
Perseverance and dedication

18. Guide to success (4)
Role clarification
Reconcile expectations – personal goals and
main mission (team/expedition) goals
Do not (always) reinvent the wheel (take
cognisance of lessons learnt)
Communication!
Know team members very well
Hierarchy of objectives

19. Guide to success (5)
Hope and inspiration
Aim for the seemingly impossible
Council
Scout route and get input from team
Appeal to the imagination
Determination – “press on regardless”
Confidence

20. Guide to success (6)
Demonstrate trust in people
Buy-in: how to get people to willingly,
enthusiastically, go along
Sense of urgency
Preparation (attention to detail)

21. Guide to success (7)
“This might sound very mercenary, but then it
must be remembered that in helping the
expedition in return for payment, the
Sherpas are no different from any other
employees on a daily wage, though – in
common with an ordinary factory-worker in
Britain – they need more than just money to
command their enthusiasm as well as
obedience.”

22. Guide to success (8)
“They need to feel that the job is worth doing;
they need to develop friendships with their
employers and to feel that their efforts are
fully recognised. In this respect Pertemba
and Ang Phu were especially important, for
I was employing them as managers in the
very fullest sense of the word.”

23. Guide to success (9)
“I consulted Pertemba at each step,
occasionally irritating my lead climbers by
accepting Pertemba’s advice on what he felt
the Sherpa’s could do, or even on route
selection, in preference to their own. He
was left entirely to his own judgement on
the choice of individual Sherpas for
different roles. ”

24. Each of us has our personal equivalents of
“Everest Expeditions”…

25. Reflections By Alan Arnette

26. Everest South Col Route

27. Everest from afar
Base camp on the lower
left with the initial route up
the ice fall as seen from
Kala Patar. You can only
see a small portion of the
Khumbu Ice Fall from this
angle.

28. Everest from afar
Lower third of the ice fall
as seen from basecamp.
There is still twice as much
to climb at the top of this
photo. The route changes
each day since the glacier
is constantly moving.
Lhotse's summit is peeking
out on the top right above
the icefall.

29. Everest from afar
Western Cwm route from
Camp 1 (top triangle) to
Camp 2 (bottom triangle)
as seen from Camp 3 on
the Lhotse Face. This area
is heavily crevassed and
smart teams rope up. It
takes about
2-3 hours to walk from C1
to C2 and it can be
extremely hot.

30. Everest from afar
Route from Camp 2 (lower
left triangle) to Camp 3
(upper triangle) up the
Lhotse Face, across the
yellow band and up the
Geneva Spur to the South
Col. You must be clipped
into the fixed line at all
times to avoid falling and
death. Avalanche danger is
also real on the Face

31. Everest from afar
Route from Camp 3 to the
South Col. Across the
Yellow Band and to the
left up the Geneva Spur.
This is the first time most
climbers start to use bottled
oxygen. The climbing and
Yellow Band
is not technically hard but
climbers are approaching
8000m.

32. Everest from afar
Summit route as seen from
Camp 4, the South Col.
The true summit is not
visible from this angle. It
was still 10 hours to the
summit from where Alan
Arnette (photographer)
turned around.

33. Everest from afar
Everest close up from Kala
Pattar with the North Face on
the left, the Hillary Step in the
middle right and the South
Summit on the right.
Source:
mountainsoftravelphotos

34. Alan Arnette on Management
Communication and Management
 When you are tired of saying something, your audience is hearing it for the first
time
 Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
 Keep your message simple and singular (one point per message)
 Create the vision, co-develop the strategy and get the hell out of the way of great
people
 Create a diverse team and enjoy the creative benefits while accepting the leadership
challenges
 Demand full participation from everyone on your team while respecting their style
 Let your Org Chart communicate roles, responsibilities, measures and objectives
 The best slides are simple, limited clip art, and are self explanatory

35. Alan Arnette on Management
Partners and Customers
Partners
 Keep outsourcing management simple and focused
 Negotiate price, never compromise on quality
 Your partner making a fair profit is a requirement for a win-win
relationship
 Communicate key measures often, simply and consistently
Customers
 Customers are why we are here
 When in doubt, spend time at a customer's site … often.
 Customer satisfaction is a point in time, loyalty is the long term
relationship with your company

36. Alan Arnette on Management
Employees
 Be visible to all levels of your organization on a regular
basis
 Active and honest feedback is a measure of how much
you care about your employee
 Hire people better than you
 Employees learn more about you by what you do versus
what you say
 On a bad day, spend half an hour with your first level
employees to get re-energized
 A lunch a week with customers and another with
employees will keep you in touch with reality

37. Alan Arnette on Management
Strategy and Results
 Centralize the process design to manage a consistent strategy
 Two points make a straight line. Act on trends swiftly
 Boiling frogs jump out, warming frogs die in the pot: watch the little signs
that things are not well
 Localize the implementation to satisfy the customer
 Manage the numbers and don't let them manage you
 Fast decision making without effective follow through is chaos
 Anticipate versus react
 The magic triangle: happy employees, loyal customers, solid business
results
 When evaluating a difficult situation, ask: "Is it impossible, or is it just
hard to do?"
 Think Big, be Big

38. Alan Arnette on Management
Organizational Model
 Organizational models are about managing the
boundaries between different organizations
 There is always a large loss in productivity
when you re-organize so there must be a larger
gain from new organization to justify the re-
organization
 Prior organizational models seem to always
return, so don't criticize them too much

39. Alan Arnette on Leadership
Is it hard or impossible?
My right foot slips causing me to swing across the vertical rock wall at
20,000'. Smooth rock above, death below. As I settle against the wall, I
look up and then I look down. Turn back? Quit? Is this really, really
hard or simply impossible? The ultimate question I use during climbs
to evaluate if I should turn back or keep going.
In business we hit issues all the time that seem impossible to overcome.
It seems like on a daily basis I hear someone say, "This is impossible!"
A sales goal. A development schedule. A relationship. Is it hard or
impossible?
Often when confronted with this simple question, we reflect on the
goal. Is it still worthwhile? Do I really believe in it? Do I have the
commitment and energy to stay with it until the end?

40. Alan Arnette on Leadership
Are you hurt or hurting?
Organizations are like people. They are hurting and sometimes they are
actually hurt. The trick is understanding the difference.
"I can't move my legs", Scott said quietly in his sleeping bag. I looked
closely at the 17 year-old and asked him the obvious. "They sure are
sore and it hurts to move." he said with a wince. With that I relaxed
knowing that this young climber was learning the difference between
being hurt and simply hurting.
We all go through this every day. Someone says something that bothers
us. We say something we shouldn't. Business takes a turn for the worst
and everything looks bleak. Do we give up simply because we are
hurting? Do we quit our job because we are hurting?
Or do we learn from the pain and go on?

41. Alan Arnette on Leadership
Focus on the big picture while keeping the details in
mind.
Everest expeditions are a true test of patience and logistics. A typical
expedition requires tons of gear. Imagine feeding up to thirty people
three meals a day for six weeks - all above 20,000 feet! Think about
getting up and climbing several thousand feet to drop off gear and to
get your body adjusted to the higher altitude just to return to where you
started the next day.
Staying focused on the goal while managing the details is the issue.
In business, we often fall into the trap of making the daily tactics the
strategy or making the strategy the daily details. We forget that we
must have balance of the two. If you focus on getting food and water
just for that day and not preparing for the difficult future, then when
that times comes, you struggle to accomplish the goal - or worse…
high up on a big mountain.

42. Bonington Everest Expedition 1975
First Ever SW Face Summit
•Summit at 8850m (29,035ft)
•Bivvy at 8748m (28,700ft) No Oxygen
supply??!! (on the way down)
•Camp VI at 8321m (27,300ft)
•Camp V at 7773m (25,500ft)
•Camp IV at 7224m (23,700ft)
•Camp III at 6980m (22,900ft)

43. Sources
Chris Bonington, Everest Expeditions
National Geographic
www.extremeconnection.net
www.alanarnette.com
www.bootsnall.com
www.outsideonline.com/o/outdoor-adventure/climbing/mountaineering/lost-on-everest
Mike Reagan: www.outsideonline.com/o/designimages/map-everest-routes.png
www.mountainsoftravelphotos.com/Everest/Main.html

44. Contact
Conroy Fourie
+27 79 708 5223
conroyfourie@iafrica.com
www.conroyfourie.wordpress.com