MODERN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Parallels between
Mountaineering and
Business
By Patrick Hollingworth
Y
ou’ve no doubt seen it before,
at a business conference or
perhaps a leadership offsite.
The ‘motivational’ speaker who
has climbed a mountain and thinks
that their success is relevant to
yours. They are rolled out and tell
you inspirational stories about the
difficulties they overcame to reach
their summit. They exhort superficial
colloquialisms about setting goals,
never giving up and overcoming all
odds. Inspirational? Perhaps. But
relevant to your own workplace? Not
so much.
6
ModernBusiness
April 2016
Despite the worlds of business and
mountaineering sharing a number
of parallels (decision making,
managing risk and collaboration, to
name but a few), they have never
been meaningfully explored in the
business. Such simple messages
and lessons are no longer relevant
in today’s increasingly uncertain and
complex business landscape. So
what is relevant then?
A remarkable parallel
It just so happens that there is
a remarkable parallel between
the way that most mountaineers
climb mountains and the way
that most business leaders run
their businesses today—it’s called
expedition style. Expedition style
has its roots in the Himalayas, the
highest mountain range on earth.
The inherent difficulties associated
with incredibly low levels of oxygen
and the extreme cold make it nearly
impossible for climbers to stay
alive up there. To mitigate these
difficulties, expedition style is an
approach which uses considerable
equipment and manpower.