MODERN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
A reliance upon fixed
infrastucture and massive
manpower
Much of the equipment used is fixed
infrastructure—things like fixed ropes
and stocked camps which are left insitu on the mountain for the duration
of the climb (sometimes up to two
months). Expedition style also relies
significantly upon people power—and
lots of it. Typical Everest expeditions
these days are comprised of an
expedition leader, three or four
western guides, up to 40 climbers,
and at least that number again of
Sherpas (an indigenous ethnic group,
widely regarded for the climbing
skills, who do most of the hard work
by carrying all of the equipment up
the mountain).
Climbing expedition style can
be quite a powerful way to climb
a mountain, but it’s also very
expensive, very inefficient and not
particularly good at adapting to
changing circumstances (such as
the weather). Furthermore, whilst
expedition style is quite robust,
it tends to break apart when
unexpected events happen. For
example, in 2014 an avalanche
which killed 16 Sherpas resulted in
the Mount Everest being closed to
climbers, and it was closed again the
following year when an earthquake
struck Nepal and triggered a massive
avalanche at base camp, killing 20
people.
Many organisations are
expedition style
It’s the same way in which most
organisations operate. Reliance
upon (and preferably ownership
of) fixed infrastructure is seen
as advantageous (it enables the
organisation to dominate their
market), and a linear, hierarchical
structure which features centralised
and top-down leadership. Just like
on the mountain, organizations
which operate in this manner can
be quite robust, but tend to suffer
from chronic inefficiencies, overbureacratisation, slow response
times to change, and a tendency
to fail when significant unexpected
events occur (think any number of
organisations which failed during
the GFC, or which are starting to
fail now through disruption and
disintermediation). So, what’s the
alternative?
The solution: it’s called alpine
style
It’s called alpine style (colloquially
it’s known as light and fast).
Practiced by a relatively small subset
of highly-skilled mountaineers,
the solution is to move quickly
through the mountain environment,
carrying as little equipment as
possible—only the bare essentials
needed for the climb. By restricting
their reliance upon equipment, two
things happen: firstly, they are much
lighter, and therefore faster and
more able to respond to sudden
change, and secondly, they become
self-reliant. Rather than depending
upon infrastructure to assist them in
reaching their goals, they only have
themselves to rely on. And so the
more an alpine style climber climbs,
the better they become.
Light and fast is the future
When climbing alpine style in a
small team (usually only two or
three climbers on one rope, or
perhaps four climbers climbing in
roped pairs), there is no structural
hierarchy and no central leader;
rather there is shared decision
making responsibility. Each climber
brings a skill set which compliments
their fellow team members, ensuring
that as a whole, the team is able
to respond to the vagaries of the
terrain. The high levels of skills then
mean that each alpine style team
can operate autonomously, and does
not require guidance from a central
leader and decision maker.
We all know that business
competition and instability has
increased, whilst barriers to entry
have fallen, chronic employee
disengagement is on the rise, and
the global economic recovery is
incredibly fragile. We are often
being told that the solution to this
seemingly chaotic landscape is to
be agile and innovative. But few
can actually articulate what that
looks like in an organisational
context. That’s what alpine style,
or light and fast, provides. A new
way for business to deal with this
increasingly uncertain and complex
business landscape.
Patrick Hollingworth helps senior
organisational executives deal with
uncertainty and complexity. He
consults widely and speaks globally
on the solution to uncertainty and
and complexity, which he calls Light
and Fast. He’s the author of The Light
and Fast Organisation: A New Way of
Dealing with Uncertainty (Wiley). Check
out www.patrickhollingworth.com
April 2016
ModernBusiness
7