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The compass within you
By Anoop K Menon
 Some time ago, digging through old National Geographics, I was awe-struck by the cover page of the April 1996 issue of the journal. Yellow borders framed a climber moving up a steep granite wall as snowcapped peaks dropped below him toward the horizon. Good photos tell their own tales, but the hero of the narrative—aptly called ‘Storming the Tower’—has a story that transcends beyond the physical peaks and valleys. Todd Skinner, who led the ‘free-climbing’ expedition, has his name etched in the corporate world for motivating entire legions of managers to do things they never thought possible.
One of Skinner’s most daring adventures is documented in the above-mentioned Geographic issue, a pack of mountaineers attempting to ‘free climb’ the east face of Trango Tower in the Karakoram Range using only the natural features presented by the rock as opposed to ‘aid climbing’ where ladders and metal spikes hammered into the rock are used for ascent. The group spends a harrowing 60 days above 18,000 feet fighting cold storms, injury and fatigue before reaching the summit. That free climbing philosophy is later taken to Mali, Kenya and Greenland where Skinner and his team snatch success against seemingly impossible odds.
A few months ago I came across Skinner’s Beyond the Summit in which he unspools the stories wound around the dizzying heights as he talks to the strategist and the visionary in you. In the book’s introduction, Skinner shares the moments of doubt before his first speaking assignment in front of a business audience wondering how to translate his world into theirs. To his surprise, he finds a very receptive audience. He recalls that the group immediately saw how a storm on the mountain is like a downturn in the economy, that crevasses are like business pitfalls, and that difficult terrain requires the same problem-solving skills regardless of whether the turf is the corporate boardroom or a camp precariously perched on a cliff. “Our common ground was an elevated field of endeavor, the very nature of the quest,” says Skinner.
According to the man, to succeed in any endeavor, whether on the mountain or off it, it is essential to define the objective, put together the right team, make the critical transition from preparation to action, weather the storms, and go the distance to the summit to complete the objective. Readers are taken through this process in 10 stages with lessons drawn from the hair-raising achievements of Skinner and his team, which lends the book a hue of adventure. The author doesn’t hold back any of the disappointments either.
Though they originate from personal experiences, these lessons apply equally to professional and personal lives. A particularly inspiring moment is where he writes, “A journey into the unknown reveals more about the traveler than it does about the terrain.” Similarly inspiring is the one which pertains to cultivating a habit of ascent. “To become remarkable people, we must see the extraordinary in ourselves and pursue the paths that lead furthest toward our potential. Consistently striving to become more successful by choosing challenging mountains and climbing each to the summit leads to a Habit of Ascent.” Then obstacles become mere detours, not dead ends, and challenges are met head-on, not evaded.
Read this book to get inspired, but don’t search for point solutions to your business problems because it doesn’t offer any. Todd Skinner died on October 23, 2006 in a climbing accident in Yosemite. But his philosophy and accomplishments live on.
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