As you may or may not know, Mount Everest is never far from my mind and heart. I have been a climber for over 25 years and stood on the top of Mount Everest last spring. Now that it is the season once again for climbers to make their pilgrimage to the slopes of the mountain I am once again hooked on the daily dispatched coming from the climbers.

As I say in my keynote talk, there is so much to learn from Mount Everest and so many great business examples taking place. Just today I was reading a dispatch from the Eco Everest Expedition and it reminded me of an importance business lesson; the tipping point. If you want to create a change you need to figure out how to gain leverage and then how to push your project over the tipping point. As with many examples of a tipping point, it is often difficult to tell just what will make it swing.

I hope you enjoy this posting as much as I did not just because of the business lesson, but also because of the environmental message.

Please visit our web site to learn more about my keynote talk and the training and teambuilding programs we offer.

Everest Dispatch:

Cash For Trash
April 22 2009
I have created a monster... my cash for trash program, as everyone likes to call it, has taken on a life of its own. I had intended to motivate others to bring garbage down from Everest, but never imagined it would be this successful.
After telling Nic that I was paying 100 nepali rupees (US$ 1.25) per kilogram of old garbage, he decided to go out and find some garbage. Watching strange foreigners and Eco Everest Sherpas bring in garbage and getting paid for it started a wildfire. All of a sudden I had sacks and sacks of garbage coming into our camp.
Since Starting the program yesterday, I have now collected nearly 1,500 kilograms of garbage. I am simply amazed considering my target was 2000 kgs. I am considering collecting more.

Last year, on the Eco Everest Expedition 2008 our Sherpas managed to bring down just under a ton, and this was in 8 weeks. We have surpassed that mark on the second day. This year, Sherpas from all other expeditions are joining in. It just goes to show how big an impact we can have if we all just did a little.
One of the reasons there is so much garbage available is because there hasn't been much snow this winter, meaning that the garbage had a chance to thaw out of the ice. Add to this the fact that it's a really hot spring and the ice is melting faster. We have collected more parts of the helicopter that crashed in Camp 1 in 1973, old tin cans as always, oxygen cylinders, gas cylinders, old boots and clothes, pots and pans, destroyed tents, old rope, broken ladders and so many other random objects that shouldn't be on the mountain. I noticed that this year we have a lot more garbage coming from Camp 2. I am being told by the Sherpas that there is almost no more old garbage left in base camp to collect. If this is true then one day of cleaning has cleared all of base camp. I am afraid that I may run out of my budget soon. Right now I am paying for the garbage from the income of the Base Camp Bakery which I have been running here for the last 3 years. I better sell a hell of a lot of apple pies if I am to keep this frenzy fed.
Woohoo.
Dawa Steven Sherpa

Great teams do not just happen. They are created. Just because you put a group of talented individuals together does not ensure you will get a high performance team. It takes deliberate focus and a vision of what you want to create. At a recent keynote presentation I shared my thoughts on the creation of a high performance team and how we did it on Mount Everest. This model applies equally well to any team, department or business. The model states that in order to build a High Performance Team you must first have a Vision, then create Actions to bring that Vision to life and finally you must Reflect upon your Vision and your current reality and see where you are.

Please visit www.summittraining.com to learn more about our training programs or to book me for your next event.

Also visit www.frontierteambuilding.com for all your Team Building needs.

A recent report put out by Trendwatching.com (Feb/09) made mention of Generation G- that's G for Generosity. It went on to say,

"Generation G captures the growing importance of 'generosity' as a leading societal and business mindset. As consumers are disgusted with greed and its current dire consequences for the economy-and while that same upheaval has them longing more than ever for institutions that care-the need for more generosity beautifully coincides with the ongoing (and pre-recession) emergence of an online-fueled culture of individuals who share, give, engage, create and collaborate in large numbers."

While it is clear people want to give back, what are the benefits of it? I don't think many could argue the results- it just plain feels good to be philanthropic. Beyond positive feelings, being charitable can increase a companies' positive exposure, making this a win-win situation for everyone involved. Customers want to work with and align themselves with altruistic companies that can think outside of themselves.

As a company that works with teams on a regular basis, we see the first-hand effects of a group of people coming together to achieve a common goal. And when that goal involves something bigger than themselves, the boost in morale and the increased level of engagement are undeniable.

So, as we continue to forge ahead in these difficult economic times, take comfort in knowing that we have not forgotten the importance of remembering that there are others less fortunate who can benefit from a team that pays it forward.

In my presentation I share stories around the various challenges we faced on Mount Everest. As a team we chose to utilize Stephen Covey’s model of Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence. We categorized all the things that were impacting us and chose to focus on only those things that fell within our Circle of Influence. This gave us power and focus, allowed us to stay healthy and to be successful.

Grab two pieces of paper and make a list of the things in your influence and the things in your concern categories. Now look at where you are spending your time. Do you need to make any changes?

Scott Kress is an accomplished mountaineer, keynote speaker and President of both Summit Training and Frontier Team Building.

Summit Training has worked with hundreds of Fortune 500 hundred companies over the past 12 years to develop and deliver experiential training programs across North America and overseas.

For 10 years Frontier Team Building has helped guide teams to a new frontier of effectiveness through innovative team building programs.

The other day I heard a report on the radio about a large corporation who chose to implement a massive downsizing by staging a fire alarm. Once everyone was safely outside the building they were told that this would be the last evacuation drill some of them would participate in. An announcement came on to say that due to the economic downturn the company had no choice but to let about half of them go. All employees were to attempt to go back into the building. If their access card were still active, they would continue their employment at the company. Those unfortunate enough to be denied access were to consider themselves terminated and would have all of their personal belongings sent by courier to them the next day.

I later learned that this tale has been around for over a decade and of questionable origins. Even so, it certainly got my attention as I’m sure it did for many others. As someone who focuses on team building for a living this story made my jaw drop. I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to be let go that way and even if I was one of the ”lucky” ones that got to stay I doubt I would be feeling much loyalty to my employer after that.

Coincidentally, on the same day I received an email from HRPA about managing your workforce in an economic downturn. There are many approaches to take in the management of capital and human resources – downsizing is usually a last resort. The article linked to an excerpt from the Employment Standards Act outlining provincial legislation around downsizing and cost savings initiatives. It included some effective leadership strategies designed to make it easier for you and your team to navigate through rough economic waters.
These strategies included;

• Keeping up regular, consistent and open communication
• Engaging employees in discussions and strategic planning relating to the company’s future
• Providing employees with the tools, resources and training to take on extra duties
• Encouraging employee initiative and innovation

When you consider a management team who acts on this advice vs. the one in the fictional fire drill story, it is easy to see how the different approaches would have a deep impact on the existing workforce even long after the economic crisis is over. Understanding the way today’s leadership strategies impact tomorrow’s organizational performance is vital to ensuring that when this economic storm has passed your team is even better positioned to embrace new opportunities.

Scott

Please visit www.summitttraining.com for more info my keynote speaking and our training and team building programs.

Many of our programs encourage people to get outside their comfort zones in relation to communication, leadership, change and team work. Any time one steps out of their comfort zone they are taking a tisk. this risk could be big or small, but if you do not see the reward involved it will be difficult to take that risk. Below is a poem that I think speaks well to the rewards of risk.

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out to another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self
To place your ideas, your dreams before the crowd is to risk their loss
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To hope is to risk despair
to try is to risk failure