Make Success An Adventure™ - Achieve Your Own South Poles

In 1985-86 Gareth Wood and two British companions trekked 900 miles on foot, over some of the most forbidding terrain on Earth, to reach the South Pole. They became the first in history to accomplish such a journey without support - no dog teams, food caches, air-support or radio communications. Recognized as one of the great human feats of the 20th century, the team was personally awarded with the Polar Medal by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1988. Gareth is the founder of Gareth Wood Associates, an organizational effectiveness consulting company.

The Antarctic is one of nature's most demanding classrooms. It taught us four important principles about achieving success.

At regular intervals throughout the year we should be turning our attention to measuring our personal and organizational performance. We should be reflecting on goals met and lessons learned. It is also a time to look forward and identify new goals and performance objectives. Looking back, what success were you trying to realize and where are you now in that journey? Whether you are an organization or an individual it is sometimes difficult Making Success A Reality™ . Sometimes our dreams - our goals seem so overwhelming. We often lack goal clarity, we feel like we are not moving forward or we feel we have so little to celebrate. I often think back to our expedition to the South Pole and what helped us achieve what conventional wisdom said was impossible.

I believe that reaching our goal of becoming the first to trek unassisted to the South Pole was the direct result of us having a clearly defined plan of action in place. But reaching the South Pole was not the end of the journey. Our lives didn't change dramatically because we reached the South Pole. Arriving at the South Pole simply became another milestone on our continued quest for success. Our lives were changed - we grew as individuals and team, because of what happened along the way. We have all heard the expression, "Success is not reaching the destination. Success is a journey." I believe it is the journey there that provides our greatest learnings in life.

"Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal." - Earl Nightingale

This does not diminish one's desire and need to accomplish goals. It is simply about redefining those goals as, not an end or a destination, but as a milestone in a greater success journey. It is worth understanding what successful people consider as important to achieving goals and being successful. When I ask my workshop groups what characteristics describe successful people, the responses are always very similar: visionary, leaders, committed, people skills, trusting, detail oriented, think strategically, ambitious, measure performance, take risks, have passion, take action, to name only a few very worthy qualities.

I believe all these characteristics can be boiled down to one word. Successful people 'add-venture'. There are two important points described in my play on words 'adventure' and 'venture'. First, successful people clearly see a bigger success picture. They understand that success is a journey; that success is an adventure. Second, they also clearly understand that seeking success needs to be a purposeful and serious undertaking. In other words, in the business sense, it needs to be thought of as a venture. There is risk and it can be a hazardous journey. It requires clear understanding of the goal; it requires a workable strategy or plan of action; it requires performance measurement, and it requires commitment.

Our Add-Venture Strategy for Success focuses on four powerful principles. These principles for success are not specific to adventures or journeys to the South Pole. The following principles are common to achieving any goal - they are common to any person's or organization's success adventure.

Principle #1 - Define the Journey™

"This one step -- choosing a goal and sticking to it -- changes everything."
Scott Reed

The success adventure is only fun if you know where you are going. My British companion, Robert Swan, was visionary and motivated by dreams. While studying history at Durham University he viewed the 1948 film classic, "Scott of the Antarctic", starring John Mills. That was it. Robert wanted to recreate Captain Scott's epic journey to the South Pole. Later, Robert brought on board expedition co-leader and my climbing partner, Roger Mear. Roger's detachment and pragmatism nicely balanced Robert's romantic ideals. As an alpinist he proposed applying modern, lightweight, alpine-style mountaineering techniques and manhauling our food and equipment on light sleds one way, without dog teams, pre-laid depots, motorized vehicles or air support. Of course, staying true to Robert's dream we followed Scott's 1910-12 route to the South Pole. The expedition would be called, "In the Footsteps of Scott". It was a nice balance. Although this plan was to cover only half of Scott's journey to the Pole and back, the unsupported nature of the one-way trek would make it equally as challenging.

With the development of our personal and expedition vision and purpose, the journey had been defined. Not only was it both daring and very different from traditional approaches, it was a compelling and powerful image that stoked the fires of British patriotism. It didn't matter that conventional wisdom in the mid 1980s suggested that an unsupported journey of 900 miles was impossible.

There is nothing more powerful that will drive you toward personal or professional success than a clear, compelling and worthwhile vision. It is the engine that will drive you forward. Yogi Berra once said, "If you don't know where you're going, you won't know where you are when you get there." In your quest for success, have you clearly and articulately defined your journey - your dream - your vision, for 2003?

Principle #2 - Gain and Sustain Momentum™

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation and hard work…"
Colin Powell

Clearly articulated and inspiring goals drive actions. It was interesting that once the journey was defined we noticed momentum building - it seemed without doing anything. We were all now anxious to get going. The vision was exciting and infectious. People were attracted to it and began calling and visiting our expedition headquarters in London, England. One day seventy-five year old Mrs. Emma Drake visited our warehouse having traveled across London by bus. She had an armload of wool socks, tea towels and scarves she wanted to donate to the cause. In the other arm she carried an ironing board! After quick introductions we asked her where she got it all from, quite worried she had perhaps spent her months pension money. With a wink of the eye she simply said, "It fell of the back of truck", and she would see us again next week. Emma is now ninety-one and a wonderful friend. She - and all of us - had been excited and infected by the dream. We all provided momentum to the dream. Sometimes momentum is measured by finally acquiring something as simple as an ironing board!

But gaining momentum is not enough. Realizing success is also about sustaining momentum. Inevitably there are curves and detours in the road ahead and it is important to see the challenges ahead not as barriers but as opportunities to learn. In order to sustain momentum it is important to:
1. Share your goal with others - infect others with your dream
2. Leverage relationships - surround yourself with people who make things happen
3. Build a plan - …"if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail."

Principle #3 - Achieve Milestones™

"The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time." Joe Girard - World's Greatest Salesman, Speaker & Author

Every plan must identify milestones. Every goal must be broken down into smaller objectives. We need to be able to measure our forward momentum. We need to know we are getting closer. Sometimes accomplishing the challenge or goal can seem so overwhelming that if we can't begin to see progress we become discouraged and abandon our dream.

My two British companions and I first came together to discuss the logistics of our South Pole expedition in January 1984. The thought of having to raise $4.5 million, acquire 60 tons of equipment and purchase both a ship and light aircraft seemed monumental, if not impossible. I remember moving from North Wales to a donated, abandoned warehouse on the banks of the Thames River, in London. It was our first milestone; we had an expedition office; we had presence. I remember clearly the first boxes of Coleman's mustard arriving at the door - our first sponsorship! I remember Princess Anne inspecting our newly acquired ship, the Southern Quest. I remember leaving the London docks for New Zealand and finally leaving New Zealand for the Antarctic. Once in the Antarctic further milestones were ticked off with the construction of our base hut and turning the generator on several weeks later. Even the nine hundred mile journey itself was a series of milestones we religiously walked toward, ticked off, reflected and aimed for the next.

Milestones are an opportunity to confirm momentum, celebrate successes, reflect and bring learnings forward as we journey to the next. Through celebration and reflection, milestones allow us to continually learn and continually improve. They become our measure. Celebrations allow us to recognize the skills, talents and people that got us to where we are. Successful people continually look for opportunities to celebrate. It builds spirit, energy and momentum toward the next milestone. Looking at this last year, what milestones have you accomplished in your success adventure?

Principle #4 - Show Endurance™

Fortitudine Vincimus (By endurance we conquer)
Antarctic Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's family motto

One of the greatest survival stories and one of the greatest leadership epics of all time describes British explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914-16 Antarctic expedition. Shackleton's extraordinary leadership skills contributed to his crew of 27 men successfully braving nearly two years stranded on the coast of the Antarctic, when their expedition ship, the Endurance was trapped and then crushed in the pack ice. Shackleton has been the subject of a TV mini series, an IMAX film and more than 30 books, including two business books on leadership.

Our expedition really followed in the footsteps of Shackleton, as it was he, in his 1907-09 expedition, who pioneered the route to the South Pole that Capt. Scott was later to retrace in 1910-12. We were fortunate to have as one of our patrons, Shackleton's son, Lord Shackleton.

The Shackleton family motto was 'By endurance we conquer.' It is no coincidence that his expedition ship was named Endurance. Shackleton understood the importance of showing endurance in reaching for any success. But he also knew that endurance is not about accomplishing at all costs. It is about understanding your limits. Reaching for lofty goals places heavy demands on physical and psychological reserves. There is always a constant tension between accomplishing the goal / achieving success and taking care of one's self along the way.

I learned three lessons about endurance that are crucial to any success adventure:

Lesson #1 - Commitment: Know your task, take action, have a positive attitude and persevere.
Know your subject or the task inside and out. Be able to answer all the what-ifs. People need to see you are serious. Take action. The previous 3 principles for success are great but if you didn't reach your goal or achieve success, then it probably wasn't a priority. When people saw my companion, Robert, take risks and take action they realized he was committed; that he was there for the duration; that this was a priority in his life. They started to take him seriously.

Demonstrate positive attitude. Don't get bogged down in "it can't be done". Just realize that you haven' found a way yet. One of my challenges, having a very practical, detail oriented, planning and analytical personality, is I was often perceived to be throwing up roadblocks against moving forward. I was just as committed as Robert but I needed to change my attitude to demonstrate that commitment to others. Instead of focusing on why a plan won't work I shifted to, "It needs some fine tuning - let me work on it." I needed to change from being perceived as a pessimist to what I described as a realistic optimist!

Most of all commitment is about perseverance. If the vision is clear, the passion comes - and passion has power. Passion is the engine for perseverance. Model the above in front of your team and they will demonstrate commitment as well.

Lesson #2 - Conditioning: If you fail to take care of yourself then you risk not having the stamina to go the journey.
Your health and well-being are essential to your success adventure. The altitude on the central Antarctic Plateau is almost 3,000 meters or 10,000 feet, one third the height of Mt. Everest. In additional the earth's atmosphere is at its shallowest at the poles. This combination of altitude and shallow atmosphere means that on the Antarctic Plateau, on our way to the South Pole, the human body receives about half its normal oxygen supply. We needed to be physically fit, yes. But we all underestimated the psychological fitness and conditioning that was required. It is amazing what the human body is capable of if a strong mind is driving it. I have to quote Yogi Berra again. He said it best. "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical." I am not sure about his arithmetic but I believe his point is clear. We need to be prepared mentally to undertake our success adventures. We apply enormous pressure and stress to ourselves in pursuit of our day-to-day lives and in pursuit of our dreams and goals.

Stress fatigues people and pushes them toward negative thinking and poor decisions. Recognize stress and deal quickly with stress. Share the load with team members, seek advice, get enough sleep, eat well, maintain an exercise regimen, prioritize daily activities, spend time with family, go to a movie or play a game of golf. Conditioning requires discipline. Model discipline and encourage others on your team to do the same.

When we arrived in the Antarctic my first job was to oversee the erection of our 16 foot x 28 foot base hut. I was stressed and I was exhausted. I had just spent 1 year non stop organizing equipment and supplies for the expedition. The project consumed every waking hour. I worried about what I hadn't done or what wouldn't work. I worried about what lay ahead of us. I had not looked after my self physically or mentally the last year. While erecting the hut under my direction some members voiced an objection to the direction the windows were facing. My focus was on the task at hand, getting the job done and I cared little about the view. We argued and in frustration I relented to dismantling what we done so far and turning the hut around. Fortunately, our carpenter found a very simple solution, modified a couple of the numbered wall panels and swapped them over. I was embarrassed. My stress and psychological state prevented my seeing solutions and any willingness to look for solutions.

Key to emotional health is a sense of humor and laughter. Be able to see humor in everything you do. During the second year the tense political situation of having a private expedition so close to two government funded scientific stations was a huge emotional drain. After turning down any further assistance after the sinking of our ship all government station staff were prohibited from any contact with us. We were prohibited from any visits except in emergency. Authorities were fearful any contact would compromise total focus of resources on the taxpayer funded science initiatives. One friendly government official warned we might be forcibly removed from the Antarctic. Rumors flew. Missing the human contact we erected a sign at the head of the cape, in plain view of passing scientific parties. I said Cape Evans Leper Colony and underneath were painted the familiar graphics showing food and overnight accommodation, but no fuel, available. Very soon after we were besieged with clandestine visits from scientific personnel wanting to have their photographs taken next to the sign. Shortly after restrictions were relaxed and life carried on. Humor diffused another stressful situation. Lighten up!

How is your conditioning? How far will it take you on your success adventure?

Lesson #3 - Flexibility: Let go of what is not working.
It is good to persevere but there are times to stop, rethink and try something different. Don't worry about this being seen as failure. You can't avoid failure. The only person who avoids failure is the person who doesn't harness up to the sled and start walking.

Early in the Polar Journey Robert, Roger and I had early indications of a problem with the runners on two of our very high tech sleds. We ignored these indications believing all three of our sleds were constructed equal. We were focused on the South Pole and putting in the miles. For about 300 miles we persevered, believing our problem had to be personal weaknesses. It was a close call. We wouldn't let go of what was not working. When we finally realized the runners on two sleds were incorrectly installed we dramatically changed the way we worked together. It was a real wakeup call. We finally began to work as real team. Our failure was not recognizing our problem earlier. It cost us time, miles, rations and physical and psychological burnout.

Unsuccessful people are afraid of failing. Successful people no when to let go and turn adversity into opportunity, speak of learning experiences and opportunities for growth. Failing isn't the issue, it is seeing opportunity in the failure and reaping learnings from the failure. Be flexible.

Success is an adventure - be willing to go on the adventure! If Columbus had turned back, on his voyage to America no one would have blamed him. No one would have remembered him either.

"It is possible to fail in many ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way."
Aristotle.

We used to worry about getting lost on our success adventure or of not accomplishing what we set out to do. There are a number of ways to get lost or lose focus. You don't clearly define your goal / your journey. You fail to put in place the elements required to sustain momentum; you fail to measure progress; you fail to commit to the adventure - you get lost in other 'priorities'.

The Add-Venture Strategy is a surprisingly simple formula and yet amazingly powerful. It is often the simple formulas that work. Think for a moment about your life, your work and your organization. Have you defined your journey? Is there momentum? Are you achieving milestones? Are you demonstrating endurance? Look ahead and I encourage you to begin defining your success adventure now. These are the principles for any success. Read them; believe them and apply them now!

If you would like to have Gareth speak to your organization or purchase his book, visit his web site at www.garethwood.com.

© Copyright 2002 - Gareth Wood Associates