Self Reliance on the Colorado Trail

Purpose, Planning and Focus. That’s what I thought about over the course of backpacking 16 hours covering 40 miles. And how much my feet hurt!

Regarding purpose – that was easy. I needed some quiet alone time to just plain reflect. What surprised me was how I would try to focus on a topic I wanted to think about, and how easy it was to get distracted by the trail. With 5,500 feet of climbing, a lot of attention would go to where each step was placed on which rocks. Not unlike the daily distractions that come with leadership challenges.

The nice thing about backpacking is the planning and preparation. I like looking at maps and imagining what the trail will be like. With experience, you can predict and foresee challenges from studying maps. I also enjoy planning the logistics of food and equipment based on weather, terrain and the duration of the trip. Planning is an ongoing endeavor, and even on the trail, adjustments and modifications are needed.

Regarding focus, being 20 miles into a wilderness area requires focus and attention, because cell phones don’t work, and rescue could take a long time. Focus means paying attention to water sources, terrain, weather, animals (i.e., rattlesnakes and bears), and purpose. If my main goal was to just plain reflect (and have fun), I needed to make sure I was stopping to smell the Columbines!

As to self-reliant leadership, my reflections focused on making sure that when you’re planning, you’re planning. When you’re executing, to make sure you focus. And to make sure that where you spend your time is consistent with your overall purpose. No outright epiphany per se on this excursion, but a little physical hardship is always a good way to appreciate all the things that are easy to take for granted.

Change represents modern day adventure

It is a secret both in nature and state, that it is safer to change many things than one. ––Sir Francis Bacon

In the past month, I watched my daughter graduate from college, and marry her high school sweet heart in a emotional and perfect ceremony on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.

In the same period, my son came home on leave from West Point, and we took a trip to Maui where we cycled up Haleakala, and later scaled Mt. Princeton in Colorado.

The month of May also represented a major change with my career. I decided to leave a public company for a small private venture where the focus is on rapidly responding to market needs.

I am taking the rest of the month off, and over the next few weeks, plan to hike a significant portion of the Colorado Trail solo, and then head to Costa Rica with my wife to celebrate our 25th anniversary. That is a lot of change in one month, and most people have reacted by saying, “I wish I could take a month off.”

Here is what I learned: The changes I personally made were difficult as the status quo would have been “easier.” The decision to make a career change is always difficult. Does the opportunity better align with my personal values? What will others think? What if I did nothing? What opportunity would I be losing/gaining? Self Reliant Leadership is nothing if not about personal change.

Successful leaders have a passion for which they are willing to sacrifice other "comfortable" circumstances. Some people term this passion as hunger while others have describe it as persistence and determination. What follows are what it takes to affect change – first in yourself – and then in others.

Consideration
At this moment, am I in the midst of gathering information, reflecting, assessing, and processing past events in my life? Do I know what is holding me back from where I want to be?

Intention
What are the consequences of not changing (i.e., status quo), and what do I envision as a future state?

Planning
Only one requirement here – have I recorded milestones with due dates? The milestones include what I do by when and is central to diligent time management.

Commitment
Is my passion a powerful desire? Do I have the courage to act? Passion and desire are what distinguishes those with an intense purpose.

Sacrifice
If I start something, what will I need to stop doing (e.g., time wasters)? Am I willing to make a sacrifice and leave my comfort zone to advance my own agenda?

Discipline
Can I stick with it, maintain consistency, and not procrastinate? Does my behavior demonstrate uncanny persistence and determination?

Action
Am I working my plan and hitting the milestones? Am I measuring success and adjusting appropriately to inevitable setbacks?

Habit
Has the new behavior become a habit where it no longer feels like a sacrifice?

Character
Has the habit become so ingrained as to become part of who I am? What are the next steps in my personal growth?

Think about what long-term substantive change means for your personal and professional life. Chances are, you are comfortable. Change requires some level of discomfort, and as humans, we are geared to maintain our own status quo. It might be cliché, but great achievements require great sacrifices.

Think about the people you most admire. Chances are very good that they faced, embraced and adapted to overcome some type of adversity while leaving a zone of comfort. Now think about how this applies to your desire to LEAD CHANGE with others?

Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation. ––Mahatma Gandhi

Mount Princeton – A lesson in humility

I climbed to the summit of Mt. Princeton in Colorado with my son and his best friend yesterday, and it was spectacular (http://www.14ers.com/routemain.php?route=prin1&peak=Mt.+Princeton). While climbing, I thought about all the leadership analogies with scaling a mountain, and what I might write about that I learned during the climb. After all, there are 9,159 books on Amazon with the word Summit in the title. I couldn’t really concentrate during the climb, because my son and his best friend kept up a non-stop banter of jokes. Basically, they recited they’re favorite movie lines, and practiced their repertoire of put-downs on each other. It was amusing, and I got a lesson in the latest nuances of pop-culture not readily available to the middle-aged. More importantly, they provided the inspiration for what I needed to learn about the summit and leadership. They showed me the missing ingredient from all the other analogies of leadership and summits: The most beautiful word in the English language… Humility. Through their joking, both young men insured a modest opinion of each other’s own importance and status. It was a difficult climb with a lot of snow still on the mountain, but they kept the journey fun. And in business today, fun seems to have taken a back seat. Perhaps the humility demonstrated by two 19-year old young men, bound for careers as army officers, is a needed lesson for the rest of us in our daily summit quests.

Climbing, Patience and Haleakala

On June 4th, I left Paia, Maui on the coast with my son on a 37 mile bicycle trek to the top of Haleakala at 10,000 feet above the sea. It took us just over five hours to make it to the top, and a better day could not have been had. The interesting thing about setting off on a ride like this is that you know it will be an adventure, and that the outcome is uncertain.

We left the beach area as the sun was rising off our left shoulders, and the normally windy area of sugar cane fields was surprisingly calm. The lack of wind made conversation on the bikes easier than normal, and we talked about everything and nothing in particular.

I told my son all along the way that I am never certain of making it to the summit until the last mile. There are too many things that can go wrong. The weather could be rainy, dangerously foggy, or unbearably windy. The rented bikes could have mechanical issues - like a broken chain. And if one doesn’t fuel properly, the body can decide not to cooperate at altitude! My mantra was two things along the way: Patience, because we’ll be able to see the goal almost the whole way, and it doesn’t get close soon enough. And stay fueled, so as not to bonk (run out of fuel and energy), which means eating when you’re not hungry.

We passed through Makawao and noticed the Veteran’s Cemetery with fresh flags on every grave from Memorial Day. Others’ sacrifices have much more meaning since my son is a cadet at West Point. The road got steeper, and we realized we were only one-fifth of the way with regard to elevation gain. It was hot, humid and we were sweating profusely. Patience would definitely be a virtue for this climb.

We rode through groves of Eucalyptus trees and appreciated the sanctuaries of shade. My son commented that it was a pretty enjoyable ride so far, and not too bad despite the steep grade the entire way. At the National Park entrance, we paid our way and were informed that we “only” had eleven miles and 3,000 feet up to go. For us, that translated to two hours of a steep and slow climb. Patience…

You have no doubt heard of the analogies between climbing a mountain and achieving life’s goals. That was the great thing about this ride. In less than six hours, I was able to run a gambit of emotions with my son and jointly celebrate the accomplishment of a noteworthy achievement. We had planning, trepidation, commitment, sacrifice (we got up at 4:00 AM), a little courage, determination and perseverance. Best of all, we have a great memory that was the adventure. Like life, the journey is what mattered most – not the posing for a picture at the summit.