Colorado Outward Bound School

??? What makes you, you??Spoiler Alert –Tenacity in Pursuit! I’ll bet that when you think back on experiences that shaped you, many of them happened long before your first career step — and while it may seem that they don’t have anything to do with your career, they have everything to do with your success. One of my foundational experiences was at age 14, when I decided to join Colorado Outward Bound School on a 17-day rafting expedition to Desolation?& Gray Canyons in Utah. Four years later, I joined the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School on a 16-day whitewater canoeing trip on the E. Branch of the Penobscot River in Maine. Here are four lessons I learned: ??If You Fail to Plan, Then You’re Planning to Fail?? Plenty can go wrong when you’re in the middle of nowhere with a group of teens. Of course, plenty can go wrong in board rooms as well (thankfully, my colleagues today smell better than unwashed teens in the woods). At Outward Bound, we learned to prepare and anticipate problems by rehearsing responses for scenarios. How do we get through this Class?4 rapid? We set clear roles & expectations, so each person knows?their responsibilities and what to do if things unraveled — e.g. the boat capsized (see picture of us practicing) ?? Risks Can Lead to Growth – But Risks Need to Be Managed ?? Knowing & evaluating where we were exposed helped us mitigate threats and avoid danger: ? What is the magnitude of the worst-case impact of X? ? How likely is X to happen and how can X be avoided? ? What are the signs that X is sneaking up on us before it’s too late? The process also helps you to realize your own limitations thereby enabling growth – remembering that risk evaluation & management never fully guarantees safety. ?? Clear Communication Is Critical ?? When navigating strong rapids on a canoe, you must communicate with your partner, as if your life depends on it — because it does. I learned the importance of using clear and mutually understood language to relay messages and to avoid confusion. “Do you mean paddle left or right?” is not a good question to need to shout in rapids when approaching a sleeper. ?? The Power of Teams ?? Everyone on a team should have a well-defined role while understanding what’s expected and how & why their actions matter. Teams need to establish trust through agreed processes so members can confidently rely on each other to problem-solve, collaborate and achieve goals. When portaging a heavy canoe over a slippery trail, sharing the load is crucial. One teammate is chosen as a leader to give direction while others spot and help manage the load. These clear roles make the task achievable, safe and much more fun. ??♂??K E E P?G O I N G???♂? Finally, Outward Bound taught me to be tenacious?in pursuit of my goals. I learned that if you’ve decided to try, then ‘do it’ wholeheartedly. What adventures taught you the best lessons? Any other Outward Bound USA alums want to chime in? #OutwardBoundTogether

Our first-annual 'Crews for Community' Day 2024 is HERE ?? Join the celebration today, June 5th! Today, Outward Bound USA and our network of Regional Outward Bound Schools are coming together in support of increased access to adventure & leadership, nationwide. Join us in celebrating Outward Bound and what we can accomplish when we come together as a crew in the spirit of community, connection, and exploration. We want to know: What does community mean to you as a member of our crew? ???? Learn more & make a donation: https://lnkd.in/eubn3nV5. Here’s what we have in store (Details can be found on our donate page): ?? Raise funds to support Outward Bound in the US: Set up a peer-to-peer fundraiser or make a donation. ?? Tune in: Regional Outward Bound Schools are going LIVE on Instagram today! ?? Share your Outward Bound story and enter our #OutwardBoundTogether social media contest taking place from June 5-9, 2024 for a chance to win Outward Bound swag! __ Don't forget to follow our Regional Outward Bound Schools today! ?? Cathleen Stone Island Outward Bound School, Outward Bound California, Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School, Colorado Outward Bound School, Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, NYC Outward Bound Schools, North Carolina Outward Bound School, Northwest Outward Bound School Philadelphia Outward Bound School, Voyageur Outward Bound School

NEW blog ??♂? Making Waves in the Moab Community: A Look into the Returning Rapids Project with Former Colorado Outward Bound School Staff Members The Returning Rapids Project team has been 'making waves' in numerous media outlets, including Rolling Stone, for their efforts in monitoring the rapidly changing Colorado River ecosystem. In this blog post, we catch up with Mike DeHoff, former COBS instructor, welder, and co-founder of this initiative, who says that the lessons and skills he learned at Outward Bound have guided him throughout his career. "The efforts that our team is making are based on questions that Outward Bound asks: What does it mean to care about the world around you, and how do you take care of it? A lot of our research is parallel to that philosophy of being curious about the things around you and taking action." Thanks for talking with us, Mike!