Business lessons from the AT part 12 Leadership, survival, and algorithms

My son Anthony and I began our section hike (a term used to describe completing an entire hiking trail one section at a time) along the Appalachian Trail in May of 2022 in the state of North Carolina. On that trip, called a NOBO or northbound hike, we completed around 250 miles of trail stretching from the Pigeon River close to Asheville NC in February and ending in Damascus Virginia in early April.? Last year we were back on the trail again completing another section, this time in the state of Maine, traveling south this time (a SOBO) in September and ending in early October.? Anthony and I successfully hiked 180 miles of the AT in Maine on that SOBO from Katahdin through the 100-mile wilderness and into the Bigelow Mountains ending near Carrabassett Valley ME. While the experience this time was certainly different from our earlier hike it was also familiar, which is a lot like our experiences in life, familiar, yet different. ?Join us again as we explore business lessons learned and used along the Appalachian Trail. Lessons of life, and survival in a dynamic universe.

?Appearances

Beyond the Abol bridge bordering Baxter State Park and the 100-mile wilderness there was one last small bridge. We took the bridge like a small military squad before our trek into the 100 mile and immediately set out to use the precious bit of unobstructed sunlight the open space on the bridge provided to dry out our damp clothes.? Not long after a logging truck came barreling over the bridge nearly running over one of my hiking poles followed by a luxury SUV with a very well dressed and clean looking couple inside peering at us and our belongings with a look of disdain. Not stopping to say hello or to ask if we needed anything, the look of judgement on their faces at our unkept appearance spoke volumes, “hiker trash, they kept moving.? We could have been vacationing heart surgeons from Cedars Sinai medical center, but it would have mattered little, what mattered was appearances, and to them we were no better than the negative connotations assigned to gypsies. What’s the practical advice for navigating life with other people whether it be on the trail or on a city street? Show people respect and don’t permanently park on judgement.

Leadership, being prepared for others

It’s called NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) and it’s the largest outdoor education organization in the world specializing in outdoor medicine and survival.? Early in the planning stage of our hike Anthony said, “dad I think we should take a wilderness first aid course just in case we need to administer first aid to one another.” ?It was a good idea. Several weeks later I drove up to western Pennsylvania and we took the wilderness first aid course, we ended up using what we learned to not only care for ourselves but also others. ?On the trail we administered first aid 3 times: once when I contracted poison ivy on my arm (through quick treatment it was gone the next day), once when I fell crossing a bog on a slippery rock and punctured my arm with a stick, Anthony cleaned and dressed the wound, and the third time when a hiker , a stranger to our camp, convulsively vomited throughout the night.?

It was late afternoon, and we were climbing down a mountain after crossing two challenging ranges called the White Caps. It was getting later in the day, and I didn’t want to bother with setting up my tent, so I decided to sleep in the shelter by the fire pit while Anthony searched for a place close by to pitch his tent.? As I was putting away my gear and getting out my sleeping bag, I felt a presence behind me and turned to see a young moose standing just thirty feet from me curiously watching me as if he was trying to determine what kind of creature I was, I froze.? Slowly reaching into my back pocket I pulled out my phone to take a picture and it was at that moment we heard the three young hikers coming up the trail, talking in muffled tones as they walked, in an instant the moose was gone. When the three came into camp, a couple and an individual male, we exchanged greetings and information and all set about making camp, at dinner we noticed that the lone male instead of eating sat by the fire pit and smoked something from a pipe for his dinner. ?

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Shortly after, at sundown, we all went to bed, and it was sometime around nine pm that the vomiting started.? There were three episodes, each more violent than the last and at dawn Anthony and I consulted with one another on a course of action to help.? We split up. Anthony interviewed the weak hiker and checked his vitals while I talked to his hiking companions, “what was he smoking in that stone pipe at dinner?” I asked.? My biggest concern was that throughout our hike I saw many brightly colored mushrooms along the trail, and I was worried that perhaps that was what was in the pipe. The other hikers told me that he had suffered from an upset stomach for several days and he was smoking Marijana (something he did regularly) to settle his stomach. “What’s your plan going forward?” I asked them. The couple said they thought they would leave him at camp to rest for a day or two to gain his strength back while they continued on, it didn’t sound like a good plan, the hiker was severely dehydrated and weak.?After Anthony had finished talking to the sick hiker both of us went through our med kits. We gave them some Pedialyte and sugary snacks and advised them to hike 1.5 miles north to a man we had passed the day before who had a truck and was cooking trail magic (providing hot food) on the trail for hikers and ask him for a ride into town telling him he was too weak to go further, they said they would take our advice. As we parted and hiked south, we saw him at the next hostel a few days later and he said he was feeling better.? He thanked us for helping him and said we made a difference in his survival. In the end we surmised that it was likely food poisoning from their last visit to town. Reflecting back, we didn’t settle on judgement of the experience we had at the time; we were just happy we were able to be of help to another fellow traveler. ?

Dr Zabiegalski is available to talk to your organization or venue about ambidexterity research or speak informatively and eloquently about organizational culture, leadership, strategy, learning, complexity, business neuroscience, creativity, mindfulness, talent management, personal success, emotional intelligence, Action Learning, and storytelling. Contact Eric on LinkedIn about a talk, keynote presentation, or workshop today!