‘Coldfoot’ & the Call of the Caves

You might be the outdoor type, or maybe not. But maybe you’ll have felt the allure and experienced a hint of fascination surrounding the underground world of caves and caverns? After all, some of our ancestors used to hang out in them a lot. And it’s not just about the imprint of prehistoric homes hidden in our bones either. The dark depths beckon us in to explore and discover. The stillness, disturbed only by oscillating echoes of the dripping stalactites, reassures us that we’ve left the outside world and entered a new realm.

But magical fascination and mystery aside, the attraction of venturing into the folds of the earth’s crust soon wears thin if you spend any more than (in my experience) an hour or so down there. Things can start to get claustrophobic and even those crazy enough to enjoy pot-holing come out of the dark, damp to re-appear and re-engage with the trials and tribulations of life on topsoil.

So why is it that some of us in the world of business seem to visit underground dwellings and set up permanent residence there? Off the grid with no wifi, no landline and not even a dry ledge for a carrier pigeon to land on, in the world of new business potential the cave is the preferred residence of, ‘Coldfoot’ (not to be confused with Bigfoot).

Coldfoot is a mysterious beast who engages in discussions and multiple meetings about upcoming projects. The victims (other attendees of these meetings) are nearly always potential new suppliers, agencies or someone who can provide a service for Coldfoot’s apparently imminent plans. Sometimes the service providers have been contacted and beckoned to invest ideas, strategies, costs and above all time. Hope is given that these exciting campaigns of the very near future are to be played out on topsoil…fully on the grid and for glorious day light to shine on, for all the awards judges of the land to behold!

But as the skype calls become face to face meetings and contracts are drawn up, suddenly Coldfoot will hear the call of the cave network. The pull of the underground warrens become too strong and he/she swiftly disappears off the grid. No phone signal, no wifi, no ledge for a pigeon and certainly no landline that can reach him/her. The ideas will no longer see the light of day and the people brought together to bring them to life will never be any wiser as to why. The problem with a good old fashioned Coldfoot is that they look like everyone else, no superhuman size or extra mane of hair. You only know you’ve encountered one when it’s too late.

What is it that draws Coldfoot into the bowels of the earth without notice? Is it a mistimed need to act out first-hand Plato’s allegory of the cave in reverse? To face away from the entrance and observe reality as if it were shadows on the stone wall? I have a feeling it’s not that deep. We all have to pause on projects, campaigns and deals. Situations change, so do budgets (after all shit happens). When it does - ‘it’s good to talk’. Please don’t be a Coldfoot, at least leave a note before you head off to the nearest limestone cavity for a decade long sabbatical!