Letters to my 22 year old self - Part VI "Not every mountain is Mt. Everest!"

"I will come again and conquer you because as a mountain you cannot grow...But, as a human I can" - Sir Edmond Hillary

Dear Shawn -

You have been fascinated by the mountains since you were a small child. Their majestic power, their scale and the opportunity to climb them and relish the views above the clouds. It has driven your enthusiasm to climb, bike, hike and ski whenever time allows. Just being connected to the mountains provides you with major energy, enthusiasm and overall positivity.

In your working life you are climbing mountains every day....Some of them tiny hills and some of them even scaling to the height of Everest. My advice to you in this letter is to enjoy the climb but remember to treat all of these mountains differently, assessing their risk and the potential "views from the top" before jumping in.

How? Before embarking on any initiative ask these yourself 4 questions -

1 - How much effort will be required to achieve it? - Some mountains like Everest require months, if not years of preparation both studying the terrain and physically preparing your body for the climb. Others are as simple as looking at the map and putting on your climbing shoes. In the business world ask yourself whether this initiative will take days, months, or even years to pursue and how much personal and financial effort will be required to pursue it.

2 - What is the outcome if I am successful? Some views are better than others and some climbs some, like Everest come with the prestige and pride of being one of few who have achieved it. In the business world you should be qualifying the benefits and gains of successfully achieving your initiative. Keep in mind that these benefits are not always financial, sometimes they can be physical, mental and stretch well beyond the scope of your own life.

3 - What is the risk of failure? When embarking on a mountain climb you need to assess the terrain, the weather and the slope in order to assess the risk of failing in your journey. The general rule in the outdoors is to assess and re-assess before starting your climb and even rescheduling if conditions are not right. In the business world assess the risk of failure before engaging by thinking about the scope of change, the people and the timing before engaging. Think about whether this is the right time to bring this initiative to the table or if delaying it will reduce the risk of failure.

4 - What is the consequence in the event of failure? - When embarking on a climb you look not just at the risk but the consequence. Scraping your knee or twisting your ankle can be painful but are very different from a steep fall off rock or the side of the mountain. In the business world regardless how small and remote the risk may be you need to ask yourself about the potential consequences in the event your initiative fails. This extends beyond personal consequences (What happens to me) and includes professional (What happens to my career) and corporate consequences (What happens to my company).

I know that thinking through these 4 questions will not only help you make better decisions but better prioritize and assess risk before engaging. This will allow to lead with confidence, achieve a higher success rate with your initiatives and suffer fewer consequences along the way.

Being a leader means making some hard decisions and taking chances but assessing the opportunities is was determines your success.

-----------------------------------------------

This framework was instilled in me by one of my cherished leaders, Don K. who unfortunately passed away a few years ago. He pushed me harder than most but believed in me and pushed me to think deeply about all of my decisions.

Past Posts in the series

Part I - "Keep an eye on the gas gauge"

Part II - "What's the worst that can happen?"

Part III - "What's the ONE THING"

Part IV - "Navigating the ups and downs of a career in sales"

Part V - "Don't eat the marshmallow"