Tales from the Trail: The 7P's of Success

Many people are familiar with the Seven P’s Theorem when it comes to business, sales, marketing, et cetera: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pitiful Paltry Performance.??(Or a similar version NSFW)

?I remember hearing this for the first time from my high school football coach, then again from the owner of the Italian restaurant where I worked, and lastly my Dad.?When I heard?the same thing three times in a short time frame from?three different people it was definitely?reinforced and I surmised it might be something worth learning more about.

"The best view comes after the hardest climb."

Ever since, I have heard similar sayings in the military, the operating room, and more importantly, in my business.?Since early in my career, my managers and team leaders spoke about preparing for sales presentations, meetings, and customer service related issues.?I’ve been hearing the benefits of preparation practically my whole life. Now, I drive home this point on a regular basis to my sons and the scouts and leaders I work with.

However, I need to rewrite this proverb for my summer backpacking trip in 2016.

Like most stories, this one started much earlier, approximately three years before my hike. During the summer of 2013 I sustained a minor injury that lead to a diagnosis that could have significantly impacted my day-to-day quality of life. After eighteen-months of ruling out possible causes and treating symptoms, I was mentally and physically exhausted.??At that point, my neurosurgeon wanted to aggressively monitor my condition. (In other words, there was nothing I could do but heal and get back on track with my life.)

Fast forward to the fall of 2015. A couple of my friends started talking about backpacking a section of the Appalachian Trail known as the?Presidential Traverse ?in the??White Mountains of New Hampshire during the following summer (2016). At this point, I was ready for a physical and mental challenge. More importantly, I needed to prove to myself that I was fully recovered and capable of undertaking such a journey.?

But where to begin???

Remembering all of the times that the Seven P’s came in handy for business, I was confident that I could easily adapt them for my upcoming trip.??I needed ideas that would guide me on a trip that was substantially more challenging, both intellectually and physically,?than any other journey I'd ever taken.

?Here are the Seven P’s that I used to make this trip a true success for me:

1.?Purpose – My goal was to prove to myself that I was physically recovered, rested and willing to endure such a commitment. On a side note, this was the first time I took a vacation without my family. My wife kept asking me if this was going to be quiet and relaxing. I told her that it would be quiet, but certainly not relaxing. Besides, this was an adventure, not a vacation!

2.?Planning – Have you ever heard the saying “you don’t know, what you don’t know?”??This was certainly a learning moment for me. There seemed to be 1000 details to figure out, some known, some unknown. We had to think about carrying gear and food for seven days during the middle of the summer, making travel arrangements, finding water on the trail, measuring distance between camp sites, weather conditions; the list goes on and on.??This was going to be a 30-mile hike with approximately an 8,500 elevation profile.

3.?Preparation – Once we made and reviewed our plans, our next step was gathering gear and supplies. After 10 years, I was ready to update some of my camping gear. This was the perfect time to do it. I needed a backpack that could carry a week’s worth of food, clothes for all types of weather conditions, cooking and sleeping gear, tent, water filter and everything else you need to live outdoors for a week. It took a few months to find and gather the correct equipment needed. During this time I also started a cardio and weight workout to get in shape (looking back, I wish I?had?started earlier!).

4.?Practice – We started using our new camping gear in early spring to familiarize ourselves with new technology and adverse weather conditions. Virtually all of my outdated camping equipment had needed to be retired. The weight savings alone were worth it, but the size and capability of new outdoors technology were amazing. We had to get comfortable using this gear during the day, night, wet or dry conditions. Breaking in a new pair of boots needs to happen three months before the hike. Getting blisters was not an option on this trip. We had to practice carrying the weight on our backs before we even started climbing some of these mountains. My base weight of my backpack was 38 pounds (without food, water, and consumables).??When you start packing 8 days of food and up to 4 liters of water, it adds up.??Again, you can never get enough practice for this type of trip.

People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.

- Edmund Hillary

5.?Patience – We’ve all heard that patience is a virtue, but I don’t think I ever understood what that meant until this trip. Not only did we have a nine-month wait until our trip started, but once you get into the mountains and see how high and far away they truly are, do you realize the magnitude of the journey ahead. A good example of this is the picture of the Presidential range at the very top of this article. I took this photo on the trail during a break in the clouds on the 2nd day. Even though I felt I could reach out and touch the peak of Mt Washington, I knew we had four more days of hiking before reaching the summit.??The other area that required patience was the constant packing and unpacking of our backpacks. When you pack properly, you are only carrying what you need.??I knew I was going to use all of my equipment on this trip, but the first time I took everything out of the pack and setup camp was incredibly humbling.?That week, packing it up every morning and repeating the process every evening taught me a lot about patience!

6. Persistence – We were hiking in the middle of the summer and because of the heat, I was drinking a liter of water per hour each day.??On one day in particular, we stopped to refill our water bottles around midday. The only water we identified was a little spring that had dried up to a trickle. This was the only water available unto we reached the campsite late that day. The only thought that came to mind while I was lying on my belly scooping out water and carefully refilling my bottles was, “overcome,?improvise,?adapt.”?That day,?I carried 4 extra liters of water so I wouldn’t get dehydrated, but the extra weight did not help in the heat. This was one of the memories that I won’t soon forget.

7. Perspective - Lastly, I would like to share the two big takeaways learned on this adventure. First, having the right traveling companions are essential on any trip, but more so when braving the elements.??I was fortunate to have hiking partners that are both friends and experienced campers. When you spend seven days on the trail together, you have a lot time to chat and learn more about each other. Next, that these seven P’s of success can be used anywhere in life or business. At one time or another, everyone has a challenge, obstacle or goal that they would like to overcome. It’s amazing how many times I have unintentionally referenced these ideas with clients who were tackling a difficult challenge with their business or team.??Some were looking to reach new levels of success; others were in the early stages of preparation. Either way, personally or professionally, there is always another mountain to climb.

I hope my experiences?help you save a little time or reduce your frustration on your journey ahead.

If you would like to view more pictures of our trip,?https://bit.ly/2kKsIFU

Ps. I’m using this same approach for our 50-mile Long Trail hike over Mt Mansfield in Vermont this summer. I’ll let you how these 7 P’s work out on that trip.