Brotherhood of the Rope

I’m finishing the book High Exposure by David Brashears, the famous IMAX filmmaker and mountaineer (five Everest summits).

The following photo is from his website and rights:

What is interesting is to read about the Everest disaster of May 10, 1996 from his view, where having read it from Jon Krakauer’s point of view in Into Thin Air, it’s almost like Kurusowa film from different angles.

He writes, “Each expedition is like its own ship, ruled by its own chain of command.  Collectively, we are not bound by any formal shared code of conduct, but we are bound by the so-called brotherhood of the rope”.

If you have ever read the fantastic book Forever on the Mountain by James Tabor on the the Denali deaths in separate expeditions that were joined together in 1967, he writes about how teams need to operate as one for both survival and success.

I’ve often used the climbing analogy in a business environment and the “brotherhood of the rope” totally resonates.  At the end of a very spirited and passionate meeting yesterday, the group needed to make some very tough decisions about a customer opportunity.  After weighing the facts, taking inputs, debating the risks, we jointly decided on a way forward – as a team.  At the end of the meeting, one of our most senior managers, said to the group in a very forceful tone, “So, are we all in this together now?  If there is anything more to say, now is the time.  Once we leave here, there is no turning back, no side conversations, no backroom politics”, she says.

I loved it.  My previous manager would say “Be brutal on the problem, not on the person”.

On my very first serious mountain, three of us were turned back from the top on summit day.  One person cried, one threw rocks in anger and I moved from disappointment to acceptance rather quickly when I digested that it is best gather strength from the situation and move on to the next mountain.

Years ago, when I was interviewing for a job (that I eventually got), the hiring CEO asked me if I had any failures in my (business) life.  I said of course and recounted one of them.  He said that we learn more from these than from any accomplishments and he was absolutely right.

With 236 days to go until Everest, and fully intending to summit successfully and return safely, it warms my soul when I see companies living up to their values on a day to day basis, taking hard decisions towards longer term success, and recognizing that every person in the firm is on the rope together.