Don’t fall into the crevasse!

A lesson I learned from my immersion in the world of climbing is that often conditions are not what they seem to be and can change very quickly. A calm dawn may suddenly switch to a howling mid-morning snow storm. An alluring route up the mountain may turn out to be an icy avalanche chute. The line leading to the peak may cross an unseen cornice, a fold of snow ready to collapse under the climber's weight. Night can fall like a knife, the cold endangering life. An inviting snowfield tilting upward can be embedded with hidden deep crevasses, waiting to swallow the climber who unknowingly missteps. In my work with organizations and leaders, I find parallels with climbing. Organizations and expeditions are on a mission to achieve an audacious goal; leaders and climbers are challenged to get up and down the mountain quickly and safely. That brings me to the big crevasse I spotted this week. That crevasse is the trap of being "under-resourced," which produces leaders unable to focus sufficiently on what's most important. Being trapped in the "under-resourced" crevasse can lead to excessive multitasking, ignoring important activities, missed deadlines, poor execution and even failure.