As a child Shackleton exhbited the role of a protector when he beat a bully who picked on a smaller boy. He was also passionate and empowered sisters. Once he made the choice Shackleton saw his commitments through to the - doing errands on the ship.
He helped boost the morale of the crew
- Planned diversions for his mates during duress - sports, concerts etc.,
- Giving nicknames
- Connect with people
He read broadly
- To enhance skills
- When stranded on the ice, he prodded his men with debate
He kept an eye on new horizons, ready to seize opportunities
- Saw exploration as a big opportunity
- Picked up new skills in exploration - Royal Geographic Society
- Made it in Discovery expedition
Turned setback into an opportunity
- He was sent back early from Discovery expedition. He publicised the expedition and became popular.
- He consulted Argentina on expedition
- Dabbled in politics and built contacts. Got funding for Nimrod expedition.
He was bold in his plan & cautious in execution
- Learnt from ill-conceiving plans of previous exploration
- Paying close attention to details
Learnt from Mistakes
- Studied the past and dreamt the future
- Noted 3 mistakes to correct
- Ponies were too heavy to carry, food to be nutritous and compact and key members who didnt share his temparement and visions.
Put well-being of his crew first
- Weighed the cost of the goal against expense of reaching it
- Returned 97 miles from south pole as they ran short of food.To ensure whole party returned alive.
- Starved himself to feed others
- Got out to reach the ship, leaving the two people in the depot.
Respectful competition with rivals
- Helped Scott his rival in preparing next expedition
- Congratulated the Norwegian explorer on reaching south pole
Notes from the chapter:
- Cultivate a sense of compassion and responsibility for others.You have a bigger impact on the lives of those under you than you can imagine.
- Once you make a career decision, commit to stick through the tough learning period.
- Do your part to help create an upbeat environment at work. A positive and cheerful workplace is important to productivity.
- Broaden your cultural and social horizons beyond your usual experiences. Learning to see things from different perspectives will give you greater flexibility in problem solving at work.
- In a rapidly changing world, be willing to venture in new directions to seize new opportunities and learn new skills.
- Find a way to turn setbacks and failures to your advantage. This would be a good time to step forward on your own.
- Be bold in vision and careful in planning. Dare to try something new, but be meticulous enough in your proposal to give your ideas a good chance of succeeding.
- Learn from the past mistakes - yours and those mde by others. Sometimes the best teachers are the bad bosses and the negative experiences.
- Never insist on reaching a goal at any cost. It must be achieved at a reasonable expense, without undue hardship for your staff,
- Dont be drawn into public disputes with rivals. Rather, engage in respectful competition. You may need their cooperation some day.
