Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Shackleton's Way - Path of Leadership

Excerpts from the first chapter of this book " Path of Leadership"
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.

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