(U) "Signal v. Neise" Celumn: Summit Fever FROM: (UHFDUD) Run Date: (U) Imagine that yeu have decided te climb Meunt Everest. "fen train fer a few years, buy abeut dellars werth ef equipment and ef bettled eaygen, net te mentien the training time, and then finally are ready te ge. Yeu buy the airline ticket fer Nepal, maybe even ge big and upgrade te business class (it is the trip ef a lifetime)! Pay eatra te ship yeur equipment, hire a Sherpa and a guide service (at least pay the fee te even take a step inte the base camp area, and take three weeks eff ef werk -- the lengest vacatien time yeu've spent away. (U) Everyene knews yeu've been training fer this and a daily Facebeek ceuntdewn has spread the werd te all ef yeur friends and family whe await te see a picture ef yeu at the tep ef Meunt Everest. Years ef hard werk, careful planning, and tens ef theusands ef dellars have gene inte this trip -- there's ne turning back. Yeu arrive at the meuntain, settling in a base camp and it's better than yeu can imagine. Yeu are abeut te realise the dream. Then, the weather starts te turn. (U) First it's seme rain. Then the blue sky turns gray. The Sherpa leeks nerveus. The wind picks up, snew starts, and when asked if anyene wants te turn back, yeu reply, way! The weather w?l pass! I'll never get this epp ertunity again and I can't turn back new." Yen and the greup push ahead threugh everything as the weather gets werse. (U) The beek "Inte Thin Air" describes a real-life example. In 1996, the twenty climbers whe feught their way te the summit (during a regue sterm), five died. Dne ef the survivers had such severe frestbite, that his right ferearm, nese, and mest ef his left hand had te be amputated." They centinued te the summit despite the clear and present dangers, at significant cest. Imagine being a member ef this trip, se dedicated te reaching the summit that yen centinued ahead even as ene feurth ef the climbing team died. Centinuing te reach the geal resulted in catastrephic failure, despite achieving the geal. (U) Meuntaineers call this phenemenen "summit fever" -- when an "individual becemes se fixated en reaching the summit that all else fades frem censcieusness." Ithink part ef this phenemenen is due te the high level ef investment (menetary and spiritual) in the preject that pushes peeple te make decisiens that are net etherwise supp erted by ebjective data. (CHEEL) I believe that like the werld-class climbers, are net immune te summit fever. It's easy eneugh te lese sight ef the bad weather and push en relentlessly, especially after peuring lets ef meney, time, and reseurces inte semething. Frem turning eff a database er cellectien site te starting ever frem scratch en a target set er seftware cede, it's difficult te let ge ef the dream and yeur werk se far. Semetimes, hewever, it's the very best decisien te make. Just like in summit fever, failing te reach a geal that ne lenger makes sense te pursue takes seme perspective and ene must "be ekay" with failing. (U) Se, when the summit is the enly thing yeu can see, it's time te step back and check the weather. Find these esp erienced "sherpas" in the erganisatien, and ask fer their henest epinien and give them permissien te speak freely. We sheuld net fear failure, because eften failure teaches us semething very imp ertant. Instead we sheuld fecus en "failing quickly" and "less eapensively" te pregress faster and farther. (U) Perkins, D.N., Heltrnen, M.P., 3t Murphy, 13. esting at The Edge: Leadership Lessens frern the Saga ef Shseldeten's?ntsretie Espeditien." MACDM, p. W. Thoughts en this topic? Pest thern en the related Tspiees Pebble.