THE MANILA TIMES
Business Times p.B1
Thursday, September 30, 2004
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/sept/30/yehey/business/20040930bus6.html
LEARNING & INNOVATION
By Moje Ramos-Aquino
We need others to become perfect
“Ultimately isn’t life a series of moments strung together to create a whole story? And wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to increase the incidence of perfect ones? If someone tells you that things in your life were perfect right now, you would no doubt dismiss it out of hand. But you would have to admit that everyone is born perfect. Created perfectly. A miracle, really, when you think about it. That’s why we cry when we see newborn babies—tiny packets of extraordinary perfection. Then what happens? Life gets complicated.” Thus Scott Blanchard and Madeleine Homan introduced their inspiring book, Leverage Your Best, Ditch the Rest (HarperCollins).
And more complicated when you took your first step on your personal journey on entrepreneurship. Two neophyte climbers share understanding of these complications.
Rod Salazar, a consultant at Benpres Corp., admits enjoying a blessed life full of its own trials and challenges. He had climbed a lot of mountains, figuratively speaking, many times simply because it was there and he wanted to climb it, or sometimes he needed to. The trek to Mount Makiling was the first real mountain he climbed and, in hindsight, made him affirm that achieving perfection in mountain climbing, as in life and business, becomes easier by having people to rely on.
“This is always true in anything we want to do or need to do at work or in life—there are others who we can learn from and take guidance from. Also, there is the rest of the team and I know they will be there to support each other, including me. The actual climb was exhilarating. The camaraderie was great, the teamwork obvious and the concern for each other’s welfare overwhelming.”
The authors Blanchard and Homan wrote successful managers are good coaches. The main goal of coaching is to help others objectively see where they are (current state) and where they need to be (future state) and then to develop a plan to get from here to there—with as little effort and with as much fun.
Bunny Peña-Gerochi, an executive of First Philippine Holdings Corp., says that for the long haul, you have to let others help you in climbing as in business. “Going up, I refused help many times for various reasons like thinking that hanging on to a solid tree trunk is better than grabbing the hand of a friend. Other times, I thought it would make very little difference. By the time we were on the way down, my knees where buckling down. Looking back, I could have had less postclimb aches and pains had I accepted more help.
Bunny realized that peer pressure works. She thought that as long as people were going to do it, she had to see if she could also do it. She relates that there came a point in the climb when she just had to focus on the mountain and forget about the limatik (leeches). It was as if nothing would get in the way until she finished what she set out to do and her mind sort of just naturally rid itself of distractions. She was not anymore afraid to get down and dirty. She didn’t just walked or climbed, she knelt, sat and slid across the ground whenever she had to. Bunny successfully climbed to Peak 2.
“Doing something totally out-of-character feels great. This was my first climb ever. We were battered and bruised after the climb. But the excitement of what we actually went through and accomplished slowly dawned on me as I told my husband and kids [the first of many audiences] about the experience. My second grader considers it ‘cool’ and my preschooler wants to join the next trek. What an achievement to do something my sons actually want to do, too! My husband was no less impressed. I feel wonderful.”
Blanchard and Howan suggest a coaching journey starting with self-acceptance and continuously acquiring new habits to improve one’s quality of life.
Next journey we will explore the Balanced ScoreCard.
(Moje, president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp., facilitates self, team and organization development initiatives. Her e-mail address is innovationcamp@yahoo.com
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Friday, September 24, 2004
Life and a grueling hike
THE MANILA TIMES
Business Times p.B1
Thursday, September 24, 2004
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/sept/23/yehey/business/20040923bus6.html
LEARNING & INNOVATION
By Moje Ramos Aquino
Life and a grueling hike
AS WE go on with our Journey on Entrepreneurship, let us derive lessons from mountain climbing that apply to life and business.
One energetic climber is 12-year-old Christina Eugenio de Guia, a.k.a. Chrissie, daughter of Vicky and Art de Guia and a Grade 7 pupil at Paref Woodrose. “The hike in Mount Makiling is like our hike in life. While I was hiking, I felt that the hike was really long.
Like the hike, I feel that life is so long, but in fact, it’s really short, and I take it all for granted. Also as I took one step at a time toward the peak of Makiling, it is like I was taking one step at a time toward my goal in life.
“Just like the limatik [leeches] along the way and the steep slopes in Makiling, there are also things which I fear of going through in life. But I always remember that I have my family and friends to fall back on if something bad happens, just like I could always rely on my group mates to watch my back during the hike. As the pathway gets steeper, the hike gets more exciting. My life is more exciting with challenges. The difference between life and the hike is that in life, I can never go back, albeit, I can only move on. In the hike I can take a turn here or there or turn back altogether, but in life, we can’t take things for granted because one day they might not be there anymore.”
In life as in business, Paul Newby, design team leader of TiVo Inc., said it succinctly, “Success is about maintaining the vision even through the most grueling details.”
Scott Kirsner, Fast Co. contributing editor, adds, “And yet TiVo has geneuine strengths. The company’s executive team, led by CEO Mike Ramsay, has been quick to change course in response to changes in the market and on Wall Street. The company continues to innovate on virtually every facet of the viewing experience—even on elements as mundane as the remote control. Earlier this year, TiVo abandoned ubiquity as an objective and decided to concentrate on one retailer.”
Chrissie continues, “People may think that it’s wrong that how come they should believe in what a 12-year-old has to say, that life really isn’t like that, that we never really achieve our goals and maybe even that one can never really acquire real friends who will always be there for them. But they’re wrong because people tend to overlook what’s in front of them. Instead, they look at things which they’re not capable of seeing and in the end, they’re never satisfied.
What we are looking for can be found right in front of us. We should just get on with our hike or our life.
After a while, the hike got really exciting because the pathways were getting steeper. That’s a lesson I learned from writing this essay.”
Kirsner explains that TiVo is a giant hard drive in a box that hooks up to your TV, a cable or satellite feed and, a phone line. TiVo can help you select shows that you like to record up to 60 hours of programming and watch later or put a live show “on pause” while you do something else—and return to it without missing a thing. TiVo can track what types of shows you watch frequently and suggest others that you might enjoy.
TiVo president Morgan Gunther concedes, “There are lots of cautionary tales where the inflection point came, the technology went mainstream, and the company that was there first couldn’t take advantage of it.
We know that we have to focus on execution if we want to stay on top of the market that we created. What does it take to take to get the mass market to adopt this technology?”
In life as in a hike, let’s heed this three guiding principles of TiVo: cut through the complexity; iterate, iterate, iterate; and the genius is in the details.
(Moje, president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp., facilitates Strategic Thinking & Planning with Balanced Scorecard initiatives. Her e-mail address is innovation camp@yahoo.com.)
Business Times p.B1
Thursday, September 24, 2004
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/sept/23/yehey/business/20040923bus6.html
LEARNING & INNOVATION
By Moje Ramos Aquino
Life and a grueling hike
AS WE go on with our Journey on Entrepreneurship, let us derive lessons from mountain climbing that apply to life and business.
One energetic climber is 12-year-old Christina Eugenio de Guia, a.k.a. Chrissie, daughter of Vicky and Art de Guia and a Grade 7 pupil at Paref Woodrose. “The hike in Mount Makiling is like our hike in life. While I was hiking, I felt that the hike was really long.
Like the hike, I feel that life is so long, but in fact, it’s really short, and I take it all for granted. Also as I took one step at a time toward the peak of Makiling, it is like I was taking one step at a time toward my goal in life.
“Just like the limatik [leeches] along the way and the steep slopes in Makiling, there are also things which I fear of going through in life. But I always remember that I have my family and friends to fall back on if something bad happens, just like I could always rely on my group mates to watch my back during the hike. As the pathway gets steeper, the hike gets more exciting. My life is more exciting with challenges. The difference between life and the hike is that in life, I can never go back, albeit, I can only move on. In the hike I can take a turn here or there or turn back altogether, but in life, we can’t take things for granted because one day they might not be there anymore.”
In life as in business, Paul Newby, design team leader of TiVo Inc., said it succinctly, “Success is about maintaining the vision even through the most grueling details.”
Scott Kirsner, Fast Co. contributing editor, adds, “And yet TiVo has geneuine strengths. The company’s executive team, led by CEO Mike Ramsay, has been quick to change course in response to changes in the market and on Wall Street. The company continues to innovate on virtually every facet of the viewing experience—even on elements as mundane as the remote control. Earlier this year, TiVo abandoned ubiquity as an objective and decided to concentrate on one retailer.”
Chrissie continues, “People may think that it’s wrong that how come they should believe in what a 12-year-old has to say, that life really isn’t like that, that we never really achieve our goals and maybe even that one can never really acquire real friends who will always be there for them. But they’re wrong because people tend to overlook what’s in front of them. Instead, they look at things which they’re not capable of seeing and in the end, they’re never satisfied.
What we are looking for can be found right in front of us. We should just get on with our hike or our life.
After a while, the hike got really exciting because the pathways were getting steeper. That’s a lesson I learned from writing this essay.”
Kirsner explains that TiVo is a giant hard drive in a box that hooks up to your TV, a cable or satellite feed and, a phone line. TiVo can help you select shows that you like to record up to 60 hours of programming and watch later or put a live show “on pause” while you do something else—and return to it without missing a thing. TiVo can track what types of shows you watch frequently and suggest others that you might enjoy.
TiVo president Morgan Gunther concedes, “There are lots of cautionary tales where the inflection point came, the technology went mainstream, and the company that was there first couldn’t take advantage of it.
We know that we have to focus on execution if we want to stay on top of the market that we created. What does it take to take to get the mass market to adopt this technology?”
In life as in a hike, let’s heed this three guiding principles of TiVo: cut through the complexity; iterate, iterate, iterate; and the genius is in the details.
(Moje, president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp., facilitates Strategic Thinking & Planning with Balanced Scorecard initiatives. Her e-mail address is innovation camp@yahoo.com.)
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Formula for success and happiness
THE MANILA TIMES
Business Times p.B1
Thursday, September 16, 2004
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/sept/16/yehey/business/20040916bus6.html
LEARNING & INNOVATION
By Moje Ramos-Aquino, FPM
Formula for success and happiness?
SOMETIMES many good things happen to you at once. I am here in breezy Zamboanga City with my colleague Jackie Galvez doing something I love doing-facilitating a Strategic Thinking and Planning with Balanced Scorecard. We just had a scrumptious dinner of adobong pusit and now we're eating durian and I am reading a fantastic book (Wisdom for a Young CEO by Douglas Barry) while watching Sex in the City on HBO here at Garden Orchid Hotel in our spacious and clean room and exchanging text messages with my sons Ronjie and Adrian and my best friend, Gigie Peñalosa. Blessings.
As we persist with our Journey on Entrepreneurship later, we'll discuss more about Balanced Scorecard as a framework for communicating your strategic intent and plans across all functional areas down to the last level of employees and for managing and measuring organizational, functional and individual performances. The problem with this vision-mission-values-strategic goal thingy is that, instead of providing you with a roadmap to success, they almost always end up in the filing cabinet or the bulletin board because there are no measurable implementation plans. Later.
Meanwhile, teenage author Barry cites Sanford Weill, chairman and CEO of Citigroup, thus: "I don't think there is a magic key [to success] that works for everybody. I can share what I have always tried to do and hope that might be helpful." Mr. Weill shared his insights in a letter to Barry: have a bias toward action, do homework, treat people with respect, make people part of what's happening, reward people for their contribution to success, uphold that family is critical to success, keep them informed and involved.
And my friend and fellow mountain climber Seli Vicente of Benpres Corporation has this to share about our recent climb to Mt. Maria Makiling in Laguna. He describes two types of climbers. One type is somebody who gets excited by unknown challenges and exhilarated by the experience.
The other is one who wants to know all the details of the trail and the climb in advance and would abhor surprises. Both enjoy their climb and feel the same high in reaching the peak. No specific formula for a successful climb.
High school senior and author Barry wrote: "Is it lonely at the top? Not according to the CEOs I heard from! Great CEOs recognize that they couldn't do their jobs alone. They depend on others to help make their company prosper-and this includes every single person who is a part of the organization. A great CEO listens to others, feels their concerns, delegates authority and nurtures the company's talents. They say it's all about people."
Seli says that he has a better appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of his teammates after the climb and of what they can, cannot, willing and not willing to do. He says that he needs to first validate with them his perceptions and assumptions about them; then, he could use this knowledge to build better working and personal relations whether they are his peers, boss or subordinates.
He cautions about disturbing the natural balance of things and the natural food chain when venturing into uninhabited places like mountains. He says respect is the magic word to preserve nature and enjoy it for a long time to come. He concludes that although there is thrill in discovering the unknown, it is still a lot better, safer and more beneficial to prepare a game plan for such adventures. Successful achievement of goals and respect for the rights of others go together.
My own random list would include, but not limited to: read books, use the Internet, do what you love and love what you do, see the Philippines, go mountain climbing, know the people around you at a deep-enough level to understand them (you don't have to like them), eat more fruits and veggies, keep in touch with family and friends at all times, watch less TV and don't take the very early morning or the very last flight.
(Moje, president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp., loves traveling, reading and writing, eating and cooking, doing her favorite work and having fun with family and friends. You can e-mail her at innovationcamp@yahoo.com
Business Times p.B1
Thursday, September 16, 2004
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/sept/16/yehey/business/20040916bus6.html
LEARNING & INNOVATION
By Moje Ramos-Aquino, FPM
Formula for success and happiness?
SOMETIMES many good things happen to you at once. I am here in breezy Zamboanga City with my colleague Jackie Galvez doing something I love doing-facilitating a Strategic Thinking and Planning with Balanced Scorecard. We just had a scrumptious dinner of adobong pusit and now we're eating durian and I am reading a fantastic book (Wisdom for a Young CEO by Douglas Barry) while watching Sex in the City on HBO here at Garden Orchid Hotel in our spacious and clean room and exchanging text messages with my sons Ronjie and Adrian and my best friend, Gigie Peñalosa. Blessings.
As we persist with our Journey on Entrepreneurship later, we'll discuss more about Balanced Scorecard as a framework for communicating your strategic intent and plans across all functional areas down to the last level of employees and for managing and measuring organizational, functional and individual performances. The problem with this vision-mission-values-strategic goal thingy is that, instead of providing you with a roadmap to success, they almost always end up in the filing cabinet or the bulletin board because there are no measurable implementation plans. Later.
Meanwhile, teenage author Barry cites Sanford Weill, chairman and CEO of Citigroup, thus: "I don't think there is a magic key [to success] that works for everybody. I can share what I have always tried to do and hope that might be helpful." Mr. Weill shared his insights in a letter to Barry: have a bias toward action, do homework, treat people with respect, make people part of what's happening, reward people for their contribution to success, uphold that family is critical to success, keep them informed and involved.
And my friend and fellow mountain climber Seli Vicente of Benpres Corporation has this to share about our recent climb to Mt. Maria Makiling in Laguna. He describes two types of climbers. One type is somebody who gets excited by unknown challenges and exhilarated by the experience.
The other is one who wants to know all the details of the trail and the climb in advance and would abhor surprises. Both enjoy their climb and feel the same high in reaching the peak. No specific formula for a successful climb.
High school senior and author Barry wrote: "Is it lonely at the top? Not according to the CEOs I heard from! Great CEOs recognize that they couldn't do their jobs alone. They depend on others to help make their company prosper-and this includes every single person who is a part of the organization. A great CEO listens to others, feels their concerns, delegates authority and nurtures the company's talents. They say it's all about people."
Seli says that he has a better appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of his teammates after the climb and of what they can, cannot, willing and not willing to do. He says that he needs to first validate with them his perceptions and assumptions about them; then, he could use this knowledge to build better working and personal relations whether they are his peers, boss or subordinates.
He cautions about disturbing the natural balance of things and the natural food chain when venturing into uninhabited places like mountains. He says respect is the magic word to preserve nature and enjoy it for a long time to come. He concludes that although there is thrill in discovering the unknown, it is still a lot better, safer and more beneficial to prepare a game plan for such adventures. Successful achievement of goals and respect for the rights of others go together.
My own random list would include, but not limited to: read books, use the Internet, do what you love and love what you do, see the Philippines, go mountain climbing, know the people around you at a deep-enough level to understand them (you don't have to like them), eat more fruits and veggies, keep in touch with family and friends at all times, watch less TV and don't take the very early morning or the very last flight.
(Moje, president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp., loves traveling, reading and writing, eating and cooking, doing her favorite work and having fun with family and friends. You can e-mail her at innovationcamp@yahoo.com
Thursday, September 9, 2004
Mountains to climb for everybody
THE MANILA TIMES
Business Times p.B1
Thrusday, September 09, 2004
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/sept/09/yehey/business/20040909bus6.html
LEARNING & INNOVATION
By Moje Ramos-Aquino
Mountains to climb for everybody
I ASKED my fellow climbers about their insights into our climb to Peak 2 of Mount Maria Makiling recently and these are the replies from three of those who climbed to the peak.
Amy Agaton of First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FHPC): “When I was at the most difficult trail gasping for breath, felt really tired and aching all over, I asked myself: What am I trying to prove? Several times during the climb, I felt like crying and ready to give up. But a persistent voice inside my mind was prodding me—if they can do it, so can I. I am the type of person who must finish whatever project I started no matter what the cost, regardless of how much effort, time and energy I needed to get the job done. So I told myself that it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t finish this hike. In hindsight, I am happy I joined the climb [that was my first time] and that I climbed to the peak. The experience was priceless and the view was breathtaking! Now I know I have the potential for many other things I’ve never tried before. The important things are to know what I want to achieve, to take the first step to achieve it and persevere to the end. It is also super helpful to climb as a team as it is to do projects. I appreciate all the help and motivation I received from my teammates and the opportunity to also help others.”
FPHC’s Roel Espinoza, carrying a very light and small backpack, breezed through the trail and reached the peak in record time. “I learned not to over prepare. I can do with available resources.” He wore a cotton T-shirt and a pair of porontong shorts tucked tightly to his skin with masking tape. Of course, Roel slathered his exposed skin with generous blobs of Off Lotion as we all did. He took care of preparing and buying all our supplies and safety gadgets. The rule in mountain climbing is that you can bring as much of anything provided you carry them yourself.
Romy Cabral, our friend and volunteer guide from First Philippine Balfour Beatty, has this to share: “There is a mountain to climb for everybody. For neophyte climbers, a match should be found somehow between the trail and one’s capability. Ideally, one should have a balance of euphoria and energy during the climb. One must not overexert and must find a pace that he or she could sustain to the peak through easy and difficult trails. One must not forget to have fun and enjoy the climb and the natural environment.
“If done in groups, the climb opens avenues for developing or strengthening teamwork because there are common activities and challenges facing all team members especially on the difficult terrains and trails. Climbing is also a good training for creativity and innovation. One learns how to traverse a path in many different ways. Climbing is never boring because every rock, earth, leaf, tree root and trunk, stone, limatik and others along the way pose a different situation and call for a different technique. On the other hand, some parts of the trail also requires one to simply recall similar trail and repeat what one had previously done and need not reinvent a new move.
“They say that endurance is not built in a day. To do a successful climb, one must be prepared physically, mentally and psychologically. Every climb is a unique experience. One must stay fit, willing and capable all the time.
Who knows what mountain you’ll climb tomorrow—an actual mountain and/or a mountain of work, business opportunities, leadership challenges or relationships to build. Like the Boy Scouts, let’s always be prepared way ahead of the climb. Then the climb becomes exhilarating and successful.”
Already we are talking about climbing Mount Pulag this October. Join us.
(Moje, president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp., strongly recommends mountain climbing for self and team development. She will appreciate your feedback via moje@mydestiny.net.)
Business Times p.B1
Thrusday, September 09, 2004
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/sept/09/yehey/business/20040909bus6.html
LEARNING & INNOVATION
By Moje Ramos-Aquino
Mountains to climb for everybody
I ASKED my fellow climbers about their insights into our climb to Peak 2 of Mount Maria Makiling recently and these are the replies from three of those who climbed to the peak.
Amy Agaton of First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FHPC): “When I was at the most difficult trail gasping for breath, felt really tired and aching all over, I asked myself: What am I trying to prove? Several times during the climb, I felt like crying and ready to give up. But a persistent voice inside my mind was prodding me—if they can do it, so can I. I am the type of person who must finish whatever project I started no matter what the cost, regardless of how much effort, time and energy I needed to get the job done. So I told myself that it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t finish this hike. In hindsight, I am happy I joined the climb [that was my first time] and that I climbed to the peak. The experience was priceless and the view was breathtaking! Now I know I have the potential for many other things I’ve never tried before. The important things are to know what I want to achieve, to take the first step to achieve it and persevere to the end. It is also super helpful to climb as a team as it is to do projects. I appreciate all the help and motivation I received from my teammates and the opportunity to also help others.”
FPHC’s Roel Espinoza, carrying a very light and small backpack, breezed through the trail and reached the peak in record time. “I learned not to over prepare. I can do with available resources.” He wore a cotton T-shirt and a pair of porontong shorts tucked tightly to his skin with masking tape. Of course, Roel slathered his exposed skin with generous blobs of Off Lotion as we all did. He took care of preparing and buying all our supplies and safety gadgets. The rule in mountain climbing is that you can bring as much of anything provided you carry them yourself.
Romy Cabral, our friend and volunteer guide from First Philippine Balfour Beatty, has this to share: “There is a mountain to climb for everybody. For neophyte climbers, a match should be found somehow between the trail and one’s capability. Ideally, one should have a balance of euphoria and energy during the climb. One must not overexert and must find a pace that he or she could sustain to the peak through easy and difficult trails. One must not forget to have fun and enjoy the climb and the natural environment.
“If done in groups, the climb opens avenues for developing or strengthening teamwork because there are common activities and challenges facing all team members especially on the difficult terrains and trails. Climbing is also a good training for creativity and innovation. One learns how to traverse a path in many different ways. Climbing is never boring because every rock, earth, leaf, tree root and trunk, stone, limatik and others along the way pose a different situation and call for a different technique. On the other hand, some parts of the trail also requires one to simply recall similar trail and repeat what one had previously done and need not reinvent a new move.
“They say that endurance is not built in a day. To do a successful climb, one must be prepared physically, mentally and psychologically. Every climb is a unique experience. One must stay fit, willing and capable all the time.
Who knows what mountain you’ll climb tomorrow—an actual mountain and/or a mountain of work, business opportunities, leadership challenges or relationships to build. Like the Boy Scouts, let’s always be prepared way ahead of the climb. Then the climb becomes exhilarating and successful.”
Already we are talking about climbing Mount Pulag this October. Join us.
(Moje, president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp., strongly recommends mountain climbing for self and team development. She will appreciate your feedback via moje@mydestiny.net.)
Thursday, September 2, 2004
Mountain climbing and commitment
THE MANILA TIMES
Business Times p.B1
Thursday, September 02, 2004
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/sept/02/yehey/business/20040902bus6.html
LEARNING & INNOVATION
By Moje Ramos-Aquino, FPM
Mountain climbing and commitment
JIM COLLINS, the author of such important books as Built to Last and Good to Great, is an avid rock climber for more than 30 years and still climbs three to four days a week. In an article entitled “Leadership Lessons of a Rock Climber,” published in the business magazine Fast Company, Jim writes:
“We roped up and set off up the route, shooting for an ‘on-sight’ assent. [An on-sight means that on your first try, you lead the climb without prior information about the moves and without any artificial aid. Other climbers have not told you how to climb the difficult sections, nor have you watched anyone else attempt the route.] You get one chance for an on-sight. Once you start to climb, if you blow it and fall onto the rope, you’ve lost that chance forever.”
In one climb, Jim relates that when confronted with the moment of commitment, the moment of decision, the moment of go-for-it on the on-sight, he let go. Eventually he climbed to the top. “But of course, it didn’t count. I hadn’t done a clean on-sight. And even though later in the day, I managed to ascend the route from bottom to top in one shot—a success most measures—I had nonetheless failed. Not failed on the climb, but failed in my mind.”
Jim (Pardon the first name basis. I’ve met him in one ASTD Conference and he is a most lovable person, a Jim, not a Mr. Collins or Mr. Celebrity. The moment he entered the press room, he removed his shoes and answered our questions with lots of candor.) wishes he fell rather than he let go. Falling means “full commitment to go up—even if the odds of success are less than 20 percent, 10 percent, or even 5 percent. You leave nothing in reserve, no mental or physical resource untapped. You always give your full best—despite the fear, pain, lactic acid, and uncertainty. You never give yourself a psychological out: “I didn’t really give it everything. I might have made it with my best effort.
You only find your true limit when you fall, not let go. On the onsight—as with life—you don’t know what the next hold feels like. It’s the ambiguity—about the holds, the moves, the ability to clip the rope—that makes 100 percent commitment on an on-sight so difficult.”
I am happy to say that in my own climb two-thirds of the way to the peak of the Mount Maria Makiling I fell; I didn’t let go. Not knowing what was there for me, I climb eleven stations or seven stations behind Peak 2. Between Station 22 and 23, I literally had to be dragged and lifted by my teammates. It was reckless for me to climb on with my physical condition and I was jeopardizing the team’s chance of getting to the top.
Initially I wanted to let go, to simply walk with the other ladies to the mudspring—a simply 1,200 steps on very easy trail. But since this is a teambuilding workshop, we needed to take only one route and a stretch.
Jim quotes his mentor in life, Sara Little Turnbull: “”If you don’t stretch you don’t know where the edge is.”
Jim succinctly summarized his lesson learned on falling, not letting go. “I’ve even redefined ‘success’ less in terms of getting to the top and more in terms of the quality of my mental effort. During a recent climbing session, I did not get up a single route. Not one. Still, it was one of my most successful climbing ever because I chose to fall on every attempt, rather than let go. I felt good on the way home because my mind felt strong that day, compared to the weak feeling on most days. In the end, climbing is not about conquering the rock; it is about conquering yourself.”
Whatever, I intend to climb Mount Makiling again until I reach Peak 2. Or I would never know the feeling of having been there, done that. I wouldn’t be able to tell my future grandchildren the tale of Maria Makiling—my own version.
More lessons learned from my teammates on Thursday in our own Journey on Learning & Innovation.
(Moje is president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp. and facilitates self and team development initiatives. Share your own climbing experience and lessons learned via moje@mydestiny.net)
Business Times p.B1
Thursday, September 02, 2004
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/sept/02/yehey/business/20040902bus6.html
LEARNING & INNOVATION
By Moje Ramos-Aquino, FPM
Mountain climbing and commitment
JIM COLLINS, the author of such important books as Built to Last and Good to Great, is an avid rock climber for more than 30 years and still climbs three to four days a week. In an article entitled “Leadership Lessons of a Rock Climber,” published in the business magazine Fast Company, Jim writes:
“We roped up and set off up the route, shooting for an ‘on-sight’ assent. [An on-sight means that on your first try, you lead the climb without prior information about the moves and without any artificial aid. Other climbers have not told you how to climb the difficult sections, nor have you watched anyone else attempt the route.] You get one chance for an on-sight. Once you start to climb, if you blow it and fall onto the rope, you’ve lost that chance forever.”
In one climb, Jim relates that when confronted with the moment of commitment, the moment of decision, the moment of go-for-it on the on-sight, he let go. Eventually he climbed to the top. “But of course, it didn’t count. I hadn’t done a clean on-sight. And even though later in the day, I managed to ascend the route from bottom to top in one shot—a success most measures—I had nonetheless failed. Not failed on the climb, but failed in my mind.”
Jim (Pardon the first name basis. I’ve met him in one ASTD Conference and he is a most lovable person, a Jim, not a Mr. Collins or Mr. Celebrity. The moment he entered the press room, he removed his shoes and answered our questions with lots of candor.) wishes he fell rather than he let go. Falling means “full commitment to go up—even if the odds of success are less than 20 percent, 10 percent, or even 5 percent. You leave nothing in reserve, no mental or physical resource untapped. You always give your full best—despite the fear, pain, lactic acid, and uncertainty. You never give yourself a psychological out: “I didn’t really give it everything. I might have made it with my best effort.
You only find your true limit when you fall, not let go. On the onsight—as with life—you don’t know what the next hold feels like. It’s the ambiguity—about the holds, the moves, the ability to clip the rope—that makes 100 percent commitment on an on-sight so difficult.”
I am happy to say that in my own climb two-thirds of the way to the peak of the Mount Maria Makiling I fell; I didn’t let go. Not knowing what was there for me, I climb eleven stations or seven stations behind Peak 2. Between Station 22 and 23, I literally had to be dragged and lifted by my teammates. It was reckless for me to climb on with my physical condition and I was jeopardizing the team’s chance of getting to the top.
Initially I wanted to let go, to simply walk with the other ladies to the mudspring—a simply 1,200 steps on very easy trail. But since this is a teambuilding workshop, we needed to take only one route and a stretch.
Jim quotes his mentor in life, Sara Little Turnbull: “”If you don’t stretch you don’t know where the edge is.”
Jim succinctly summarized his lesson learned on falling, not letting go. “I’ve even redefined ‘success’ less in terms of getting to the top and more in terms of the quality of my mental effort. During a recent climbing session, I did not get up a single route. Not one. Still, it was one of my most successful climbing ever because I chose to fall on every attempt, rather than let go. I felt good on the way home because my mind felt strong that day, compared to the weak feeling on most days. In the end, climbing is not about conquering the rock; it is about conquering yourself.”
Whatever, I intend to climb Mount Makiling again until I reach Peak 2. Or I would never know the feeling of having been there, done that. I wouldn’t be able to tell my future grandchildren the tale of Maria Makiling—my own version.
More lessons learned from my teammates on Thursday in our own Journey on Learning & Innovation.
(Moje is president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp. and facilitates self and team development initiatives. Share your own climbing experience and lessons learned via moje@mydestiny.net)
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