A Backpacker’s Guide to Leadership

A Backpacker’s Guide to Leadership

You can learn a lot about leadership when you're staring a bear in the face.

A few years ago, on a week-long hiking trip through Yosemite National Park, my dad and I awoke to the crackling of branches high in the trees. We scrambled for our flashlights and peered up, astonished to see a black bear climbing 30 feet in the air, trying to get the bags of food we’d carefully hung (in what we thought was bear-proof fashion).

All of sudden, the bear leaped off the tree, grabbed the bags and brought the whole contraption crashing down. We managed to scare him away, but not before he’d destroyed much of our food, scampering across a creek with a packet of Tang in his mouth. Campers have a name for these sorts of acrobatic feats: “kamikaze bears.”

As we packed up our gear to move on, the sun started to rise -- and there he was again, about 10 feet away, staring at us and surely plotting his next move.

We escaped, of course, and continued our hike up the John Muir Trail, with a great story I’ll never forget. But with most of our food ruined, we had to adjust on the fly, fishing for our meals in the river rather than following the plan we’d so carefully crafted.

When the Bear is in the Boardroom

Sometimes you find yourself staring down the bear in business, too. How you adapt often means the difference between merely surviving and thriving.

Over many years of hiking and backpacking, I’ve learned a few tips along the way that apply both in backpacking and the boardroom:

  • Have a plan. Think about contingencies, and spend as much time planning as you do acting.
  • Keep things lean. Take only what you need. People overthink the complexity of what they’ll really need to get the job done.
  • Move fast. Once you know there’s a problem, delay only increases the danger.
  • Stay together. When a group of people works as one, they always work more effectively. That’s why at Lilly we’re promoting a Team Lilly spirit that extends from end-to-end across our company.

The challenges of the outdoors – and of business – can bring out the best in us. You learn to do things you never thought possible, and that you’re capable of a lot more than you think. That drives survival in the wildnerness. But back home, it can also inspire us to find new levels of exceptionalism—in ourselves and our teams.

Rob Lee

University of Delaware Alumni | Delaware Diamonds Society

8mo

I like the advice on Problems….they don’t go away, but fester and inevitably get worse.

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Rachel Hampton-Saint

Head of Marketing, Renal & Acute Therapies at Vantive Ltd.

6y

Great little narrative that gets to the point

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Morry Smulevitz

Global Brand Communications Leader | 25+ Years Driving Reputation, Growth & Innovation | People-First Team Builder | Award-Winning Architect of Purpose-Driven Campaigns

6y

Great storytelling Dave, thanks for sharing. My favorite is your story about the lawnmower birthday “gift” and the lessons associated with it. I’ve shared that story previously with teams at AbbVie and now Walgreens as a teaching tool.

Mauro Giusti

Senior Director, Parenteral Technical Knowledge at Eli Lilly & Past President, PDA Italy Chapter

6y

Very refreshing story, I would have a few ones on cycling , e. g. Always pay attention to the drivers/ bikers around you and look both close and forward and back ( threat can come from all over), always have some spare energy since you may not know what climb is expecting you, and finally always have a spare tube and some food and water.... what I call a reserve, because you never know what is going to happen

Teri Lambert

Sales Performance and Leadership Fulfillment

6y

Boom! Great reflection Dave🐻!

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