As an avid backpacker/mountaineer, I am always in search of the next big summit. Last year, I had my eyes on Mount Whitney, only to find my plans wrecked by an early winter storm. This year, I decided to test my fate again, and I found myself attending a Mount Whitney clinic hosted by my local outfitting store, Adventure 16.  My goal was to learn more about the permitting process and the other climbing routes.  If my best laid plans were to go awry, this time I would have a well developed Plan B ready. 

As I was about to rush out the door, I received a last-minute call from a troubled client.   By the end of the call,  Mount Whitney was the furthest thing on my mind.  Instead I was preoccupied with financial concerns, declining profit margins, competition, changing markets and the myriad of other business challenges that I handle for my client as their business strategist.

I relaxed when I arrived at the clinic and found myself under the spell of enchanting picturesque Powerpoint scenes from Mount Whitney trail.  Our presenter, Kurt Wedberg from Sierra Mountaineering International, is an accomplished mountaineer guide who has even conquered the great Mount Everest. 

He was as informative as he was entertaining.  Having climbed Mount Whitney over 100 times, he had a surfeit of stories -- mostly about people who used bad judgment and caused themselves serious injury or even their own deaths.  

Most tragedies occur when weather takes an unexpected turn for the worse, and hikers find themselves ill-prepared to face extreme conditions.  Kurt offered sound advice: buy the right equipment and know how to use it; take advantage of the latest technology; train in advance; and pay attention to your surroundings and be prepared to abort plans if it a storm begins to loom in the distance.  His last piece of advice was the most important -- Remember that summits are not guaranteed.  The goal is to have fun; the summit is optional.

As I listened I realized that I give similar advice to my clients: 

• Be prepared for future trends
• Watch your market and be prepared to change your strategy
• Use technology to drive efficiencies and know that profit margins are not guaranteed -  competitors can change everything.

I have my own stories of distress where business owners made bad judgments calls or were ill-prepared to conquer new markets.  For some of them, their decisions resulted in a fiscal loss and sometimes even financial death (bankruptcy).  Often, the cause of their failure was a lack of awareness of looming change in the business “climate” and an incapability to adjust their corporate strategy.

On the way home, my mind was filled with thoughts of comparisons between our two worlds: climbing mountains and consulting turnaround and growth companies.  Like in nature, creative destruction is constantly reshaping our business landscape.  As a result, companies cannot operate from a position of expected continuity.  Maybe tomorrow I should offer my clients another piece of sound advice:   Have fun while you can.  Your long-term business success is not guaranteed.