Business and Life Lessons from the race to the South Pole in 1911

What would you think if a pro mountain climber had been preparing for months to climb the Aconcagua peak in South America and suddenly changed his mind from one day to the next and decides to climb Mount Everest instead?

This man has to be deranged, true? Something similar happened in actual life in 1910, but instead of mountains and peaks, explorers were rushing to be the “Numero Unos” to reach the North and South pole, which at the moment were the most prized discoveries, comparable to the race to the moon in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Explorer Roald Amundsen from Norway was on his way to the North Pole when he found out that another explorer had beaten him to it and suddenly made a secret decision to head to the South Pole, telling no one except his right hand-man of the expedition. Amundsen wanted glory and fame and in the South Pole there was only one competitor, a British expedition led by Robert Scott.

Amundsen’s move was not totally insane because his expedition had received funding and was ready and trained, but the funny thing is that his crew did not know he had headed to the South Pole until they reached the island of Madeira which is when he told them that they were headed for something even bigger, Antartica.

Why was Amundsen being so secretive? For two reasons: On the one hand, he had worked incredibly hard to secure funding for his North Pole expedition and he felt it would be totally acceptable to the Norwegian crown and investors if he came home with a First to the South Pole claim instead of the North Pole which was no longer attainable. And the second big reason is that he did not want to alert other competitors including the Robert Scott Expedition which he finally ended up informing them on the way to Antartica via Telegram.

THE RACE TO THE SOUTH POLE WAS ON

The Norwegian expedition led by Amundsen and the Scott expedition could not be more different in their approaches, sizes of their teams, gear, and preparation. The British expedition went to Antartica not only to try to reach the South Pole first but was also a scientific expedition so it was more elaborate, bigger and perhaps more entangled. On the other hand, the Norwegian expedition had one single focus, to reach the South Pole before any other human.

There were multiple reasons why Amundsen’s expedition was more effective than Scott’s. The Norwegian explorer took polar dogs with very light sleds instead of motorized sleds and mules minimizing the change of having men pull their own sleds. All five explorers in Amundsen’s expeditions were highly skilled cross-country skiers, and wore similar clothes as the Inuit tribes from the North Pole where they had spent years training during their multiple previous expeditions to the Arctic. Amundsen and his crew also had the courage to try a different route with no previous record which was very gutsy, but the most important difference was his planning and consistent and gradual daily approach to their destination. No matter the weather, no matter the crew’s spirit and conditions of the day, the approach was simple and consistent. Advance one quarter of a degree to the destination which amounted roughly to about 15 miles per day.

After 54 days and 700 miles Roald Amundsen and his men found themselves in the southernmost point of planet earth which is 90 degrees exactly south of the equator and finally reached their goal of being the first humans to ever accomplish such a feat. The key to their accomplishment was their constant gradual charge towards their destination which not only allowed them to get to the South Pole first but also of making the return trip of 700 miles back to their base sound and healthy to tell the tale. Unfortunately, the Scott expedition was 34 days late to the South Pole and tragically all members of the expedition died on their return trip due to a combination of bad weather, frostbite, hypothermia, and bad tactics.

The race to the South pole is an example of two completely different strategies to reach a similar goal. One very successful and the other one tragically unsuccessful. There are a lot critics about some Amundsen’s tactics used during his expedition like sacrificing all of their dogs for food or his obsession to be the first to reach the south pole. Like him or not, the end result is that his tactics worked and he and his men achieved something simply amazing.

THE KEY TO AMUNDSEN’ S SUCCESS.

There were a lot of factors that played favorably for Amundsen but perhaps the key lesson to learn from his achievement is the discipline to only go 15 miles a day even during days that the body and mind of his men could go way further. There were days when his men were resting in their tents for more than 12 hours in keeping with their original plan of consistently moving one quarter of a degree daily towards their goal. Their consistency and discipline in good or bad weather days was what made it possible for them to reach their coveted destination.

HOW DO I APPLY CONSISTENCY IN MY LIFE?

If I look back throughout my personal and professional life, I would have to agree that consistency has been a big part of my wellbeing and whatever success I have been able to garner. Today, I can safely say that I am the happiest that I have ever been in my career and big part of the stage where I find myself has been through the good habits that I have been able to acquire and the actions that I have been able to consistently take in my career. It is the daily, consistent and to a certain degree predictable daily interactions with my team members, clients, and professional relationships that I believe has made the difference.

MY BIG C

If I have to take one page out of Amundsen's book of success to his South Pole expedition, it has to be his consistency. And perhaps this could be more aspirational in my case but my consistency plan is to continue to create CONTENT so I can continue to share my ideas and experiences on a consistent basis, therefore touching more people and perhaps make a bigger impact with my clients and friends. We are all rewarded by more clients, more revenue and more profit but at the end of the day and in my case, I will be even happier, If I can consistently share my ideas and experiences which I know will eventually bring in more revenue and business success. If I can consistently advance one quarter of a degree towards my destination of sharing my ideas and my experiences — just like Roald Amundsen did, I know I will succeed.

And will be singing my dad's favorite tune from Brazilian crooner, Roberto Carlos, " Eu so quero ter um millhão de Amigos- I just want to have a million friends.

THE BIG C FOR TEAM-BUILDERS AND LEADERS:

Having a clear goal and a clear action plan towards that goal is a must when involving and leading teams. The lesson taught by Amundsen about inching forward slowly, steady and consistently is more powerful and more proactive than changing your strategy and CULTURE constantly. Effective team builders and business leaders have to be in tune with the realities of the market and clients, but most importantly they should foster a CULTURE that is consistent throughout the ups and downs of the market. A plan of action that is consistent with all stakeholders and primarily team members. Effective team-builders and leaders know and recognize when to sprint and when to steadily move the ball forward towards the goal. This leadership trait is critical especially now when every worker is hyper-connected and there doesn’t seem to be any limit as to the amount of hours an employee could be connected and continue to work. Team-builders and effective business leaders must foster a work-life balance culture with the primary objective of protecting the goose that consistently lays the proverbial golden egg daily. One golden egg per day is enough to reach a leader’s goal and asking for more is killing the goose plain and simple. And Amundsen understood this very well, that in order to reach the South Pole and make it back healthy to tell the tale, the approach needed to be balanced without compromising the health of the team and not be suicidal. Fostering a consistent culture regardless of quarterly pressures should be paramount and the BIG C for business leaders.

THE BIG C FOR FUTURE LEADERS & PRO's.

There are many lessons to learn from an adventurer and explorer like Amundsen’s but I would have to go back to the consistency principle that he used in the South Pole expedition for young professionals and professionals that want to own their careers and have control of their professional destiny. If there is one area that I would encourage future leaders to be consistent with would be with their relationship-building and CONNECTIONS. The worst mistake that professionals could make any time in their careers is to stop building relationships outside of their ecosystem