Of Rogue Waves and Leadership by Jodi Guerra

Don’t you want to just stand up and cheer? They made it. But it was far from over. They had landed on the side of the island that was uninhabited. They could sail around to the other side, but the ship was so battered by the storm that it was impossible to sail. After a few days of rest, Shackleton decided that he, Worsley and Crean would cross the interior of South Georgia, a journey of about 29 miles.

Now, this sounds very innocuous. After all, these guys have just crossed 800 miles of open ocean. What’s another 29 miles on land? The truth of the matter is that the interior of the island had NEVER been crossed before. The whalers thought it was impassable. No one had ever done it. Lansing describes South Georgia:

“A few of the peaks on South Georgia rise to somewhat less than 10,000 feet, which certainly is not high by mountain-climbing standards. But the interior of the island has been described by one expert as ‘a saw-tooth thrust through the tortured upheaval of mountain and glacier that falls in chaos to the northern sea.’ In short, it was impassable.”

(Lansing, 158)

Now, these guys are sailors and explorers, not mountain climbers. They didn’t have all the fancy equipment or materials. They had 90 feet of rope, an adze (which is a small ax) and some food supplies. Their clothes were worn. The carpenter put screws in the soles of the boots. That was it.They didn’t even carry sleeping bags.

It was a treacherous journey. Often they had to retrace their steps as they came to crevasses, sheer faces of glaciers, etc.

Late in the afternoon, they were stuck at about 4,500 feet. They would freeze to death at night. What could they do?

Here’s the story:

“After thirty minutes, the ice-hard surface of the snow grew softer, indicating that the grade was not quite so steep. Shackleton stopped short. He seemed to realize all at once the futility of what he was doing. At the rate they were going it would take hours to make the descent. Furthermore, it was probably too late to turn back.

“He hacked out a small platform with the adz, then called to the others to come down.

“There was no need to explain the situation. Speaking rapidly, Shackleton said simply that they faced a clear-cut choice: If they stayed where they were, they would freeze –in an hour, maybe two, maybe more. They had to get lower – and with all possible haste.“

So he suggested they slide.

“Worsley and Crean were stunned – especially for such an insane solution to be coming from Shackleton. But he wasn’t joking…he wasn’t even smiling. He meant it – and they knew it.

“But what if they hit a rock, Crean wanted to know.

“Could they stay where they were, Shackleton replied, his voice rising.

“The slope, Worsley argued. What if it didn’t level off? What if there were another precipice?

“Shackleton’s patience was going. Again, he demanded – could they stay where they were?

“Obviously they could not, and Worsley and Crean reluctantly were forced to admit it. Nor was there really any other way of getting down. And so the decision was made. Shackleton said they would slide as a unit, holding on to one another. They quickly sat down and untied the rope which held them.

“Altogether it took a little more than a minute, and Shackleton did not permit any time for reflection. When they were ready, he kicked off. In the next instant their hearts stopped beating. They seemed to hang poised for a split second, then suddenly the windwas shrieking in their ears, and a white blur of snow tore past. Down…down…They screamed – not in terror necessarily, but simply because they couldn’t help it. It was squeezed out of them by the rapidly mounting pressure in their ears and against their chests. Faster and faster – down…down…down!

“Then they shot forward onto the level, and their speed began to slacken. A moment later they came to an abrupt halt in a snowbank.

“The three men picked themselves up. They were breathless and their hearts were beating wildly. But they found themselves laughing uncontrollably. What had been a terrifying prospect possibly a hundred seconds before had turned into a breath-taking triumph.

“They looked up against the darkening sky and saw the fog curling over the edge of the ridges, perhaps 2,000 feet above them – and they felt that special kind of pride of a person who in a foolish moment accepts an impossible dare – then pulls it off to perfection.(Lansing, 266-268)

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The ship herself presented an appalling sight. Sixty-nine quarrelsome huskies were tied forward; several tons of coal were heaped on the deck midships; and up in the rigging hung a ton of whale meat for use as dog food. It dripped blood constantly, spattering the deck and keeping the dogs in a near frenzy of anticipation hoping a piece would fall.” (Lansing, 25)

“’It was more than tantalizing, it was maddening, ‘Shackleton at this time showed one of his sparks of real greatness. He did not rage at all, or show outwardly the slightest sign of disappointment; he told us simply and calmly that we must winter in the Pack, explained its dangers and possibilities; never lost his optimism, and prepared for Winter.’” (Alexander, 44)

“Danger is one thing, but danger plus extreme discomfort for long periods is quite another. Most people can put up with a big of danger – it adds something to the challenge – but no one likes discomfort.”

“’We all manage to live very happily here on board in spite of conflicting interests and the fact that most members are what one might term rather definite personalities and of somewhat different stations in life,’ wrote Orde-Lees, ever mindful of class distinctions. Yet, he continues,’ There is no real need to have quarrels of any kind with one’s comrades. Amongst gentlemen quarrels should be and can be avoided and there is no reason therefore why that should not be the case down here.’ This was a particularly generous statement, written as it was only a short time after Hussey and Hurley had emptied a handful of lentils into his open mouth while he slept, to stop his snoring.” (Alexander, 54)

“’On these fields we spent many a happy hour,’ Macklin said. ‘All hands used to turn out and showed the greatest keenness; we were all in the pink of condition; the keen air gave an additional fillip, and the amount of energy expended was prodigious.’”

(Morrell, 111)

“The Billabong [cabin] has an atmosphere poetic. Macklin in his bunk is writing poetical verses, and I am doing the same. McIlroy is arranging a décolleté dancing rig, whilst Uncle Hussey is being beset by applicants to rehearse accompaniments on his banjo.” Written by Frank Hurley, the photographer (Morrell, 5)

“From the sentimental point of view, it is the last great Polar journey that can be made.

It will be a greater journey than the journey to the Pole and back, and I feel it is up to

the British nation to accomplish this, for we have been beaten at the conquest of the

North Pole and beaten at the conquest of the South Pole. There now remains the largest

and most striking of all journeys – the crossing of the Continent.” (Alexander, p.9)

“In appearance, the Endurance was beautiful by any standard. She was a barkentine – three masts, of which the forward one was square-rigged, while the after two carried fore-and-aft sails, like a schooner. She was powered by coal-fired, 350-hp steam engine, capable of driving her at speeds of up to 10.2 knots. She measured 144 feet over-all, with a 25-foot beam, which was not overbig, but big enough. And though her sleek black hull looked from the outside like that of any other vessel of a comparable size, it was not.

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“Her keel members were four pieces of solid oak, one above the other, adding up to a total thickness of 7 feet, 1inch. Her sides were made from oak and Norwegian mountain fir, and they varied in thickness from about 18 inches to more than 2 ½ feet. Outside this planking, to keep her from being chafed by the ice, there was a sheathing from stem to stern of greenheart, a wood so heavy it weighs more than solid iron and so tough that it cannot be worked with ordinary tools. Her frames were not only doublethick, ranging from 9 ¼ to 11 inches, but they were double in number, compared with a conventional vessel.

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“Her bow, where she would meet the ice head on, had received special attention. Each of the timbers there had been fashioned from a single oak tree especially selected so that its natural growth followed the curve of her design. When assembled, these pieces had a total thickness of 4 feet, 4 inches.” (Lansing, 17-18)

In the perfect complement to his groundbreaking first book, Superperformance, Dave Guerra examines the world’s most successful CEOs, unveiling a priceless set of 15 unconventional distinctions in an unmistakable portrait of servant leadership in action.

Release Date: Fall 2009

Find It Online At: www.amazon.com

Learn More about Servant Leadership and Superperformance at the 19th Annual International Servant Leadership