Two steps to Ascending the Summit

June 9th, 2010

Based on Resolute Adventures: Ascending the Summit….
How Mountaineering Prepares for Entrepreneurial Success

Grace W. Ueng

By Grace W. Ueng

Grace W. Ueng, Founder and CEO of Savvy Marketing Group was recently invited by North Carolina State University’s Industrial Extension Service to share her insights regarding business management and entrepreneurship. All proceeds from her online lecture will benefit placing NCSU students into engineering internships.

“Grace’s decades of experience as a marketing leader both in house and as an advisor came to life in her insightful “Ten Steps to Reach the Top”, said Jennifer Capps, of the NC State Entrepreneurship Initiative. “We decided her pragmatic framework would have wide appeal, so we will be making it available online for full time, part time and continuing education students across the nation.”

The seminar was based on her publication “Resolute Ventures: Ascending the Summit…How Mountaineering Prepares for Entrepreneurial Success“.

The topic was inspired by Ueng’s research of entrepreneurs who succeeded in ascending the seven summits and in their businesses as well.

Bring your vision to reality

“In my research of those who have successfully reached the top, I realized that there are many corollaries between successful entrepreneurial ventures and summit ascension,” said Ueng. “By thoughtfully reflecting through each of these steps, you can increase your chances to bring your vision to reality.”

In the seminar, Ueng discussed how leadership on the mountain can be translated into business success. “Summit ascenders have many similarities to entrepreneurs,” said Ueng.

“They generate the energetic vision that excites others to join, know how to choose the right teammates, commit to goals and strategies, and pursue an action plan. Like summit ascenders, entrepreneurs need to get correct resources and investors, avoid danger, make good use of media, and choose the right time to ascend.”

Can leadership on the mountain translate into business success? How, when and why do mountaineers go on to be successful entrepreneurs? Is it important to have reached the literal summit or is it the preparation and the journey that give rise to proven leaders?

Step 1: Visioning. Includes the recognition that a powerful vision is compelling. It energizes the visionary and enables them to excite others to participate. The group dream.

In working with companies, one of the first questions I ask is “What is your Vision and Mission?” We are often asked to facilitate vision and mission messaging sessions for management teams. It is critical that your team can articulate this in order to keep in their mind daily as well as to be able to share with external key constituencies.

Companies often use the terms “vision” and “mission” interchangeably as starting points for the foundation of their enterprise – from which overall strategy, business and marketing planning including the unique selling proposition, category, and tagline are derived.

VISION: A vision statement is what the enterprise wants to become. THINK LONG TERM, BIG PICTURE.

MISSION: A mission statement concerns what an enterprise is all about. THINK HOW GOING ON A MISSION.

A mission statement answers three key questions:

What do we do?
For whom do we do it?
What is the benefit?

Step 2: Choosing Teammates: Ones that fill the team from a critical skill set and personality standpoint. A quality group that supports the common vision, provides needed feedback, and implicitly trusts one another.

I often say you know you have a key teammate when added to an existing member they make 1+1 = 3. Successful leaders are those who have a good gut to make good hiring decisions and have the skills to recruit successfully by espousing the group dream and attracting great people to follow.

One noted CEO I worked for could pick out his key hire from a stack of resumes by optimizing on a particular trait he wanted that hire to possess. Then, he would validate the hiring decision within a few minutes of the initial meeting. I was shocked when he hired me so quickly, but then I learned he had done that with all of the rest of our executive team.

Things move so fast in an early stage venture – so one must be open and honest – teammates must trust each other for the greater good.

To reach the top of the mountain, who you bring with you is make or break.

People are the most important ingredient. In order to know who you should add, ask yourself what are your key strengths? What areas do you need to bring in talent to compensate your opportunity areas? Surround yourself with the best and brightest. Those who can teach you something and complement your existing team line up – fill in gap areas.

In addition to finding teammates, often a founder decides to bring on a partner to help share the journey – to carry the load and to brainstorm in order to forge new paths.

Choosing the right business partner is almost as difficult as finding one’s true life partner – a husband or wife. Many also choose to start a company without a co-founder. Regardless, in order to scale the summit to reach the top, the founder will need a management team just as a mountain ascender needs teammates. Share your venture’s vision with all who consider joining and make sure they are on board for both the good times and the challenges of the adventure.

Not everyone can be expert at all things. Know your strengths and supplement your opportunity areas. Surround yourself with strong people. A team is only as strong as its weakest link.

Feedback is a gift – make sure that each is open to giving and receiving the gift of feedback with an open and nurturing heart.

Finally, I cannot overemphasize the importance of trust. How can you build trust? Leading by example – show traits of dependability, honesty and openness.

Implicit trust is critical for teammates. It is earned by validation over time. True trust is priceless.

Finally, I say simply to Do the Right Thing! Ever since Spike Lee came to my film school class in NYC over two decades ago, the title of his movie has became my life mantra.

This is the first of a series of posts by Grace Ueng on Ascending the Summit.

A noted author, consultant, speaker and teacher, Ms. Ueng is the founder and CEO of Savvy Marketing Group, a leading consulting firm, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC offering Resolute Ventures and Chief and Crew for Hire services. She and her team work closely with new ventures within Fortune 500 companies as well as later stage ventures maximize their chances for success.

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Two steps to Ascending the Summit

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