On March 17, employees from BNI participated in experiential team building activity Peak Performance. The activity was held in the city of the Hue in central Vietnam home to the vast, 19th-century Đại Nội Citadel, surrounded by a moat and thick stone walls which encompasses the Imperial City, with palaces and shrines. Thu Ngo who participated on the day shares his experiences.
Taking the Role of Expedition Leader
"Recently, BNI LT mission, we participated in a hypothetical Everest climbing game, called Peak Performance. It was an amazing experience that has lived on in our minds since the activity. We learned many lessons during the activity that can be applied to building a successful business.
Mount Everest is the target of many elite climbers in the world. Located at an altitude of over 8,000 m, it has extremely harsh weather conditions. As the climb progresses even breathing becomes extremely difficult. We were faced with the challenge - How to successful guide climbers up Mount Everest to summit and return again to base camp.
When climbing Everest, the first thing is that you can't climb alone. You need the support of a team of people. In the Peak Performance game there are 8 roles including calculating routes, tracking weather, moving, tracking points, pitching tents and so forth. For a climber to successfully summit, expedition coordinating team need to understand weather conditions, have a flexible plan, carry enough food and water. They also need supplies such as oxygen tanks and tents.
Along the way we had a few hiccups. Leo, the guide, lost the tent and had to return to base camp to retrieve another. Another guest ran out of oxygen! Oops. On a fourth attempt we didn't calculate enough steps and didn't make it into camp - he froze on the way!"
Key Lessons Learned - Building Successful Enterprises
Building a successful business is like coordinating a trip to climb Everest. We were challenged to consider - what is our Mount Everest? What is our goal? How can we share this vision to the team? Along the journey how do we keep focus on that vision each day, month and year? It is important to have a flexible plan. Like the weather forecasts and planning where to camp we need to consistently assess the market, forecast risks and have agile appropriate strategies in business. Equipping the team financially, putting the right systems in place, organising the right marketing and sales strategy is just like having the right amount of equipment to summit like tents, oxygen tanks and food. Determining who to take on the expedition is like selecting the right team members in a business. Allocating roles is imperative to success. Just like assigning who will carry tents, oxygen tanks, calculate the weather and set up camp, in business each team member must have the right skill set including soft skills to complete the tasks but also to fit the team dynamic.
Certainly the next time we play, we will play better, thanks to our experience. And now in business we can be mindful of how we play the game.
