Before Making the Move

Ever regret hitting the full throttle pedal?

It was a typical 14er day (14,000ft mountain hike). Our usual hiking crew met at 6:00am to drive to the trailhead.

The road up to the trailhead was one and a quarter-lane wide, with a steep drop off. Think your car will flip several times if you lost the tire edge. Was it even a road? It was packed gravel with massive potholes where water washed through. We prayed that another car was not coming down while we drove up.

Thankful that day my friend was the driver. I was already on edge going up, and we hadn't even started the hike yet. The trailhead parking lot was on a 45-degree embankment. A few more prayers that the emergency brake held!

We gathered our gear and hit the trail. Winding around one side of the mountain through deep trees and switchbacks. Tranquil to be in an area with no cell coverage or technology beeping or chirping at you. Just fresh air and heavy breathing while our legs moved.

We crossed from one side over a small ridge to the other side of the mountain. The trail transitioned into a large boulder field where we navigated rocks the size of cars and trucks. Despite being 9am, we noticed cloud cover coming in.

A few other hikers were coming back down the mountains, and we inquired what the weather looked like from the summit. Lightning and pitch-black clouds. Looks like the storm is headed southeast, not due east where we are.

With eyes wide open - each of us highly trained hikers knows that lightning is why we hike super early. We were above tree line and thus completely exposed to any elements. Rain or hail didn't bother us. Hit by lightning is a very different story.

This one piece of information changed the entire context for how we proceeded. Time to reassess conditions.

A boardroom meeting discussion ensued on the side of the mountain. After all, our lives are on the line, and no one wants to be involved in a rescue situation.

What was our hiking speed?

What's each other's safety risk?

Can the team move safely in the time window? It would be at least an hour to hit the summit and return to where we were currently standing.

Half the group, who were fast hikers, went while the other half agreed to return and wait at a rendezvous point. No one was left alone.

Highly perceptive leaders are masters at seeing multiple patterns at once. The key is to discern between it all:

Urgency versus direction
What's a necessary disruption to avoid destabilization?

The key here was understanding the structure before accelerating forward. We must always build roots that are deeper and stronger than the growth ahead. Otherwise, we topple over or build the wrong thing. That's applied discernment TM.

The same weather pattern hit the next day. Over ten people were struck by lightning on Mt Bierstadt outside Denver and did not heed the warning. The prior day we made the right decision.

It’s easy to get an insight, idea, and run full throttle building the innovation or starting the project. A moment of clarity does not require immediate acceleration. Always stabilize the structure and then move.

What emerging idea or opportunity deserves structure so you sustain it for the long haul?

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