In Deep Survival (2003, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.), Laurence Gonzales

illuminates the essence of a true survivor.

By dissecting stories of impossible survival -- and unnecessary loss -- from

avalanches, plane crashes, and even 9/11, he shows how accidents are not

random acts and how people can prevent them from happening to them.

The following are a few of the many relevant business leadership lessons...

seek out new stimuli

“Stress erodes the ability to perceive…You see less, hear less, miss more

cues from the environment, and make mistakes…Stress causes most

people to focus narrowly on the thing that they consider most important,

and it may be the wrong thing.”

challenge yourself and others

“Group dynamics can be a powerful motivator…Experienced climbers

may be reluctant to challenge others with experience, and the same is true

in any other pursuit. Going into a risky operation, doctors won’t challenge

doctors…cops won’t challenge cops…The design of the human condition

makes it easy for us to conceal the obvious from ourselves, especially

under strain and pressure.”

don’t trust the rock

“All mountains are in a state of continuous

collapse…[They] have skirts of scree and boulders

that show it. In that deepest place of belief, it’s

easy to persist in thinking that the mountain is solid.”

land the plane, not the model

“There is a tendency to make a plan and then to worship [it.]”

wait to celebrate

“Those climbers, like most, celebrated reaching the summit… They felt

that the action was over…Their focus had been sharp in the goal-

seeking phase. Now it grew blurry…They were celebrating when they

had the worst part of the climb ahead of them.”

be wary of “emotional bookmarks”

“When a decision must be made instantly, it is made through a system of

emotional bookmarks…The pleasant feelings we’ve experienced while

doing something in the past overshadow warnings and cues not to do it

again now.”

be here now

“Pay attention and keep an up-to-date mental

model…To admit reality and work with it is to accept it.”

The research suggests five general stages in the process a person goes

through when lost.

1. You deny you’re disoriented and press on with growing urgency,

attempting to make your mental map fit what you see.

2. As you realize that you’re genuinely lost, the urgency blossoms into a full-

scale survival emergency. Clear thought becomes impossible and action

becomes frantic, unproductive, even dangerous.

3. Usually following injury or exhaustion, you expend the chemicals of

emotion and form a strategy for finding some place that matches the

mental map.

4. You deteriorate both rationally and emotionally, as the strategy fails to

resolve the conflict.

5. As you run out of options and energy, you must become resigned to your

plight. Like it or not, you must make a new mental map of where you

are…To survive, you must find yourself.

make a new mental map

take responsibility

“Expecting someone else to take responsibility for your well-being can

be fatal…Survival is a transformation; being a leader can ensure that,

when you reach the final stage of that metamorphosis, it is with an

attitude of commitment, not resignation.”

use your fear

“Survival is not about bravery and heroics…by definition,

survivors must live. Survivors aren’t fearless. They use fear: they

turn it into anger and focus.”

denise lee yohn

deniseleeyohn.com

image credits where available:

•tunnel -- Mark Simmons•lemmings – Josh Neuman•polar bear – paulcooperblandplease contact me if you have info about image sources.