Using the Outward Bound Model in the Office

As a Program Director for the Baltimore Outward Bound Center I often told students that their expedition doesn't truly begin until you go home. Our agency served thousands of students a year and took most of them on five or ten day wilderness expeditions. We would hike the Appalachian Trail, canoe the Potomac River and traverse the streets of Baltimore, MD.

"Outward Bound" is a nautical term that means a ship is leaving safe harbor. It is when the security of the people and places you know and love are somewhere on the other side of the horizon. I used a moment at the end of their program to remind them that it's easy to tackle the world’s problems from the top of a mountain or around a campfire in the wilderness. It's the implementation though of those moments of clarity that matter. To truly utilize what you learned on your Outward Bound course you need to be able to transfer the knowledge you gained into the real world.

The same can be said for the corporate world. Most of the executives and management staff that I have had the opportunity to work with in the wilderness setting will tell you than an Outward Bound expedition is not all that different from the corporate world. There are people that are in your crew trying to complete the expedition with you. You have a place you are trying to get to together over a certain amount of time and often difficult terrain. You can only carry some much stuff in your pack. And no matter what happens, someone always burns dinner along the way.

So as a leader or executive, understanding the Outward Bound process will help you to facilitate and navigate the journey for your team. The good news is that are only a few things to remember when utilizing this theory/process.

First, Outward Bound generally breaks their groups up into what are called crews or watches. These crews include no more than 10 or 12 people. The course instructors encourage and teach the crew members to be incredibly self-reliant in a stressful environment that causes the group to experience some sort of dis-equilibrium. This lack of balance is introduced through the physical environment (ocean, mountains, desert, river, etc.) or the emotional one (problem solving activities, facilitate challenges, solo experience).  

Keep your project teams and work groups small. No more than 10 or 12 folks assigned to any one large task. And keep a "facilitator's" distance. Make sure they know you are there to assist but let them come up with possible routes, solutions and ideas.

Second, the Outward Bound model is based on the philosophy that there is "more in a person" than they often believe. Entrepreneurs and corporate executives should know that by providing goals to staff that force them to stretch just the right amount leads to growth, job satisfaction and usually a healthier balance sheet.

Look for goals and objectives that will push your employees. You want them to seek out new information, new relationships and most importantly new perspectives. If they understand that others in their small group have different skill sets and different assets they will be more likely to engage their colleagues as peers and resources rather than competitors.

Lastly, the OB model requires you to stop, reflect and when appropriate to celebrate. Let your staff and employees know that they have succeeded, that the summit has been achieved. On my Outward Bound expeditions we would plan a more exciting meal one evening, schedule to be somewhere for a great sunset or sunrise as a group, cache some supplies for an impromptu celebration in the woods or other treats along the route.

You need to schedule and be responsible for celebrating when your staff is successful. Look for ways to tell them that they are doing a great job. Bring coffee back to the office for everyone. Schedule an office game or two on a Friday afternoon for them to play. Find a time to meet outside of work for a baseball game, mini golf or an intense game of lazertag.

Most importantly though remember that you are the instructor and facilitator for your crew. Ultimately you are responsible for your crew’s performance and safety. You need to know where you are on the map, what you're going to do if a storm suddenly rolls in, or if the food gets left behind. What if someone gets hurt? Where can you bail out on this river? Are your crew members asking each other the right questions? Are they having fun while they are learning and growing?

While this is an overly simplified metaphor as to how the OB process can help you in the business world the parallels are there for a reason. Hundreds of thousands of young, old, poor, rich, white, black, male, female, able bodied and otherwise participants have found success and something special by experiencing Outward Bound or some other experiential activity.

Good luck in exploring your process and remember that there is more in you than you think.

Music festivals and corporate strategies, one in the same

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to have been a part of a special live musical experience called the Lightning Bug Music Festival (http://www.lightningbugmusicfestival.org/). It was a crazy, special, pixie-dust filled fundraiser that started the ball rolling for a lot of people with some really great business ideas.

That's not the story here though. This story is about my friend George. Well, it's more about what George stands for and represents on this particular day for me. He is an incredibly well respected lawyer in our community and is continually recognized as someone who makes a positive difference in people's lives. He is part of the world that I exist in these days: government buildings, planning meetings, contract negotiations, networking events, service club luncheons, etc. He is not part of the world that I had previously enjoyed: late bar nights, road trips, concerts, boozing in some guy's basement or man cave in the wee hours of the morning.

At the festival that day I saw something I'd never thought I see in George. He was walking through the grass towards the stage and our eyes caught each other. He was glowing. I mean he was absolutely radiant. He had that ruddy red look on his face like he had been out in the sun a little too long. He probably had enough to drink that his wife was definitely driving home and his face had this smile that stretched his cheek muscles out so you knew it would hurt tomorrow in his jaw. He comes toward me with an outstretched hand and that gorgeous twinkle and says, "Walter! Why aren't you doing this here every weekend!" You have to understand that this is the first festival our little park had seen in some years and it was a big deal.

He shared with me how much he enjoyed the day and how our department needed to host events like this more often. He made sure I understood that these things were important in our community. As I said goodbye to George and began to look around the crowd I noticed the collision of universes that was happening for me at that very moment.  All of the people I work with and for: the business owners, the park users, local families, corporate executives and their associates were all dancing and drinking with a group of ratty hippies in shoe-less outfits with hula hoops that wouldn't be too appreciated at my weekly Rotary lunch. And that is when it struck me: my job had become my passion. My vocation was my avocation as I sometimes say.

I soon realized that it wasn't really that hard to get there. I only had to put together three things: good people, good intentions and a little prep work before hand.

People are first and foremost all the time no matter what the objective. Either at a festival or in a business venture making sure that you are with the right crowd is paramount. Heading off to four days at Coachella or Lollapalooza with a bunch of folks that make you wretch is a horrid idea. So make sure that if you are hiring someone, looking for a job or putting together a task force for that next big project, ensure that the people you are going to the "show" with are the ones you really want to be eating parking lot burritos with later.

Next, make sure that you are going (or hiring that person, or firing that person for that matter) for the right reasons. I once hired someone even though every other member of my team was against it. I knew that this guy had the skills that we needed in our organization. Unfortunately my staff all wanted another "yes" person that they were already friends with that wouldn't teach them or question them. In the end it worked out great and the whole group was glad that I made the decision.

The same was true when I went to a New Year's Eve show for the wrong reasons. I went to go chase a girl and ended up not enjoying the show at all. In fact, we had tickets for the next night and ended up selling them because we realized it wasn't what we really wanted to be doing. In both situations: work or at a festival you will enjoy it more if you are doing it because you enjoy being there.

And of course in either world, musically or professionally a little bit of prep work goes a long way. Is it going to be scorching hot all day? Will there be food and water there? Will it be outrageously expensive? Do you have to pay for parking? Do we have all the right resources for our project? Does the timeline seem reasonable? Are we prepared for the eventual hiccups that always occur? Are our goals reasonable? Have we talked with our customers, clients and other stakeholders about what success looks like or what the deliverable's are? Did we put it all in writing? The time spent on looking at logistics and details will save you energy in the end and will ensure that the pleasure of the event itself is appreciated.

So yes, work and business can and should be fun. So go ahead, grab your blanket, lawn chair, picnic basket or whatever else you take to a music fest in your world and instead bring them to your office. If you have the right people, intentions and a little forethought your entire team will be dancing like no is watching. And if you are really lucky George and his wife will be sitting next to you.