The Race to the South Pole: Presented to Baldwin Wallace University and the Northeast Ohio Chapter of PMI by Lessons in Leadership Richard Brenner Principal, Chaco Canyon Consulting on November 7, 2019 The Race to the South Pole: Headlines (2) Lessons in Leadership • Pet projects can be a risk to the enterprise presented to • Leader’s role: expressing purpose, being Kerzner Lecture Series International Project Management Day passionate about it, listening, forging Baldwin Wallace University consensus, making the big decisions PMI Northeast Ohio Chapter November 7, 2019 • The bad news: much of this matters most for by high-risk projects Rick Brenner • Exploit situational momentum Chaco Canyon Consulting •To leaders: Building State-of-the-Art Teamwork • Deliver the headline first • Deliver the bad news first In Problem-Solving Organizations [email protected] | @RickBrenner | @TechDebtPolicy ChacoCanyon.com | TechDebtPolicy.com 1 4 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Our objective Download To get: • Learn about leadership by examining the race to the South Pole • These slides with working links, and • British: large, well-funded • Annotated bibliography and filmography • Norwegian: smaller, nearly insolvent financially https://c4i.co/3b1 • Comparison reveals important insights • Axes of comparison: • Objectives & outcomes • Overland transport •Strategies • Team dynamics • People and culture • Quality control • Equipment & technology • Risk management • Navigation • Errors and recovery •Scurvy • Financing & politics 2 5 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Headlines (1) The challenge • Reaching the pole was a high-risk project • Simplicity is critical for managing risk • Sometimes success depends on risking your What they were own reputation actually trying to do • Especially for high-risk projects, team culture matters South Pole • Choose your mentor(s) wisely • Have coaches who know how to guide you 3 6 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner [email protected] Subscribe to Point Lookout: http://www.ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout Chaco Canyon Consulting www.ChacoCanyon.com Page 1 The Race to the South Pole: Presented to Baldwin Wallace University and the Northeast Ohio Chapter of PMI by Lessons in Leadership Richard Brenner Principal, Chaco Canyon Consulting on November 7, 2019 Source: NASA, Intelligent Systems Division Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station Antarctica composite November 5, 2019 South Pole Temperature: -41°C-42°F Wind Chill: -56°C-68°F Source: webcam 7 10 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Antarctica from space State of Antarctic exploration in 1910 0º Unknown South Pole Known Shackleton de Gerlache Cape Evans Nimrod 1907-09 Belgica 1898 Framheim Source: NASA 180º Scott Discovery 8 1901-04 …and many more 11 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station 2006 Objectives & outcomes What each team had to accomplish to achieve its goals Terra Nova at the ice edge Photo: Herbert Ponting Source: Scott’s Last Expedition Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station when near completion NSF/USAP photo, January 2006 9 12 Copyright ©2019 2019 Richard Richard Brenner Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner [email protected] Subscribe to Point Lookout: http://www.ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout Chaco Canyon Consulting www.ChacoCanyon.com Page 2 The Race to the South Pole: Presented to Baldwin Wallace University and the Northeast Ohio Chapter of PMI by Lessons in Leadership Richard Brenner Principal, Chaco Canyon Consulting on November 7, 2019 Summary of British objectives The outcomes (spoiler alert) •Norwegians: • Reach the Pole first, get back to base alive, and report • Reached pole 14 Dec 1911 (56 days; 12.6 m/d) success first • Returned 26 Jan 1912 (98 days; 15.0 m/d) • Explore what we now know as • Staged in 5- to 6-hour days when traveling Marie Byrd Land and Victoria Land •British: • Prove value of motor sledges • 400 new plant, animal, and fossil specimens • Study embryo development in • Reached pole 17 Jan 1912 (76 days; 10.1 m/d) Emperor Penguins • Staged in 8+ hour days when traveling • Collect mineralogical and • Three bodies located 12 Nov 1912 near 80º South biological samples • Two others had died along the way; never found • Collect climatological data • Get Admiral’s braid for Scott The puzzle: What accounts for the Photo: Jenouvrier @ WHOI / IPEV Woods difference in outcomes of the pole parties? Hole Oceanographic Institution 13 16 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Summary of Norwegian objectives Insights about objectives • Reach the Pole first, get back to base alive, • High-risk projects often contain surprises and report success first • Multiple surprises can lead to failure • Keeping things simple can limit the incidence of surprises • Don’t push it. Comfortable margins are necessary. Simplicity is a way to limit the risks that need managing Source: Amundsen, The South Pole 14 17 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner From Amundsen’s journal Strategies “Our plan is one, one and again one alone–to reach the Action plans and pole. For that goal, I have policies they used King Edward VII decided to throw everything to achieve their Land else aside.” objectives Amundsen in winter costume Source: Amundsen, The South Pole 15 18 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner [email protected] Subscribe to Point Lookout: http://www.ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout Chaco Canyon Consulting www.ChacoCanyon.com Page 3 The Race to the South Pole: Presented to Baldwin Wallace University and the Northeast Ohio Chapter of PMI by Lessons in Leadership Richard Brenner Principal, Chaco Canyon Consulting on November 7, 2019 Basic strategy for both Amundsen: Use what works • Travel by ship to Ross Ice Shelf boundary • Amundsen ignored conventional wisdom • Land all supplies and build base camp • Relied on evidence: • Pre-position supplies at a series of depots • Nutrition: fresh food, fiber •Winter over • Navigation: latest methods and multiple navigators • Mount assault in Spring • Manage people through loyalty • Return by end of Summer • Transport: dogs and ski Depot • Make plans: Depot Depot • No plan is perfect • Review all plans repeatedly Base Camp Pole • Replan based on evidence • Identify and manage risks 19 22 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Scott: Follow conventional wisdom Amundsen: Exploit situational momentum • Applied Royal Navy methods: • Exploiting situational momentum means: •Nutrition • Navigation: naval methods for lower latitudes Use the elements of the situation • Manage people through command and control to your advantage rather than • Transport: “Man-hauling” is virtuous overcoming or defeating the situation • Also use ponies, motor sledges, and a few dogs • Motor sledges were a pet project of Scott’s • Amundsen used situational momentum • Make plans • Scott tried to overcome the situation • All plans are perfect •Examples: • Not subjected to review •Night travel • Rely on talented improvisation to fill any minor • Food for beasts of burden gaps • Canine coprophagia 20 23 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Motor Sledge Planking to protect the ice Frederick Cook Robert Peary Photo: Brown Bros Photo: Benjamin Hampton Source: The World’s Work, Source: Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, “Taking the ill-fated motor-sledge off the Photo: Herbert Ponting 1909, via Wikipedia Bowdoin College, via Wikipedia Terra Nova, Antarctica, 8 January 1911” Source: Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand 21 24 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner [email protected] Subscribe to Point Lookout: http://www.ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout Chaco Canyon Consulting www.ChacoCanyon.com Page 4 The Race to the South Pole: Presented to Baldwin Wallace University and the Northeast Ohio Chapter of PMI by Lessons in Leadership Richard Brenner Principal, Chaco Canyon Consulting on November 7, 2019 Read: How to Make Amundsen was scooped Two routes to the pole Good Guesses: Strategy • Amundsen had been planning a North Pole Wellington expedition Ross Ice Shelf is the size of • Had some funding France • Scooped in 1909: both Cook and Peary claimed they had reached the pole Scott’s Base Amundsen’s Base King Edward VII • Announced that instead of the North Pole he Land would do scientific exploration in the Arctic Transantarctic • Secretly redirected his expedition to South Mountains Pole New Orleans Calcutta London Map (cc) Soerfm 25 Source: Wikipedia 28 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Take away your opponent’s Amundsen’s secret plan greatest asset Scott in polar gear Photo: Herbert Ponting Christiania (Oslo) Source: Alexander Turnbull Library via Wikipedia Madeira Map (cc) NuclearVacuum Source: Wikipedia Amundsen in winter costume Source: Amundsen, The South Pole 26 29 Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Copyright © 2019 Richard Brenner Scott: Make up rules that favor you Strategy insights • Scott claimed personal ownership of • Use conventional wisdom as a guide, not a McMurdo Sound environs as base camp constraint • There was no such law • Use what works • Advantage: • Exploit situational momentum • Access to a