Behind the Business Card
Why “ICE" as a menu item on a business website? Consulting is rightly called "people's business" - establishing trust is one of the first and most important steps in consulting and coaching. Trust comes from opening up to others, sharing experiences and information and giving the other person the opportunity to get to know the person "behind the business card".
I have always been fascinated by the world of icebergs and oceans. I was particularly influenced by trips to Antarctica (2010, 2020), Iceland (2016) and the Arctic (2017) - overwhelming nature, many thousands of years old, eternal ice, a calm sea in different shades of blue paired with absolute silence: this made me humble and open to changes of perspective and new paths.
Furthermore, numerous expressions and metaphors for communication (and thus with my daily business) are connected to "ice": breaking the ice, being caught ice cold, moving on thin ice, putting something on ice, melting the ice, leading onto the black ice, political ice age ... and so on. Not to forget the famous "iceberg model" about the conscious and unconscious perception filters that we have to keep in mind in communication.
Sharing this passion for the ice and the sea and what we can learn about communication and leadership from the first explorers in the polar regions is the idea of this column and the look "behind my business card". Enjoy a selection of my favorite books, websites and photos!
Just for Fun!
As a fellow passenger once said, "Everyone should have a penguin at home. When you're in a bad mood, look at a penguin and you'll immediately start smiling!" - She was right, try it!
In June 2023 I became the proud "godmother" of two Humboldt penguins at Frankfurt Zoo, and I try to support research and species conservation.
From cheerful penguins to color plays in the sky: Have you ever watched the Northern Lights or the Aurora, the fantastic play of colors in the dark sky? If not, you might like https://lightsoverlapland.com/webcams/, a webcam service offered by Chad Blakley at Abisko National Park in Abisko, Sweden.
Illustrated Volumes
My favorite illustrated book Adélie terre & mer was published by the famous underwater photographers Vincent Munier and Laurent Ballesta: fantastic photos taken in Antarctica (Adélie-Land), under water ("mer") and on land ("terre"). Other publications are also available directly at https://www.vincentmunier.com/en/vincent-munier/.
From the other pole: ARCTICA - the Vanishing North by Sebastian Copeland, with a foreword by Sir Richard Branson and texts in English, German and French.
Leadership
It was one of the most famous expeditions to the South Pole: in the summer of 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew of 27 men got on board of the Endurance to cross the Antarctic continent on dog-sleighs. But the ship got stuck in pack-ice. Struggling almost two years for survival, it is said to be Shackleton’s strong leadership and crisis management that brought the team back home.
You might like to “explore” the following publications, all available online or at your favourite local bookstore:
- South: The Story of Shackleton's 1914-1917 Expedition (English Edition), by Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton
- Mit der Endurance ins ewige Eis: Meine Antarktisexpedition 1914–1917 (German Edition), by Sir Ernest Shackleton with a foreword by Reinhold Messner
- In a beautifully illustrated version: Shackleton’s Journey (English original), by William Grill or Shackletons Reise (German Edition)
- Linking Shackleton to today’s leadership approaches: Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer (English Edition), by Margot Morell and Stephanie Capparell
Another thrilling story to learn from has been the race between Roald Amundsen, the experienced Norwegian adventurer and Robert Falcon Scott, a Royal Navy officer, about who will be the first to reach the south pole. Amundsen beat Scott to the pole by 34 days and returned home safely with his entire team whereas Scott not only faced “humiliation”, looking at a Norwegian flag when reaching the south pole but also – together with some of his team – died on the way back. Comparing the stories of the two rivals, their way of preparing the expedition and leading the team is worth discovering. https://www.forbes.com/sites/billfischer/2011/12/11/south-to-the-pole-leadership-wins-the-race/