The Mount Vernon Report Spring 2007 - vol. 7, no. 1
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A recent edition ofNational Geographichighlighted the extraordinary accomplishments of the world's greatest mountain climber –Reinhold Messner. According to the account, Messner achieved some truly death defying feats of mountain eering. He trained himself to go without water and food for days at a time, to withstand extremely low temperatures, and, overall, to endure exposure to the most brutal physical conditions. Where others only ventured with team expeditions, Messner soloed most of the worl d's highest and most difficult rock an d ice climbs. He came to rely on himself after losing his brot her and climbi ng partner in an ascent of Ru pal Face of Nanga P arbat in Pakistan. He lo ved his br other deepl y and the article goes on to de scribe the emoti onal struggle of having to le ave his brother behin d so that one of them could live. T oday , Messner is without anyone to lead him up a mountain. When I was a teenager , I had the thrill of climbin g Mount Rainier , one of the highest peaks of the Pacif ic Northwest. While Messne r would look at this climb as an afternoon stroll, for me it was immense challenge to mak e it to t he top of the 14,410 f oot mountain. Despite the calendar month (J une), our guide led us through blizzard conditions up to 10,000 feet. As we emerged through the clouds, we came to the most beautiful site – brilliant sunshine and magnificent glaciers, with the region’s other high peaks poking through the clouds around us. I never would have made it to that point without a wonderful and caring guide , one of the best female climb ers in the w orld at th e time: Martha “Marty” Hoey . Like a female Messner, to me she w as a superwoman with incredible stamina and drive, and undoubted ly ab le to carry me to the top i f necessary . I'll ne ver forget t he experien ce of follo wing in her fo otsteps. It w as like climbing a ladder up through the icy slopes and over the crevasse to the summit . All I had to d o was p ut one fo ot in front of the other and follow her to the top. Roped together, I had extreme confidence as we made it to the top that day and back down to talk about it later. I learned that you can often ha ve all of the benef its, with few of the risks, by being a fol low er. Most impo rtantly , the victory is always a shared victory. This issue of the Mt. V ernon Report focuses on the many rew ards of bein g a goo d followe r, of bein g a team p lay er, a nd of achiev ing great things with others by both accepting and giving help . W e encourage you to go climb your own mountain both as a leader or a follower. E veryone want s to win, but if you accept it as a competiti ve advan- tage, being in s econd place is not a ctually that bad. And unless you are category leaders like The Home Depot, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola or Nik e, the majo rity of corporatio ns are in th e same situation. How y ou behave as the “small fry, ” runner-up or underdog will reveal much about both you and your corpora te reputation. Y our actions during “followersh ip” will have a profound effect on how you maneuver the competiti ve marketplace and wi ll reveal the essence of your charact er – with a direct impact on your future bottom line. The follo wing ideas demonstrate a few e xamples of how you can capitalize on your current underdog market position through “follo wership .” Integrating them w ith your short- and long-t erm busi- ness goals and reputation management planning will pro vide a surprising return on in vestment. As alw ays, it is the CEO’s responsib ility to emulate these characteristics and ensure that they flow smoothly through the corporate blo odstream. “Do, as I do,” because actions c learly speak louder than words. Earn respect with passion People love the underdog. Everyone wants to see the class brain get the school beauty queen, the last place baseball team miraculously finishing first after the “turn around season, ” and the hardw orking blue-collar kid receiving hi s letter of acceptance from Notre Dame. These underdogs are targ ets wo rthy of resp ect beca use of tw o prominent c harac teristics –passion and dedicat ion. Incorporating these cha racteristics as the spirit in your corporate reputation will gain you the respect you deserve. Clearly define and hold your position In 1962, Avis adopted the “We T ry Harder” slogan. This is a competi- tive stance that unmistakably defines their position as an underdog. It’s remarkable how three simple words can say so much about one’s character and reputation. Even though the car rental industry has undergone considerable transformation through globalization and expan- sion into new business segments, the slogan remains strong and Avis still Spring 2007 vol. 7 no. 1 Foll owing T o The Top “Issues Affecting Reputation Management and Strate gic Communications” How T o Be The Best ... R unn er-Up { B E S T...RUNNER - U P - continued on PG 2}
