When Your Life Depends on It: Extreme Decision Making Lessons from the Antarctic

ISBN-13: 9781945312052 / Angielski / Miękka / 2017 / 208 str.

Brad Borkan; David Hirzel

Opis

-True stories that will sear you to the depth of your soul; decision making lessons that will stay with you for the rest of your life.- That's how one person described this book. When Your Life Depends on It is designed to be a thrilling read. It is an adventure book that looks at the challenging situations faced by early explorers like Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen and Mawson while they were attempting to conquer the great, icy, then-unknown, Antarctic world. But this book was written to be much more than that. By looking at the life-and-death decisions that these heroic men often had to make, there is much we can learn from them to improve our own modern day decision making--both at a personal level and at a business level. Across six major expeditions spanning sixteen years, these explorers from the early 1900s faced extremely hazardous conditions, where sheer environment will kill you and the only communication was as far as you could shout. But what is really amazing to learn is that at times, they made bad decisions, though remarkably, very few people died. The authors place you in their situations, and encourage you to think about what decisions you would have made. For example, at the start of the book they tell the story about a party of three who have been traveling together for two months on the ice, man-hauling a heavy sledge. Food is extremely scarce and their commanding officer is dying of scurvy. They are seventy miles from base camp, and the officer orders them to leave him behind on the ice to save themselves. Disobeying a direct order is mutiny in the early 1900s. Certainly not an easy choice. What would have done? Lessons and strategies in decision making are revealed throughout the stories, but the book is not prescriptive. The authors encourage you to think about what lessons you can take away from each story. People have said that the book is fun to read and that it stimulated their own improved decision making while opening their eyes to an incredible period in history--the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. By the way, you'll have to read the book to find out whether or not they left their commanding officer on the ice, and whether that matches with what you would have done. The outcome of that story is unforgettable, and one of the many good reasons the book is titled, When Your Life Depends on It.

WHEN YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT --
An extremely powerful book. Each story cuts right into the heart of the seemingly impossible. It is absolutely inspiring. To me this should be required life reading.
Jean Bartlett, longtime Arts and Features Correspondent, Pacifica Tribune, Oakland Tribune, San Jose Mercury

The harrowing life and death decisions made by early Antarctic explorers reveal insightful ways -- not just for surviving in extreme environments --but for improving 21st century personal and business decision making.

Not all the decisions made by the early Antarctic explorers were good. Yet, during the most trying circumstances imaginable, very few men died.

Why was this?

... and what can be learned from their decision-making to help us with our modern day lives?
 When Your Life Depends on It examines unforgettable, epic stories from the days when Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen and Mawson battled the most isolated environment on earth.By placing you in their life and death situations, the authors encourage you to assess how you might have responded.

Would you obey a command from your dying officer to leave him behind, to further your chances of a safe return? Would you handpick your crew based on gut instinct and personality only, when there was a very real chance your own survival would depend on them?

These lessons in team work, leadership, camaraderie and sheer grit and determination are as useful today as they were 100 years ago. This book will compel you to evaluate your own decision-making and reveal methods that you can immediately put to use.