CHAPTER 1 Leaders who take their organizations to The Edge must channel energy toward two equally important goals. First, they must continually be aware of their ultimate destination--their longer-term, strategic objective. This ultimate goal, however, may be distant and uncertain. So while pursuing this long-term target, leaders also must be vigilant in focusing the scarce resources of the organization on the critical short-term tasks that create momentum and ensure survival. Ernest Shackleton demon- strated an almost uncanny mastery of these two essential, but very different, leadership skills. Be Willing to Find a "New Mark" It is hard to imagine a bleaker scene than the one surrounding the de- mise of Endurance . Shackleton and his crew had suffered as the ship was slowly, inexorably crushed by millions of tons of ice. For days, they watched the death agony of the ship, waiting helplessly as their floating home disintegrated plank by plank.

Even with the uncertainty of the shifting ice, wind, and ocean, life aboard ship had followed a relatively predictable routine.The crew had warm food and the comforting security of a familiar environment. Now, marooned on the ice and snow, their familiar, stable world had been turned upside down. With the end of Endurance , Shackleton saw his dream of crossing the Antarctic Continent die as well. And he faced more than failure: Shackleton was not expected by the world to reappear until February 1916, and his chances of rescue were nonexistent. In this wrenching moment of personal challenge, however, Shackleton was able to shift quickly his long-term goal from the crossing of the continent to bringing every man back alive. Refocusing his efforts, he wrote, "A man must shape himself to a new mark, directly the old one goes to ground."2 With no prospect of rescue, facing an unknown fu- ture with little chance of survival, he turned to his crew and simply said: "So now we''ll go home.

"3 How was Shackleton able to exercise this kind of tenacity in the face of such overwhelming adversity? He certainly had his private doubts, writing in his diary,"I pray God I can manage to get the whole party to civilization."4 Acutely aware of his responsibilities as the leader, Shackleton let go of his original plan, shifted his focus, and devoted himself completely to this new mission. By the intensity of his conviction and the force of his will, he instilled in others the deep belief that they would achieve their new goal: returning safely, without loss of life. Lessons for Leaders Efforts to explore the unknown are inherently filled with unexpected events. Changing environmental conditions and shifting opportunities are part of any truly innovative, challenging adventure.This means that, as a leader, you need to be willing to shift both long- and short-term goals without clinging to the past. Additionally, you must be able to commit to these new goals with as much passion and energy as you did to the orig- inal mark. A classic business example of this is CEO Andy Grove''s decision to alter Intel''s direction.

Intel, a company known for microprocessors, was once primarily a maker of memory chips. In the mid-1980s, Japanese chipmakers moved to win away Intel''s chip business by undercutting its prices by 10 percent.The Japanese were successful, and Intel lost $173 million in one year. After considering many options, Grove determined to take Intel out of the memory-chip business and make a commitment to microprocessor manufacturing. In coming to this decision, Grove asked his colleague and former Intel CEO Gordon Moore a hypothetical question: "If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what do you think he would do?"5 Moore told Grove that this new CEO would take the company out of the memory-chip business. Grove decided that rather than wait for his successor to change things, he would do it himself.Thereafter, resources were redirected into developing Intel microprocessors, a business sector then secondary to chips.This new direction provided the foundation for Intel''s future success.

Intel continued to adapt to changing demand by looking beyond the microprocessor market. While projections for PC sales fell, Intel boldly acquired assets in the cable-modem chip, wireless chip, and security soft- ware businesses. It redirected resources to new product lines: Intel chips for tablet computers and smartphones.6 With each of these moves, Intel was finding a new mark and forging ahead in Shackleton style. * * * * * Turn the page to enjoy an excerpt from Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney-to-Hobart Ocean Race Dennis N.T. Perkins and Jillian B. Murphy Coming Fall 2012 Arthur Psaltis watches the boat''s digital readout as the wind speed races from thirty-five knots, to forty, and then forty-five knots.

At sixty knots, the readout suddenly goes blank.Arthur stares at the empty screen.Then it hits him:The metal fitting that holds the wind meter on top of the mast has been torn off, rendering the instrument useless. The next blast of wind flattens the boat, driving its mast into the water and flooding the cockpit.As the crew has done so many times in practice, side by side on the rail with their backs to the sea, they calmly take in the main sail.They know what they have to do. If the sail stays up, the boat could be rolled 360 degrees and they might never recover. Conditions are treacherous and getting worse by the minute.

The noise is the most frightening part. It comes as a high-pitched scream, like an old-fashioned kettle boiling furiously.The wind--reaching speeds of nearly ninety miles per hour--howls around them, and the waves rise higher than the fifty-foot mast, dwarfing the thirty-five-foot boat. The heavy rain and spew from the waves spray the sailors on deck, pelting their faces like gravel, and the constant noise makes talking nearly impossible. The crew can communicate only by cupping their hands around their mouths and shouting into each other''s ears.They slap the hull of the boat to warn those below deck of oncoming big waves. The men below deck are fighting a different battle.They can see nothing of what is happening topside and find themselves in a constant state of anxiety.

As Ed expertly steers the boat up the face of the massive waves, the men exhale each time the boat slides down the other side un- scathed. It is an extraordinary feat of seamanship. But not every time.When Ed miscalculates, the boat flies off the wave and hangs in midair until it hits the trough between the waves.The impact is like crashing into a block of cement.Trapped below, the crew waits to see if the boat wi.