Management Lessons from the Great Explorers

The early explorers up through those of the early part of the last century were the supreme users of management practices that have been formalized today. Their expeditions had all the characteristics of a business project: goal setting, strategizing, applying finite resources, risk-taking, keeping people, dealing with competitors, and many others. During actual expeditions, the leaders faced many risks, issues, and conflicts that challenge the best leaders today, from small to large enterprises. Like all projects and business ventures, the expeditions met their goal, either partially or entirely, and in some cases even exceeded it or failed it completely.

selects the most famous, and in some cases infamous, explorers to discuss and analyze the good and bad management practices—even though these explorers may have never called them management practices—they used before, during, and even after their expeditions. Each chapter provides historical background about one explorer and the details about their explorations. The chapters then discuss the challenges the explorers faced when planning and executing their expeditions and examine their successes and failures from a management perspective. The book will help managers to

• Manage unexpected and potentially catastrophic risks
• Set goals that open up new horizons
• Communicate effectively with team members
• Lead teams through hardships and difficulties

The final chapter gives lessons learned that managers may take from the book and apply to their own business undertakings. These lessons include

• Learning from experience
• Having a strong sponsor and team
• Relying on data and information
• Applying risk management and adapting to changing circumstances
• Implementing unity of command and defining roles and responsibilities
• Identifying and understanding stakeholders
• Being decisive
• Being willing to say no