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Shackleton’s Way

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Shackleton’s Way

Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer

Penguin,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Shackleton sailed a lifeboat 800 miles over uncharted seas. All you have to do is manage an organization – no problem.

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

This compelling volume accomplishes the unlikely feat of being both a useful management guide and a suspense-filled page-turner. That’s because the book enjoys an unusually rich source of material: a near-deadly Antarctic voyage that everyone survived by dint of the leader’s formidable management skills. Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparrell present a strong case that Sir Ernest Shackleton was indeed a great leader. They mine the journey for the telling details of Shackleton’s management style, and include short accounts from modern business leaders who look to Shackleton as an inspiration. getAbstract recommends this guide to leaders and would-be leaders who love adventure tales and seek an inspiring take on management from a true master.

Summary

A Failed Mission, a Great Leader

Renowned explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton gained fame because of his daring expeditions to Antarctica. He was the first to locate the magnetic South Pole, an advance for maritime navigation, and the first to find coal in Antarctica, a breakthrough for geologists who studied the continent. But the journey that established Shackleton’s legend as a manager of people and resources failed, and yet it earned him the title “the greatest leader that ever came on God’s earth, bar none.” When ice crushed Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, during the Antarctic expedition of 1914-1916, it stranded him and his 27 men far from civilization. They had few supplies and only a faint hope of survival. Not only did Shackleton and his men survive, but they made it to safety in good spirits and with only modest injuries.

Even today, Shackleton’s survival, against all odds, inspires business leaders, including:

  • James Cramer – The former hedge fund manager, founder of TheStreet.com and television personality credits Shackleton’s tale with inspiring him to fight through tough times in 1998, when his hedge fund suffered big losses and his dot-com was...

About the Authors

Margot Morrell has more than two decades of corporate experience and is a longtime student of Shackleton’s life. She runs a leadership training program based on Shackleton’s management tactics. Journalist Stephanie Capparell is an editor at The Wall Street Journal and holds a master’s degree in international affairs.

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