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“I have had the good fortune of hearing Jeff Evans speak on three occasions. I’ve personally observed Jeff captivate and hold the attention of audiences of varying sizes and backgrounds. Whether it is nine executives in the intimate environment of a small meeting room or 150 sales people in the large expanse of an auditorium, Jeff’s ability to connect with his audience is uncanny. Jeff translates his own lessons with an approach and demeanor so genuine the audience immediately feels a connection and begins applying Jeff’s wisdom to their own situation. If you are looking for a speaker who motivates an audience and gets them thinking about the importance of setting goals, training and preparation, being flexible in a changing environments, learning from failure, celebrating success, and the power of team-work, then I highly recommend Jeff Evans as your next speaker.” David Karl VP of Sales, Moneygram
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Motivational Speaker/Storyteller
Other Teambuilding Options:
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MountainVision Themes Jeff has a unique perspective on the topics of Leadership, Commitment and Teamwork because he has lived them. Thirteen years ago he electively chose to be the primary guide for blind climber/athlete Erik Weihenmayer on mountains, rock faces and adventure races all over the world even after many established guides had passed at the opportunity. Jeff worked with Erik on creating a climbing vision, establishing an acceptable definition of success and refining effective methods of communication, all innovative and challenging. As the audience is captivated by Jeff’s rich storytelling style, his four power themes of Leadership, Commitment, Teamwork and Vision are effortlessly infused. The following is a list of the most vital MountainVision themes as they are described in story format:
Jeff discusses how, in spite of what the naysayers might be telling you, it's important to establish your own definition of success and forge on in order to achieve your objective. “When Erik and I decided to team up and tackle some rather large objectives we knew that we had to establish our own definition of success. Not with reckless abandon, but calculated risk. It’s important to create your own Vision. And remember that a Vision is deeper than a typical goal; it’s actually what goals spring from. Remember...’The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.’ John Sculley, former CEO of Pepsi.”
Roped up for teamwork When roped up in the mountains or in business you will win together or loose together, either way your fate is inextricably connected to those on your team....if you’ve created a good rope team, if you fall, you will be caught. It's in the others best judgment to catch you. Whether you are on the front of the rope or clear on the back, if your rope team starts to plummet towards the edge of the cliff, it is unimportant who initiated the fall...whose fault it was. You have no time to blame or finger point. You have to react and work together to bring that fall to a stop. Surround yourself not just with talent, but with folks that share the same vision. The collective power of one is strong...
Forging on in spite of a fall Jeff tells the story of climbing a 22,800ft mountain in the Andes, where the team had to make a critical decision to turn around a mere 2 hrs from the summit due to bad weather. "We went home without a summit. It was a supposed failure. So much of our society expects success...where failure is so very taboo. When in reality a setback is an occasionally necessary event. Without it, we would be complacent, forever content. If we had continued to have success and perfect weather, we would have never learned as much as with an occasional setback. I know that the people that have been the most successful in this world are the ones who have hung onto their beliefs in spite of an occasional failure...Success isn’t just the crowning moment, spiking of the ball in end zone or raising of flag on the summit. It’s the whole process of reaching for a goal and sometimes, it begins with failure."
Celebrating the small steps and minor victories Jeff discusses the need to break up a large project into small steps and victories. He recounts the sickening feeling of staring up at Mt Everest prior to climbing it, and how the magnitude of the whole project was overwhelming. What's important is to break it up. Celebrate each step, each camp, each day that goes by with a success. Smaller goals are more fulfilling than large ones…it means there are more victories and more opportunities to celebrate. He discusses how the infamous Khumbu Icefall ladders across the crevasses are mind numbingly frightening...but necessary. It’s critical to focus on the detail...each rung. Don't get distracted by the gaping crevasse. Acknowledge the minor victories and celebrate each step. Each ladder rung is a small victory. Each camp is a victory. There is a Tibetan phrase that refers to focus and clarity...“The nature of mind is like water, do not disturb it and it will become clear.”....don’t fail due to undisciplined mind.
Adversity: avalanches do occur Jeff discusses how teaming up with a blind partner and heading into the big mountains proved to be quite an adversarial task. "Taking on projects that have a high rate of failure as well as being faced with ‘baseline’ adversity is an acceptable risk. It's OK to go into a project without the standard ‘quiver of arrows’....accepting adversity and going at it with a calculated approach."
Courage is not the absence of fear… Jeff recounts seeing the final summit ridge of Mt Everest and its harrowing drops down the mountain face on either side. Countless climbers have turned around at this point on Mt Everest, not wanting to try their luck across the frightening ridge. Audience members often hear this story, see the slides and assume that Jeff is "fearless". Jeff reminds the audience that this is far from the truth. Jeff is clear on the fact that fear is healthy and is one of the reasons he is still alive. To embrace that fear and harness it for the betterment of the task is what's important. Courage is not the absence of fear, its actually doing the thing that you are afraid to do. It’s having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory. Believing you can get the job done and having the courage to go do it.
Commitment to reach the summit Jeff discusses how climbing for 5 weeks with Erik on steep rock while training to ascend 3,500 ft El Capitan, the true meaning of commitment became obvious..."Watching a blind guy rock climb you realize the scariest part of climbing a 3,000ft rock face is not necessarily the fear of falling, that’s obvious...it’s the reaching into the darkness...not knowing what you’ll find. Hoping there’ll be a hold, praying there will be some small hold to grab onto...committing to it. That fear of reaching into the unknown and not being guaranteed a hold....that's the real frightening issue in all of our lives. It takes complete commitment. Jeff says that "through teamwork and trust, you are able to commit and reach out into the darkness. Erik always knows that when he reaches into the darkness and he fails to find that hold, he is connected to me by a rope and I WILL catch him." “However, sometimes people want everything to be perfect and confirmed before they’re willing to commit. But commitment always has to precede achievement. You have to be willing to stick your neck out from time to time. You have to let go of below in order to reach above. And I knew that if I wanted to be an effective leader, I had to be committed as well. Because true commitment inspires and attracts people. It shows them that you have conviction for a person, an organization or a project.”
Flexibility: here comes the storm Jeff discusses how he is reminded regularly that one of the key elements of success is flexibility...When I'm high up in the mountains it’s critical to my success to anticipate weather changes and be prepared for the inevitable change. "Weather changes....plans change. Problems are inevitable. Issues such as market instability, competition, growing consumer choices will all lean on you and your colleagues. Learning how to face these problems, create solutions and be flexible defines a great adventurer and a great business leader. All industries are changing. The challenge for you is to embrace flexibility & anticipate change. Keep eye on the distant ridge, watch for weather, and be prepared.
Blind faith Knowing deep in your soul that the course you have set is right and true. Sticking to it despite the occasional hiccup or what have you. In spite of what might appear to be a loosing cause...stick to it and see the course.
Sacrifice: give yourself to the team Opportunities to slack or quit present themselves at every step of our journeys, we have to be willing at times to take the lead and keep striving for our goals. Pulling your weight! Jeff tells the thrilling story about how... "Nearing the summit of Mt Everest, the ropes we had been following all night suddenly became buried under the snow. I had to make the conscious decision to sacrifice my summit and start digging out the ropes in order to ensure Erik and my team’s safe descent." The pure gift of sacrifice ended up giving Jeff his Everest summit in the end, but the power of this story is how important it is to 'give it all away'. In climbing we call leading a rope team ‘taking the sharp end’ of the rope. Leadership, means taking the sharp end where there are bigger consequences but also bigger rewards.
Shattering perceptions Jeff discusses how it is important not to just react and respond but create and lead...and by doing this we won’t just reshape people's perceptions of what is possible, but shatter them into a million pieces. Once that happens, people are then forced to rebuild their perceptions…and then often times they are bigger, broader and more inclusive.
Contact us at info@mountain-vision.com to learn more about the MountainVision Themes. ©2008 MountainVision |
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