Home About The Book From The Book About The Authors Keynote Speaking Leadership Tools Media Contact Us Testimonials Articles Interviews What The Experts Are Saying About High Altitude Leadership? "Chris Warner and Don Schmincke transport us to the highest peaks in the world for a fresh eye on what too often goes wrong at sea level, whether corporate cowardice, personal selfishness, or just plain fear. Drawing on gripping accounts of both conquest and survival in the Himalayas, High Altitude Leadership offers compelling lessons on the art of bravery, selfless leadership, and high performance under the most daunting outdoor - and business - conditions" Michael Useem, Professor of Management and Director of the Leadership Center at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and author of "The Go Point: When It's Time to Decide" and "The Leadership Moment". "Fear, selfishness and arrogance - these are just some of the dangers that can threaten a climber's life, and in the high-threat world of global commerce and global security, they can destroy a country's or organization's future. Peak performance is about digging deeper to overcome the barriers of our own making. As Chris and Don assert, we have to dig deeper in order to climb higher." Ralph Heath, Executive Vice President, Aeronautics, Lockheed Martin Corporation "At last, something new has been written about leadership. The authors skillfully bridge the crosswalk between what is required of leaders in life and death situations scaling the world's highest peaks and the more mundane, but sometimes no less scary, halls of corporate America" Cathy A. Trower, Ph.D. Research Director, Co-Principal Investigator Collaborative On Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Harvard University, Graduate School of Education. "Chris Warner is living proof that courage and intellect provide a powerful leadership combination. He and Don Schmincke serve as outstanding guides for exploring what it takes to lead an organization into difficult and uncharted terrain. If you're an executive who searches for the occasional inspirational gut-check, this book is a must for your shelf." David Callahan, executive editor, SmartCEO Magazine "Using harrowing first person accounts of life and death on the mountaintop, Chris Warner and Don Schmincke pinpoint eight lessons leaders need to learn to reach the highest peak of success in business. Dare to be a high altitude leader. Read this book!" Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager® and The One Minute Entrepreneur® "A totally original and breathtaking (literally!) journey into the unexplored terrain of fearless leadership." Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business at the University of Southern California and co-author of Transparency® and Judgment® "Warner is a mountaineer and entrepreneur (founder of mountaineering outfitter Earth Treks); Schmincke is an author (The Code of the Executive) and leadership consultant, though he's an MIT-trained scientist and engineer at heart. Having met on a charity climb in the Andes, they discovered similar opinions on human nature and management techniques, from which they developed the concept of "high altitude leadership." Warner and Schminke identify eight psychological mindsets that paralyze organizations and individuals, undermining productivity: Fear, Selfishness, Tool Seduction, Arrogance, Lone Heroism, Cowardice, Comfort and Gravity. Each is discussed in its own chapter, beginning with an often tragic example from Warner's mountaineering life that shows pointedly how similar behavior can lead to workplace catastrophe. Schmincke prides himself on being a "mad scientist" rather than a management guru, focused on practical observation and common-sense application; he employs a deliciously sarcastic tone when discussing typical, ineffective managerial "magic cures" like Mission Statements and Codes of Values. The final chapter is devoted to caring, highlighting the importance of courage, moral code, efficacy, social responsibility, honor, patriotism, virtue, valor and sense of group identity. As much a life guide as a business primer, this book sports a helpful, engaging and positive plan for working together effectively and honestly." Publisher's Weekly(Nov.) PURCHASE THE BOOK: PUBLISHER'S INFORMATION: High Altitude Leadership: What the World's Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success Chris Warner, Don Schmincke ISBN: 978-0-470-34503-0 Hardcover 240 pages October 2008, Jossey-Bass US $27.95 Visit Website Also visit our other websites: SagaLeadership.com    EarthTreksClimbing.com    SharedSummits.com Chris Warner and Don Schmincke ©2008. All rights reserved.