Into the Storm: How to Sustain Team Success through the Storms of Adversity, Uncertainty, and Change

Author Dennis Perkins shares insights from his book “Into the Storm” on how Project Managers can sustain team success through the storms of adversity, uncertainty, and change.

Known as the “Everest of ocean racing,” the Sydney to Hobart Race is a test of skill and endurance under the best of conditions. Competing in the 1998 race – one of the most dangerous offshore ocean races in history – the Midnight Rambler‘s team of one determined skipper and six dedicated amateur sailors did more than survive the deadly storm. The team went on to become the overall winner of the race – the smallest boat in 10 years to win the prestigious cup.

How did they do it? What enabled the Midnight Rambler team to prevail against all odds? And what can your project team learn from their experience?

Recounting a heart-stopping tale of incredible teamwork, Dennis Perkins shares the story of the Ramblers and the power of teamwork to prevail over uncertainty, adversity, and formidable competition. In this interview, Dennis shares insights from his book Into the Storm and reveals 10 critical strategies for Teamwork at The Edge – as applicable in projects as on the high seas.

Dennis Perkins is the author of Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race and Leading at The Edge. He is the CEO of Syncretics Group, a consulting firm dedicated to helping leaders and teams thrive under conditions of adversity, uncertainty, and change. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, he successfully completed his first Sydney to Hobart Race in 2006.

The Interview:

Listen now:

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Right click here to download the MP3

In this interview, I ask Dennis the following questions:

  • What was the background for writing “Into the Storm”?
  • You specialize in developing leadership in organizations, under conditions of rapid change, economic adversity, sudden growth, and other demanding environments. And you refer to this as leadership and team work at the edge. What attracts you to working with teams at the edge?
  • Tell us about the Sydney to Hobart Race in general and what got you interested in the story of the 1998 race and the AFR Midnight Rambler
  • It was interesting to learn how similar boat racing was to teamwork at the edge. Can you talk about these similarities and how the metaphor of ocean racing can help team leaders facing today’s tough challenges?
  • How did you do research for this book?
  • There are two central themes: Exceptional Teamwork and Distributed leadership. Let’s first discuss teamwork:
  • You describe 10 strategies for teamwork at the edge. Let’s review each one and provide a high level overview about each one for our audience:
  1. Team Unity: Make the team the rock star
  2. Remove all excuses for failure
  3. Find and focus on the winning scenario
  4. Build a gung ho culture of learning and innovation
  5. willing to sail into the storm
  6. Cut through the noise of the wind and the waves
  7. Find ways to share the helm
  8. Step up to the conflict — and deal with whatever slows you down
  9. Master the art if rapid recovery
  10. Never give up — there’d always another move
  • On page 245, you talk about the irrational quest for charismatic leadership places a premium on fame and personality and you say that Charisma and force of personality are hardly the most important characteristics of a skipper or a leader in organizations. I think this is so true. Can you share a little bit more about this idea?

 

Contact Information:

For more information please visit

 

Other Resources

Audio Links:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

Sorry, comments are closed for this post.

Into the Storm: How to Sustain Team Success through the Storms of Adversity, Uncertainty, and Change

Author Dennis Perkins shares insights from his book “Into the Storm” on how Project Managers can sustain team success through the storms of adversity, uncertainty, and change.

Known as the “Everest of ocean racing,” the Sydney to Hobart Race is a test of skill and endurance under the best of conditions. Competing in the 1998 race – one of the most dangerous offshore ocean races in history – the Midnight Rambler‘s team of one determined skipper and six dedicated amateur sailors did more than survive the deadly storm. The team went on to become the overall winner of the race – the smallest boat in 10 years to win the prestigious cup.

How did they do it? What enabled the Midnight Rambler team to prevail against all odds? And what can your project team learn from their experience?

Recounting a heart-stopping tale of incredible teamwork, Dennis Perkins shares the story of the Ramblers and the power of teamwork to prevail over uncertainty, adversity, and formidable competition. In this interview, Dennis shares insights from his book Into the Storm and reveals 10 critical strategies for Teamwork at The Edge – as applicable in projects as on the high seas.

Dennis Perkins is the author of Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race and Leading at The Edge. He is the CEO of Syncretics Group, a consulting firm dedicated to helping leaders and teams thrive under conditions of adversity, uncertainty, and change. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, he successfully completed his first Sydney to Hobart Race in 2006.

The Interview:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

In this interview, I ask Dennis the following questions:

  • What was the background for writing “Into the Storm”?
  • You specialize in developing leadership in organizations, under conditions of rapid change, economic adversity, sudden growth, and other demanding environments. And you refer to this as leadership and team work at the edge. What attracts you to working with teams at the edge?
  • Tell us about the Sydney to Hobart Race in general and what got you interested in the story of the 1998 race and the AFR Midnight Rambler
  • It was interesting to learn how similar boat racing was to teamwork at the edge. Can you talk about these similarities and how the metaphor of ocean racing can help team leaders facing today’s tough challenges?
  • How did you do research for this book?
  • There are two central themes: Exceptional Teamwork and Distributed leadership. Let’s first discuss teamwork:
  • You describe 10 strategies for teamwork at the edge. Let’s review each one and provide a high level overview about each one for our audience:
  1. Team Unity: Make the team the rock star
  2. Remove all excuses for failure
  3. Find and focus on the winning scenario
  4. Build a gung ho culture of learning and innovation
  5. willing to sail into the storm
  6. Cut through the noise of the wind and the waves
  7. Find ways to share the helm
  8. Step up to the conflict — and deal with whatever slows you down
  9. Master the art if rapid recovery
  10. Never give up — there’d always another move
  • On page 245, you talk about the irrational quest for charismatic leadership places a premium on fame and personality and you say that Charisma and force of personality are hardly the most important characteristics of a skipper or a leader in organizations. I think this is so true. Can you share a little bit more about this idea?

 

Contact Information:

For more information please visit

 

Other Resources

Audio Links:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

Sorry, comments are closed for this post.

Into the Storm: How to Sustain Team Success through the Storms of Adversity, Uncertainty, and Change

Author Dennis Perkins shares insights from his book “Into the Storm” on how Project Managers can sustain team success through the storms of adversity, uncertainty, and change.

Known as the “Everest of ocean racing,” the Sydney to Hobart Race is a test of skill and endurance under the best of conditions. Competing in the 1998 race – one of the most dangerous offshore ocean races in history – the Midnight Rambler‘s team of one determined skipper and six dedicated amateur sailors did more than survive the deadly storm. The team went on to become the overall winner of the race – the smallest boat in 10 years to win the prestigious cup.

How did they do it? What enabled the Midnight Rambler team to prevail against all odds? And what can your project team learn from their experience?

Recounting a heart-stopping tale of incredible teamwork, Dennis Perkins shares the story of the Ramblers and the power of teamwork to prevail over uncertainty, adversity, and formidable competition. In this interview, Dennis shares insights from his book Into the Storm and reveals 10 critical strategies for Teamwork at The Edge – as applicable in projects as on the high seas.

Dennis Perkins is the author of Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race and Leading at The Edge. He is the CEO of Syncretics Group, a consulting firm dedicated to helping leaders and teams thrive under conditions of adversity, uncertainty, and change. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, he successfully completed his first Sydney to Hobart Race in 2006.

The Interview:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

In this interview, I ask Dennis the following questions:

  • What was the background for writing “Into the Storm”?
  • You specialize in developing leadership in organizations, under conditions of rapid change, economic adversity, sudden growth, and other demanding environments. And you refer to this as leadership and team work at the edge. What attracts you to working with teams at the edge?
  • Tell us about the Sydney to Hobart Race in general and what got you interested in the story of the 1998 race and the AFR Midnight Rambler
  • It was interesting to learn how similar boat racing was to teamwork at the edge. Can you talk about these similarities and how the metaphor of ocean racing can help team leaders facing today’s tough challenges?
  • How did you do research for this book?
  • There are two central themes: Exceptional Teamwork and Distributed leadership. Let’s first discuss teamwork:
  • You describe 10 strategies for teamwork at the edge. Let’s review each one and provide a high level overview about each one for our audience:
  1. Team Unity: Make the team the rock star
  2. Remove all excuses for failure
  3. Find and focus on the winning scenario
  4. Build a gung ho culture of learning and innovation
  5. willing to sail into the storm
  6. Cut through the noise of the wind and the waves
  7. Find ways to share the helm
  8. Step up to the conflict — and deal with whatever slows you down
  9. Master the art if rapid recovery
  10. Never give up — there’d always another move
  • On page 245, you talk about the irrational quest for charismatic leadership places a premium on fame and personality and you say that Charisma and force of personality are hardly the most important characteristics of a skipper or a leader in organizations. I think this is so true. Can you share a little bit more about this idea?

 

Contact Information:

For more information please visit

 

Other Resources

Audio Links:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

Sorry, comments are closed for this post.