Every event in life has a context. We are encouraged to take decisions
based on the context and the options which present themselves. Right
from my school days, I had taken keen interest in trekking and
mountaineering. At various stages of my life, I availed of the
opportunity to go for treks, attended rock climbing program at Nuh
organised by Delhi Mountaineering Association and also enrolled for the
Basic Mountaineering Course at Himalayan Mountaineering Institute at
Darjeeling in 1983. I couldn't finish the course because of sickness. My
love for mountains started with the school trips at my alma mater Modern
School where I got exposed to trekking in and around Nainital and
Dalhousie (Khajjiar, Chamba). Passion for the mountains has been a
constant theme of my personal life. So, when the opportunity of the
Expedition 2 to Margan Pass (13000 ft) presented itself, I had no
hesitation in joining along with 10 other students from 1st and 2nd
years of the MBA program at Faculty of Management Studies (FMS),
University of Delhi. This was a milestone for me. I subsequently led the
Expedition 3 to Sach Pass (15000 ft). The learnings from these real-life
events were life changing. The lessons learnt were to shape my corporate
career which was to follow after the MBA Program.
During the expeditions, you go through real life experiences which help
you to test and improve your leadership skills. The expeditions were
like a leadership laboratory on teamwork, risk taking, project
strategizing, resourcing, planning, inter-personal conflict resolution
and crisis management. Needless to say, at a personal level, it was a
humbling experience.
I have shared these experiences with various generations of students at
FMS in the form of a case study, hoping that someday they would benefit
from these lessons. I could have written this book earlier in my life
but I would have perhaps missed out on the leadership experiences and
formal leadership concepts which I have learnt along the way.
