Leadership in Crisis
Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance
1. In what context should the Endurance expedition be analyzed? As a scientific endeavor? An entrepreneurial venture? An exercise in imperial opportunity? By what criteria should the expedition be evaluated? Given your answer to the preceding question, was it a success or a failure?
I believe that this expedition should be analyzed as an entrepreneurial venture because the South Pole had already been found so there were no more continents for Shackleton to conquer. He would not be a hero in this venture because Robert Falcon Scott had already been there and died a hero. Shackleton had to find his own resources for this adventure as most entrepreneurs do. He had to take a huge risk financially and physically to accomplish his goal. He had to find the right people to help him such as ski trainers. He had to find a ship and dogs as well. Shackleton had to put this altogether on his own. This venture becomes even more of an entrepreneurial venture when the ship hit ice too. This is what happens in most startup businesses. CEO’s must change tactics many times in midstream. The trip was supposed to be an entrepreneurial exploration trip became one of survival. This expedition should be evaluated on how successful the crew was when faced with dire circumstances and how they overcame it. The crew knew there would be huge obstacles even if the ship hadn’t crashed. I believe it was a great success because Shackleton was able to rescue all 27 of his men and get them back home safely. Shackleton was able to keep his crew’s morale up and keep them from starving to death. When faced with the fact that there was no boat in England to use at the time, Shackleton was able to find one in South America. So overall, even though Shackleton did not accomplish his entrepreneurial goal of walking on the South Pole, he accomplished another goal forced on him, by making sure his men got home safely.
1. In what context should the Endurance expedition be analyzed? As a scientific endeavor? An entrepreneurial venture? An exercise in imperial opportunity? By what criteria should the expedition be evaluated? Given your answer to the preceding question, was it a success or a failure?
I believe that this expedition should be analyzed as an entrepreneurial venture because the South Pole had already been found so there were no more continents for Shackleton to conquer. He would not be a hero in this venture because Robert Falcon Scott had already been there and died a hero. Shackleton had to find his own resources for this adventure as most entrepreneurs do. He had to take a huge risk financially and physically to accomplish his goal. He had to find the right people to help him such as ski trainers. He had to find a ship and dogs as well. Shackleton had to put this altogether on his own. This venture becomes even more of an entrepreneurial venture when the ship hit ice too. This is what happens in most startup businesses. CEO’s must change tactics many times in midstream. The trip was supposed to be an entrepreneurial exploration trip became one of survival. This expedition should be evaluated on how successful the crew was when faced with dire circumstances and how they overcame it. The crew knew there would be huge obstacles even if the ship hadn’t crashed. I believe it was a great success because Shackleton was able to rescue all 27 of his men and get them back home safely. Shackleton was able to keep his crew’s morale up and keep them from starving to death. When faced with the fact that there was no boat in England to use at the time, Shackleton was able to find one in South America. So overall, even though Shackleton did not accomplish his entrepreneurial goal of walking on the South Pole, he accomplished another goal forced on him, by making sure his men got home safely.