Charlie is a sought-after speaker who is represented by speaker’s bureaus in New York City, Newark, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Springfield, Des Moines, and Seattle. He presents approximately sixty lectures each year to many of the largest companies and organizations in the world.
During The World Tri, Charlie will appear for clients via satellite-feed from the field. This experience will allow organizations to be part of the expedition as the experience unfolds on the national and international stage. Charlie has a very limited number of engagements available from the road. Please contact us today to make arrangements for your organization.
More about Charlie’s speaking:
During his keynote presentations, Charlie uses adventure stories to inspire and motivate while providing context for cutting-edge business concepts that efficiently deliver organizational goals to program participants. Each keynote is based on a selection of the topics discussed below and developed through a collaborative process with each host. The result is a presentation that educates and inspires while delivering a consistent organizational message to every participant.
You may watch Charlie’s recent presentation for AmeriHealth here:
Each customized keynote is based on a selection of the following modules. Charlie typically works with executive-level management to determine the goals for each program, and then selects several modules for each presentation.
SETTING THE COMPASS:
Just as a mountain climber is guided to the summit by his or her compass, every organization is guided by an “organizational compass.” In industry, these “organizational compasses” are typically recorded as a mission and values statement. These statements guide us along our paths, and help us to make the right decisions when our view is obscured by difficult terrain or inclimate weather.
BREAKING IT DOWN:
Mountains frequently appear insurmountable from their base, and in order to be successful, climbers must break the mountain down into attainable components. In business, the ability to take ambitious organizational goals and break them down into attainable elements is the difference between an ordinary leader and being a transformational leader. To be affective, short-term goals must be hierarchal, congruent and sequenced.
CHANGING CRACKS:
In rock climbing, a climbing crack rarely goes from the base of a mountain to the summit. To be successful and reach the summit, we have to be prepared to change cracks along our course. Changing cracks is often necessary in business as well, and it is during these times that our creativity and team work is so important.
LEARNING TO MANAGE FEAR:
Fear often impacts our ability to reach our goals in the mountains and in life. To truly maximize our potential, we must distinguish between two types of fear: the fear that protects us and keeps us safe when we’re doing something we shouldn’t be; and the fear that limits us and keeps us from achievement, which results from mere uncertainty. We can only maximize our potential when we learn to manage our fear and overcome it.
ANTICIPATING NEGATIVE MOMENTS:
Mountain climbing skills are built over years and decades through hard work and other “positive” moments. However, the bad decisions we make in the mountains can take away all our years of hard work in just an instant. Negative moments happen – both in the mountains and in life – and the only way we can overcome them is to anticipate them.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ADVERSITY:
When the going gets tough, many climbers pack up and head home. However if we anticipate challenges and prepare for adversity, we can be ideally positioned to take advantage of tough times and realize extraordinary acheivements. Adversity creates opportunity, and organizations that take advantage of these opportunities have the ability to prosper in unusual and surprising ways.
PRACTICING CORPORATE COLLECTIVISM:
“Collectivism” is often considered a naughty word in western societies. However, experiences with the Masaii of East African and the Sherpas of Nepal show how members of these unique teams often make small individual sacrifices to realize remarkable achievements for their groups. Corporate collectivism can work the same way, if we take a moment to recognize those who support us and examine what we can contribute to others.
SHIFTING TO A PERFORMANCE-BASED PERSPECTIVE:
Climbing is typically thought of as an “outcome-based” sport, in which success and failure is measured against a defined summit. However, the modern era of extreme sports is characterized by a “performance-based” perspective in which athletes compete only against themselves. With this shift in perspectives, the possibility is limited only by our imagination. As we shift our focus away from our competitors and focus instead on continuous improvement, truly remarkable results occur.
GOING BEYOND THE SUMMIT:
From the summit of Mount Everest, perspective falls away and the largest mountains in the world look like simple day hikes. Success breads success and summits are a great place to define “What’s Next?” By moving from summit to summit, we can create a mountain range of achievement and truly live our lives up to our absolute potential.
