Alpine Methodology

The method for teaching ski-ing has to be one of the most elegant methodologies there is.

Joe Bloggs, random punter, sedentary worker with a beer gut, travels to the mountains to learn a complex and potentially dangerous skill; i.e. throwing himself down a mountain at 30mph on two five foot long skis… and he thinks that he’s on holiday!

Oh yes, there is more to ski tuition than meets the eye… there are lessons hidden in this methodology that could help you lead and manage your projects much more effectively!

The humble sport of skiing has evolved over decades from a time where wooden skis were tied to your feet (and you x’d your fingers as you hurtled off down the hill) to the modern day technical fashion show we see today. But it’s the evolution of the teaching method, not the technology that should intrigue us.

What might learning to ski have to teach today’s project managers?

• It’s not a direct path, but every step is profitable: Snow ploughing is not on the direct path to parallel skiing, but it does allow the novice skier to develop a feeling for moving on snow while getting around the mountain. It’s useful to beginners on those first days, and an achievable goal!
• You are inspired, and you don’t even know the plan! – The first day of skiing, you are not shown the plan for the week, but you probably say “wow!” when you see the snow bound acrobatics your instructor performs as he skis backwards on one ski while instructing you.  You don’t know the explicit plan for learning to ski, but there is plenty of inspiration, small goals, and the expectation that you’ll be able to ski by the end of the week!
• Mistakes are expected and encouraged – Who has learnt to ski without falling over? when learning is the key you have to teach people how to fall well, and get back up! (lesson 1 on the slopes!)
• It’s a social thing – Classes ski together, drink together, work hard in the day, and have fun doing it!
• It’s a faith thing – Faith from the ski instructor that you can learn just like anyone else… and the faith that builds in you as you take on small goals and achieve them!

What other lessons have I missed? I’d love to hear your interpretations of this ‘agile and inspired’ alpine project methodology.

If your project really learnt the (s)keys (couldn’t resist the pun) of highly evolved ski tuition.. how could it improve beyond your wildest expectations?

Jason Bates