Everybody running a business faces a ‘red star’ moment when they must decide one of two courses of action that could seal the fate of their company, adventurer and inspirational speaker Monty Halls told delegates at the Business Show Swindon.
One path could lead to success – the other to regret and recrimination. But only one person – the business’s leader – can make the decision.
In an anecdote-packed and joke-laced presentation, Monty Halls spoke about how he went from being a jobless ex-Royal Marine sleeping on a friend’s sofa to a successful – and almost fearless – expedition leader and, later, a TV presenter known for his much-acclaimed BBC2 Great Escape series filmed in some of the most demanding environments on earth.
But even he admitted to having his own ‘red star’ moment when he had to scale a 500m sheer cliff face for a TV programme – and needed to overcome his fear of heights. He confessed to nearly catching the next flight home – but decided he could not tell people to be fearless if he was not prepared to face up to a phobia of his own.
While his eight years in the Marines had been uneventful – “I never went to war but I arranged some vicious volley ball matches” – he drew on his training in teamwork to develop an adventure travel business taking groups to extreme locations such as jungles, deserts and shark-infested seas.
“I was taking people out of their comfort zones,” he said. “I was applying massive amounts of stress to these people. They learnt how to cope when the wheels came off.”
These skills could be applied to running a business, he said, when managers have to confront the unknown – quoting Everest mountaineer George Mallory who famously told his team: “Gentleman, we are stepping off the map.”
But he said humans had evolved to cope with huge challenges. “We crack on and keep going. We have a phenomenal ability to overcome adversity,” he told the audience.
It was to find out more about this that led him to live among crofters in the remote Outer Hebrides and fishermen in Cornwall who, while at sea, never sleep for more than one-and-half hours at a time.
But he admitted that what frightened him now was running his eco-tourism business in Devon. “It’s one of the hardest things I’ve done,” he said.
The Business Show Swindon attracted around 800 delegates to the town’s STEAM museum and 80 stands from exhibitors ranging from Bristol Airport to Forward Swindon – the town’s economic regeneration company – and accountants Monahans.
Regional law firm Thrings, which has its largest office in Swindon, and HSBC Commercial sponsored the show’s Click and Connect Lounge.
Pictured: Monty Halls speaking at the Business Show Swindon
