Greenland

22 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2008

See all articles by James G. Clawson

James G. Clawson

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business

Morten Lie

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Abstract

The Greenland case describes the experience of four young Norwegian men determined to set a world record for unsupported crossing of Greenland. The case describes the team, their preparations, and their experiences as they crossed in "good" weather that was often whiteout blizzard conditions with temperatures dropping as low as -78 degrees F. Throughout the case, one of the team members reflects on things he learned about himself, about the team, and about leadership from the experience (recorded in italics). The teaching note (available to registered faculty) is supplemented by a PowerPoint presentation that helps introduce the expedition to Greenland, other "risky recreation," and the concepts related to resonance or flow. A video supplement is also available. The case lends itself to a profound discussion of leadership on its own and leads in nicely to a discussion of world-class performance and the purpose of life, which both startles and pleasantly surprises most students and participants.

Excerpt

UVA-OB-0581

GREENLAND

In May 1991, four Norwegians crossed the island of Greenland from Angmagssalik on the east coast to SØndre StrØmfjord on the west coast, a trek of 650 kilometers (394 miles), unsupported, and in only 13 days. The team broke an unofficial record of crossing this particular track by over 10 days. The average time for this track without support of any kind had been 42 days. The expedition carried food for 20 days, and fortunately, at the beginning, experienced the finest weather one can expect in May in Greenland: sunny skies, −5oC (28°F), and no wind. During the crossing, however, the expedition was exposed to the normal, harsh environment of Greenland. Cold temperatures and high winds brought the wind-chill factor to as low as −61oC (−78°F). Snow and whiteouts made the days endlessly long and tiring. A description follows of what happened, why those four young men went on that expedition, and what they learned from it as seen through the eyes of one of them.

Greenland, the largest island in the world, was over three times larger than Texas and longer than the distance from New York City to Denver. The island was bowl-shaped with a low inland plateau surrounded by coastal mountains. A sheet of permanent ice covered the plateau, which occupied 1,833,900 square kilometers (km) or over 80% of the island. The coldest region of Greenland was at the center of the plateau icecap, where temperatures averaged −47oC (−53°F) in February and −11oC (12°F) in July. Because of the climate, the inland icecap was completely deserted; no human or animal life existed. More people climbed Mount Everest than had successfully crossed Greenland unsupported. Exhibit 1 shows previous expeditions from Angmagssalik to SØndre StrØmfjord.

Commitment and Planning

The expedition began forming in late summer of 1990. Initially, seven or eight people were interested in participating. As plans progressed, however, we were down to four:

. . .

Keywords: managerial psychology, leadership, career management

Suggested Citation

Clawson, James G. and Lie, Morten, Greenland. Darden Case No. UVA-OB-0581, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=910419 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.910419

James G. Clawson (Contact Author)

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business ( email )

P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.darden.virginia.edu/faculty/clawson.htm

Morten Lie

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

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