Independent Banker - January 2020 - 61

If you want to survive,
you need to be able
to take action based
on the situation, not
based on your plan.
summit-a lesson that applies to business, too. " If you are
going to truly embrace a spirit of innovation, you need to
give yourself and your teams the freedom to fail, " she says,
" because a lack of failure-tolerance stifles progress and
innovation and prevents people from taking risks. "
Second, progress isn't always straightforward;
sometimes it can look like failure. To get to the top of
Mount Everest, climbers must spend weeks going up and
down the mountain to prepare their bodies for the ascent.
" So, while it may feel like you are going in the wrong
direction, you are still making progress, because you are
helping your body acclimatize, which ensures that you will
be stronger out of the gates for the next rotation up the
mountain, " Levine says. " This is how you build strength to
ensure your success going forward. "
Third, be clear on your what goal is. While reaching the
summit was clearly one of her objectives, surviving was
the ultimate goal. When the team made it back down alive,
they gave themselves the opportunity to try again. " Backing
up is not the same as backing down, " Levine often says
in speeches. " You have to be able to adjust, reinvent and
change direction. "
Luckily, Levine's second attempt at Everest went
differently than her first. In 2010, eight years after her
first attempt, she summited Mount Everest, completing a
version of the Explorers Grand Slam.
Speaking from the edge
Now a consultant and speaker, Levine travels the globe
sharing her perspective, having seen the world from some
of the most extreme vantage points.
Whether you're blazing a trail on a mountain or in a
community bank, Levine says that despite our best efforts
to plan, there are factors we can't always account for. Just
as she and her team had to react to Everest's unpredictable
weather, community bankers also need to be able to adapt
to opportunities, whether expected or unexpected.
" It's important because your customers' needs will
change based on environmental business factors that
are out of your control: the economy, regulatory affairs,
the political environment, etc., " Levine says. " All of these
things can change at any point, so you have to be ready to
take action regardless of what you planned for in the past. "
Ultimately, progress is what's important. Levine says
everyone has their own mountain to climb. But if you take
a step forward-even if it takes several deep breaths and a
lot of grit-you'll be that much closer to your goal.
" The strategies [and] lessons I talk about apply not just
to business, but to everyday life, " she says. " The struggle is
different for everyone, but if we all put one foot in front of
the other, we will make it up the mountain. "
Eric Best is deputy editor of Independent Banker.
independentbanker.org Q 61
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - January 2020

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