Mind the context – a mountaineering analogy

From a distance, rock climbing and canyoning look very similar. When you look a little closer, how many differences can you spot?

Similarly, 2 organisations might look alike from a distance. Or you might feel that 2 organisations use an almost identical approach to operational excellence. When you pay closer attention, you will notice fundamental differences. These differences go much further than what is plain obvious to see. These differences matter a lot when you create a strategy for your organisation.

Introducing canyoning & climbing

In this blog article, I will take you through an analogy in mountaineering, comparing 2 disciplines: rock climbing and canyoning. In climbing, the purpose is to go up by using the rock for grip. And you eventually come down. In canyoning, the purpose is to descend a steep mountain river through its canyon. To get started, you need to go up.

Techniques and materials are different, although on the outside, they look the same. The reason is a fundamental difference related to safety. In climbing, you can die because of falling from a height. In canyoning, you can die in a similar way, but there are 2 additional ways to die: you can drown or you could not get out of the canyoning in time and die from hypothermia or exhaustion. The key safety thing in climbing is to avoid to fall. The key consideration in canyoning is to avoid falling, but never get blocked/stuck under water and proceed rather fast. The risk of drowning seems somewhat more important than the other 2 risks.

Differences

So let’s go to the difference you might notice in the pictures.

Difference	Canyoning	Climbing
Clothing	Wet suit: to protect against hypothermia. The water is freezing cold. A ‘Long John’ might do when there is little water. Canyoning shoes – significant profile and good to walk up and through the river	T-shirt and sun-protection. Because of the reflection of the sun against the rocks, the temperature is hot (summer) or nice (winter). Climbing shoes with anti-slip – good grip but uncomfortable
Harness	Has protection for your bottom, more specific to prevent damaging your wetsuit. Can be used for climbing as well.	The loop in front to attach the belaying device runs in a different, vertical direction (because of the type of belaying device)
Belaying device	Figure Eight or Pirana: more versatile No additional safety applied since that might keep you stuck in the water.	Several alternatives: more breaking power. A ‘prusik’ is used below the belaying device as an extra security: If you let go, everything blocks.
Rope	Semi Static: < 5% elongation, because the stretch makes it harder to climb up. You don’t make similar falls as in climbing. (a rope for speleology has even less elongation because you go out of the cave and hence are climbing up the rope more frequently than in canyoning).	Dynamic: 10% elongation which absorbs energy during a fall (a fall can be several meters)
Accessoires	Shunt (or Basic): to ascend on a rope	Quickdraws & Friends: to fix the rope on the rock
Rappel	On a single rope, using a figure eight. This opens many more options in case of abnormalities. No end knot, as this would make you get stuck in the water pool at the bottom of the waterfall.	On a double rope. Knot at the end to prevent falling of the rope if the rope is too short
Backpack	Has many holes so the water can get out. Should contain a container or empty bottle so it floats. Has a safety so you can release it quickly. Does not have loops on the outside so it would not get stuck at a branch.	Has many loops to attach gear on.

Conclusion

Why is this relevant? Minor adaptations make all the difference. The same is true in business. There are many Agile or Lean approaches. For the untrained eye, it is all the same. You can’t be further from the truth.

Most climbers don’t know about the differences described above, because they lack training in canyoning. I have been climbing for over 35 years and started canyoning about 6 years ago. It is only recently, after being trained in canyoning as well and asking questions to several experienced guides, that I realised the value of these minor differences.

I encourage you to hire a coach who can spot the differences in your context. Find someone who can equip you with the right tools for the job. A great coach has some hands-on experience in various contexts. Avoid someone who gives you a standard set of tools for any job, regardless of the context. The best coaches are those who can manage resistance, while understanding the need to tailor and adjust for minor, but crucial, differences.