San Carlos de Bariloche, a place to get off the cloud
San Carlos de Bariloche (commonly called Bariloche) is a city in the Patagonia region of Argentina located at 893 m above sea level. They have defined it as the most visited destination in Patagonia and one of the most visited destinations in Argentina.
The term “Bariloche” is of Mapuche origin; it is a toponymic reference that symbolizes: “people from behind the mountain.” The name San Carlos, as expressed by historians, honors the first prominent merchant in the city. It wasn´t a saint. It was recorded by mistake. The correct name should have been “Don Carlos de Bariloche.”
Bariloche has beautiful natural reserves, which include lakes, forests, and mountains. There you could spot the largest birds in the world. When you want to know it, you will surely take back, the images of its spectacular landscapes.
Among the various recreational activities, you can choose between an exciting tour of the lakes by bike, trekking in the fall season, visit its national parks, its natural monuments, sports: kayaking, hiking, rafting, horseback riding, or, your curiosity might lead you to know about the legend of the monster of Lake Nahuel Huapi.
Bariloche also receives the visit of scientists, interested in knowing the educational pole on nuclear technology. From the research center, investigations have got recognition worldwide.
Its tourist season occurs in winter and skiing is the most attractive sought after. It is the second world ski destination because of the natural beauty. This condition was part of my personal history in Bariloche.
Rent a private jet to Bariloche: the key to getting off the cloud
Going to Bariloche is a privilege. Doing it in a Jet, aerial, will make it even more attractive. Landing is already a way to get down from the clouds, but when you are in the jet, you may want to stay longer on the clouds.
Traveling wherever you want, when you want, without uncomfortable waiting, will allow you to focus your time on you. Two of the advantages that I most enjoy taking a private flight is the possibility of choosing the gastronomy and the possibility of landing as close as possible to my final destination.
On my one-way trip to Bariloche, privacy allowed me even to rehearse my business conversation. I like the company but, on occasions like this, the possibility of focusing only on the strictly necessary multiplies my probabilities of success.
Descending from a cloud is not a metaphor
Have you ever considered getting down from the cloud?
I have learned that it is an exercise in consciousness and determination. It implies, in the beginning, recognizing you there, in the cloud. Then, decide to lower it.
We know it is a metaphor, but let us try to remove the confusion of the phrase and landed it in a real place.
I’m not talking about the cloud where you store your files or your computer secrets.
I could refer to the metaphorical cloud to which we can go when we exaggerate our attributes (ego). That of which an observer speaks when he warns us, get out of that cloud!
I mean something much more daily. I refer to the real cloud, the one we painted with watercolor when we were children. The same one that one day we knew was not cotton.
On my unforgettable trip to Bariloche, I learned the keys to get off from the cloud, in any of the last two interpretations. I say it with many arguments. I learned skiing!
That sporty experience made a turn in my managerial approach. In this article, I decided to share my new sources for team management. My first experience in Skiing inspires this new strategy.
I got off the cloud doing skiing
I traveled to Bariloche with the purpose of closing an important business of international impact. I took a few extra days to celebrate the results. My partner in Argentina and stellar host recommended me “Learn to ski in Bariloche.”
Now?
I already had it in a schedule on my agenda, only that the conditions had not yet been given. Immediately, I thought that this could be my moment.
I asked about what I would need. I knew that everything in Bariloche was available. I consulted at a distance with friends skiers; I called my wife. Everyone told me, do it now! Moreover, I did it.
If someday you dare to live this adventure, nothing should worry you. Everything you need you can rent or buy there. Beyond the material, on your part, you must only be determined, have the availability of time and enjoy favorable health conditions.
I could not say that I learned skiing, but I have understood the foundations of this sports discipline. I know what I should learn, my pending tasks. I had my little achievements, I fell, and I got up — three essentials of all learning.
I saw myself below, dreaming of being in the clouds. Moreover, I saw myself above them, longing to go down. Furthermore, I descended with much desire to return to be above and begin a new descent.
I can tell you, to summarize, that I opened a door of what I am sure will be numerous adventures and learnings in my next trips to this warm city of snow. I would also dare to predict the development of a new organizational learning area for myself and my team.
On my return trip, with my eyes focused on my affairs, thoughts of the trip and the company I own began to alternate, to blend in something that I could call finally: learning into ski and that I want to share with you today.
Learning to ski in the company
In our daily lives, when they warn us to “get out of the cloud,” they perceive us as very dreamers. It happens to those who, for some reason, at some point, we view ourselves, with oversized attributes.
Has it happened to you? Has it occurred to someone on your team? If you have answered yes, this delivery is for you.
You may be the reference or, perhaps, a member of your team. It may be one of those creatures who does not finish decanting ideas. No matter who he is, when we have been there, in the cloud, we have undoubtedly heard that leave the cloud, or put your feet on the ground, or, more concrete “land.”
It could also refer to a project in which you still cannot land the ideas or a situation where you do not know the terrain or context or are not very familiar with the resources or processes. If that is your case, this reading may be useful for you.
When it’s time to get off the cloud, learning to ski gives you the key. Also, since it is a place to which we have all gone, of which almost all of us have been able to return and to which we can return, I will share what I have learned: the key that can help you skiing in your company.
Six keys to download from the cloud.
On my return trip, thinking about my skiing experience, I noticed a similarity between the problems I faced on the snow, with some issues that I have had to face in my company. I took my agenda and my pen and started writing my bases to go down in the cloud.
I share the result of my reflections. I present some solutions that you can use when you set a new business when you assign a mission in which you have little experience, when it’s time to get off the cloud or when you are on the top of a mountain and want to ski down.
- Recognizing yourself in the cloud requires a bit of coherence and common sense.
When you have coherence and a strong common sense, you will have two conditions in your favor: you will be aware that you are in the cloud and will take the firm determination to get down from it. For whatever your situation, recognize and have a clear perception of the starting point and have the certainty that you want to descend, and you will.
- Learn to detect the difficulty of the terrain
Skiing, in your first class, will surely teach you to know the color of the slopes before skiing. The tracks are marked according to the level of difficulty. The greens are easy. The blues, a little more difficult. The red ones are for more advanced skiers, and the black ones are for experts.
In your organization, when you know that you must descend, you must begin by selecting in what reality you want to land. Your common sense, your instinct for survival and your orientation to achievement, will surely convince you first to know the terrain, evaluate your conditions and choose to start from the simplest.
It is not a random event. You will not fall where fate takes you. You will go down from the cloud to the terrain that you want, and you can step on it.
- Choose the appropriate ski poles.
Your ski poles are your companions. You must choose them based on your size and the type of terrain in which you have decided to ski. The ski poles will help you push yourself to go faster, help you slow down when necessary, give you the support you need to keep your balance. Having ski poles are not enough when you learn to use them you feel in a real company.
In the company, your team, or your partner is your pair of ski poles. The size of them is not measured in meters, but in the level of confidence, that inspire each other and the degree to which they are known.
Identify your ski poles in the company, learn to know them and lean on them with confidence. Also, very important, it generates the conditions for you to trust in you. Having a partner is not enough, as, in skiing, you must learn to establish the best possible relationship.
- Select the appropriate boots.
Putting on your boots has a whole technique. A wrinkle in the stockings or the pants poorly adjusted sure will make you have a hard time. The selection of the shoes depends, among others, on the skier’s expertise. The boots in the ski serve to advance, but also to break.
Having the implements is essential, but being aware of how and when to use them is fundamental. It’s good to learn to ski, to make executive decisions, it’s worth it for life.
In business environments, materials, equipment, and resources are available. However, the fact of having them from the material point of view does not imply success.
Learn to know each resource, discover your particular traits, your management style, your strategies and means of communication and your knowledge, influence the efficiency with which you use your available resources.
In organizations, you must know what conditions help you move forward, but you must develop clarity to recognize those moments when you must stop.
- You must know who has the right to pass on the slope
When you ski, the people who are below you (forward) have the pass. That means that it is up to you to observe them, deviate or avoid them, if necessary.
Allow your team members to take the initiative, observe them and give them the space they need to reach their destination. Giving in step also means paying conscious attention. You must know how to listen to them, empower them, and try to remember them to the point of being able to predict their needs, just as the skier can intuit the movement of his front player.
- Keep control on the slope.
Each skier must be responsible for controlling his speed and have explicit knowledge of the slope he can master. Going down can be very stimulating, but getting carried away by adrenaline could lead to very unpleasant consequences.
Sometimes in organizations, the passion we feel towards a project can lead us to uncontrollable speeds. We put the automatic, and that can lead us to pressure others and oversize resources.
In companies, we are not alone. In our journey, there will always be people and resources in our custody. As in skiing, it is strategic to learn to control that unbridled impulse to end already and only accelerate when we have all the resources under control.
Close your business, give yourself a prize and take notes of the lessons learned
From the business trips I made, this visit to Bariloche taught me that work, fun, and learning could be merged if I wish. If I become aware of what I have learned and think about the experience from another context of my life, with all certainty, I will be creating a new way of perceiving the world, a new idea of facing life.