Shackleton’s Way

A Failed Mission, a Great Leader

Renowned explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton gained fame because of his daring expeditions to Antarctica. He was the first to locate the magnetic South Pole, an advance for maritime navigation, and the first to find coal in Antarctica, a breakthrough for geologists who studied the continent. But the journey that established Shackleton’s legend as a manager of people and resources failed, and yet it earned him the title “the greatest leader that ever came on God’s earth, bar none.” When ice crushed Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, during the Antarctic expedition of 1914-1916, it stranded him and his 27 men far from civilization. They had few supplies and only a faint hope of survival. Not only did Shackleton and his men survive, but they made it to safety in good spirits and with only modest injuries.

Even today, Shackleton’s survival, against all odds, inspires business leaders, including:

• James Cramer – The former hedge fund manager, founder of TheStreet.com and television personality credits Shackleton’s tale with inspiring him to fight through tough times in 1998, when his hedge fund suffered big losses and his dot-com was...