Short audio preview

Many mountaineers have imparted their wisdom to the London Business Forum over the years and it was the very impressive Amy Beeton’s turn to do the same. But, whilst she agreed that mountains have many business parallels she was insistent that hers would avoid the “obvious clichés”, such as, “The summit is your target, it’s your goal.” Not true! Beeton contended, “It’s getting down the mountain [...] alive that is your goal.”

“Life, living and people” are what Beeton cherishes. One of the most important lessons that she has learned from “life, business and mountaineering” is that you can only reach your full potential if you look after yourself. Not only does Beeton know a thing or two about the fitness level needed to climb some of the world’s highest mountains – she is one of only a handful of British women to have summited Everest – but she understands the level of stamina required in the today’s corporate world.

The mountaineering bug bit Beeton at a time when she felt “a huge desire for personal change.” Working full time, and as her love of mountains took hold, Beeton’s lifestyle had to change. That meant no more drinks after work if she was to fit in the training necessary to reach her mountaineering peak.

“Climbing to the top of the world,” revealed Beeton, “involves ascending five and a half vertical miles into the sky, [it takes] two and a half months to do so, 15 tonnes of equipment (and that’s just for nine climbers). Typically, we climb between six to nine hours at a time […] with about 40 kilos on the back and on about 40% of the oxygen we have available to us in this room.” Beeton’s feat is made all the more inspirational by the fact that she reached Everest’s summit only weeks after major surgery.

Just as mountaineers need to be physically fit so too do today’s business people, or as she calls them “corporate athletes”. Serious athleticism, Beeton suggests, is needed in working life to maintain a high level of productivity. “The making of a corporate athlete,” she said, does take a change in lifestyle. One of the simplest things Beeton believes people can do is banish the “‘Three Big Naughties’: alcohol, caffeine and chocolate.”

The “high octane caffeinated high” that comes after a cup of coffee is short lived. Although Beeton admitted that it is all too easy with the stresses and strains of modern life to prop oneself up with coffee and sugar, we are committing what she called “cellular murder.” Tiredness, difficulty sleeping, lack of motivation and irritability are all signs that we are killing our cells. “Life’s athletes,” Beeton continued, “prioritise sleep and never become dehydrated.”

There is of course a psychological side to peak performance. Quoting Thucydides, Beeton told the LBF, “The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of feeling free is actually to be courageous.” The courage Beeton needed, she told the LBF, came from listening to her instinct. Her ambition to climb Everest involved focus, determination and a very clear vision.

Visualisation, explained Beeton, is vital if you want to realise your objective and “the more colour, emotion and reality you apply to this vision the more likely it is that you will be the change you want to see.” Finally she encouraged the LBF audience to “Become one of life’s athletes; happy, healthy and passionately in it for the long haul.”