Sandbag Excellence: The Lesson of Henry Barber
Henry Barber and the author enjoying a fine morning together on the second pitch of The Siagons, Cathedral Ledge, New Hampshire. Photo by Anne Skidmore.
One of the characteristics of great entrepreneurs is that, to a person, they are ruthless sandbaggers. Great entrepreneurs consistently under-promise and over-perform, and through their example, inspire this behavior throughout their organizations.
The same is true of great climbers, none more so than one of the greatest American rock climbers, Henry Barber.
From 1975 to 1980, Henry was the best rock climber in the world. He was excellent on his home crags of Cathedral Ledge in New Hampshire and the Shawangunks of New York, where he established and repeated the hardest climbs of the day. More importantly, Henry was the first rock climber of his generation to travel in search of the hardest routes in the world.
Everywhere Henry went in those days he met up with the best local climbers and established a first ascent with them in impeccable style, which then became the hardest climb of their crag. Afterward, Henry and the locals would decamp to the nearest pub to celebrate their achievement, and Henry would drink them under the table. The next day, bright as a daisy, off he’d go to the crag to set another new standard.
After a few seasons of this, Henry had a reputation and everyone knew what to expect when he showed up. People began pointing Henry toward climbs they knew were dangerous or impossible, encouraging Henry to give it a try. Given his intelligence and talent for self-preservation, Henry frequently demurred.
But just as often, Henry knew what others didn’t: he was so good at rock climbing and he had experienced the same scenario in so many different places around the world that he could see what others could not. Henry would then climb the new route on sight and blow the locals away.
Henry Barber exemplified the ideal of sandbag excellence.
We are constantly teaching this lesson to less experienced entrepreneurs, who are optimists by nature and inclined to over-represent the promise of their venture to the detriment of their cash position and to their longevity as a CEO.
Instead, our great serial entrepreneurs have embraced this lesson and practice it every day.
If she thinks the likely outcome is a 10, she tells the Board it’s a 6, and surprises everyone on the upside, even if the results fall short of her estimate. She leaves a couple of things in her pocket every quarter because she never knows when she’ll need them. She does this for all the goals of her team and for her company, and in doing so, creates a culture of sandbag excellence.
A classic clip from 1976: Henry ruthlessly sandbagging Pete Livesey, the best British rock climber of the time, on his own route, Dream/Liberator in Cornwall, England.