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why you should measure to get better.

Picture of Derek MacDonald

action without documentation blocks progress.

When I worked for NOLS, one of the things we talked through at our annual summit was the rate of yearly incidents and injuries that had occurred in the field. Traveling in places where rescue is hundreds of miles away (sometimes days), the data on common injuries requiring medical evacuation was fascinating.

More jaw-dropping was the injury at the top of the list.

NOLS is an outdoor education organization specializing in leadership development. They operate globally in some of the world’s most desolate environments.

Using wilderness expedition-style trips as their classroom of choice, participants range from Naval Academy cadets to corporate executives and from professional guides to individuals.

what you measure makes you better.

When undertaking a new challenge, our tendency is to anticipate. The unknown creates a want to be prepared. We look forward, ruminating in the “what ifs”.

It becomes easy to slip into a habit of brushing off the present to prepare for what’s next. To skip over the acknowledgement of what’s happening around us would be a mistake.

Whether good or bad, not writing down or accounting for what happened is a missed opportunity — a really massive one.

The process of documenting is what helps us create understanding. By focusing on the facts of what happened, we can then spot patterns, trends, and opportunities.

That’s what NOLS does to mitigate risk on their expeditions.

Actually, it’s what they’ve been exceptional at doing since 1965.

 

start by identifying what you can control.

The common injury requiring medical evacuation?

Rattlesnake bite? Attacked by a large predator? Frostbitten extremities?

No, no, and no.

 

The most staggering recurring injury:

Burns.

More specifically, burned feet.

 

When using the portable, whisperlite stoves synonymous with backpacking, people would sit next to them while boiling water.

They tip, they burn.

“How could you possibly know that?”.

Easy.

Any time medical attention is required during a NOLS course, it gets written down. Even, and especially, when they person is ok and doesn’t require treatment.

 

selective focus of blue and gray camping gas burner and cooking pan on cliff
 
Photo by Sage Friedman on Unsplash

 

use what you learn to treat the cause, not the symptom.

Documentation was able to expose a pattern: the most common injury requiring evacuation from the desolate corners of the earth was self-inflicted.
 
That’s great news — it’s something we could control.

So what’s the solution? Pack more bandages?

Or…

Don’t sit when using the stove.

Bingo — hence the protocol to stand or crouch when using stoves. This would provide maximum dexterity to react if needed.

 

embrace it and address the evidence.

The majority of customer questions we’d receive were related to fear and anxiety of personal injury.

Having data that pointed to the statistical improbability of those fears was a powerful talking point.

So was the evidence that we’d improved that which we could control to minimize risk.

This approach to preparation is baked into the fabric of the NOLS leadership curriculum.

NOLS teaches risk management by applying leadership and wilderness skills and facilitating experiences to develop judgment. Students will be able to:

  • Identify and assess hazards and understand risks in the wilderness

  • Use technical skills, leadership, judgment, and situational awareness to manage risks

  • Use risk management terminology and models to assess and communicate decisions and actions

  • Create and implement contingency plans

 

recording and improving your process will create opportunities.

As you can imagine, conducting leadership development courses in off-grid locations around the world carries inherent risk.

Initially founded to teach outdoor skills, NOLS was uniquely positioned to educate their participants in wilderness medicine and advanced rescue techniques as a way to insure student safety.

Turns out there’s a pretty big market for that.

The NOLS Wilderness Medicine curriculum is now considered the industry standard in many respects for search and rescue professionals, guides, first responders and many others around the world.

 

final thoughts.

  1.  Record it.

    Identify what you can control.

  1. Own it.

    Treat the cause not the symptom.

  2. Use it.

    By tracking the stats, you gain evidence for your message.

  3. Grow it.

    Solving what’s in your control often unlocks opportunities to teach others to do the same.

After-all, no one prevents missed details like the department of redundancy department.

Give it a shot. Or not.

Up to you.

onward.

-dm