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Several years ago, I discovered Laurence Gonzalez’s (’03) book, Deep Survival – Who Lives, Who Dies and Why about individuals surviving “do or die” situations. Recently, I glanced through it again thinking it might be helpful for business people grappling with the challenges of this economy. I couldn’t put it down. Now, I’m convinced of its value for anyone going through any kind of crisis.
Gonzalez studied hundreds of survival stories and presents many of them in his book. He shares tales of people surviving harrowing crashes and others lost in the wilderness. Fascinated by their travails, he ponders why some people make it, while others perish? What general lessons can we learn from how the survivors behaved?
Gonzalez finds that one of the key features “deep survivors” possess is the capacity to focus on “doing the next right thing”. Instead of becoming overwrought, survivors accept what’s happening earlier in the process and focus on extricating themselves. They reason, “Okay, I’m here. This is really happening. Now I’m going to do the next right thing…”
That principle seems straightforward, but grappling with reality during a crisis was harder for the non-survivors. Victims, overcome by fear, were less adept at accepting their situation.
Many victims are prone to hysteria, while others are immobilized. What differentiates “deep survivors” is their ability to convert their emotions to drive reasonable, helpful action.
Surprisingly, the unlikeliest people sometimes prevail while others who are better trained and equipped don’t. Gonzalez tells the story of a teenage girl, Juliane Koepcke, who was with 91 other passengers aboard a plane that went down in the Peruvian jungle.
Most of the others stayed by the plane thinking it was the right course of action. Isn’t that what we’re told to do in a situation like that? But many of the “rule followers” died waiting to be rescued. Juliane made a plan to escape through the jungle and she stuck to her plan, eventually meeting up with three hunters who rescued her. Her salvation, according to Gonzalez, was an inner resource, her mindset.
Fear is universal among people in peril. But “deep survivors” like Juliane channel their apprehension into helpful steps. Gonzalez cites this as one of his “12 rules of survival“.
Deep Survival is gripping despite its being peppered with lots of narrative “switchbacks”. But, Gonzalez successfully conveys his thesis that it’s not what’s in our backpack that makes the difference, or even what’s in our minds. It’s something even deeper that counts the most.
Managing a crisis successfully is mostly an inside game. This applies to enduring any kind of peril — being lost in the wilderness, facing a serious illness, or a managing a daunting business crisis. Sooner or later, many of us will likely face a catastrophe of some kind. If we understand what it takes to produce a better outcome, we stand a better chance of improving our odds.
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