Issue26
trends inautomation
Inspiration
8
–
9
things incommon.Whenyoualways travelwith thesamepeople,
a routine candevelop,which isdangerous. I alwaysusemy
gut instinctwhen initiallydecidingwhether or not someonewill
fitwell ina team. During interviews, I askapplicantsdifficult
questionssuchaswhatweshoulddo if theydie,whoweshould
inform, andsoon. Thisdeflates the initial exuberanceand
euphoriaofmany candidatesand theybegin toquestion the
seriousnessof our undertaking. At thispoint, people’s reactions
are clear tosee.Whatwedon’twant inour team issomeone
who is interestedpurely inself promotion. Peoplewhoareout to
provesomething to themselvesor toothers. Theymust accept
that sometimes thingsareunfair – I’mnot always inagood
mood. Asa teammember, youmust beable toovercomesuch
feelingsandsay toyourself: “He’s inabadmood today, but
maybe I’ll be inabadmood tomorrow.”At thesame time,
someonewho feels theyareoftenbeing treatedunfairlymust be
able tostandup for themselves. Another important element
of asuccessful expedition to theArctic is, of course, sacrifice.
Noshowers, no contactwith familyand friends.
Wecanfindoutwhetherpeoplearesuitable for a longer
expeditionby taking themonshorter journeysor sailing trips
first. I thereforegraduallyworkout howwell someone is likely to
fit intoa team. Thisgivesmeand themembersof theexpedition
team thesecurityof knowing thatwewill cooperateandpull
together inextremesituations.
Howdoyouensure thehighest level of safety for yourself
andyour team?
Fuchs:
Sometimes, asituation thatmight seemdangerous to
anoutsider isnot actuallydangerous for usbecausewehave
acquired theskills todealwith it. The risksare lessenedbecause
weknowwhatwehave todo. Youshouldalsoset yourself goals
that youhavea reasonable chanceof achieving. Youshouldn’t
be tooambitious.Noproject isworthsomeonesufferingor
losing their life.Of course, I alsohave toknowandanalysewhat
I need todo inorder toachieveagoal,what thepotential risks
areandhow I canovercome them. Despiteall of this, there is
still alwaysa residual risk. Although Imayknow that thereare
severestorms inanarea that I amexploring, I cannotpredicthow
strong theyactuallyare. This iswhy I alwaysbuild inasafety
margin tohelpme to respond todangeroussituations.
Sodoes thismean that youset clear limitsandareprepared
to turnback if continuingmeansputting thesafetyor even the
livesof your teamat risk?
“Therearesome images
that staywithyou. This ismy
personal capital,which I have
accumulated throughout
my life.”
Photo:©AFExpeditionen
