Outward Bound Lessons to Live a Life of Leadership: To Serve, to Strive, and Not to Yield

This is the first book to describe in detail the principles of Outward Bound, told through the stories of former instructors and graduates who show how to apply them to create healthier, more effective teams, organizations, and communities. 

For nearly six decades Outward Bound USA’s education programs have shaped the lives of tens of thousands of participants. Strangers are put in an unfamiliar and unpredictable setting, where to succeed they must develop a sense of teamwork, resilience, self-confidence, and a focus on the greater good. But, Mark Brown asks, isn’t the modern world just as unpredictable and challenging as any mountain or desert? He shows how the same principles that bind people together in the natural world work just as well in cities, companies, and communities. 

This book explores the concept of Expeditionary Leadership through the stories of people such as third-generation business steward Laura Kohler, the Home Depot cofounder Arthur Blank, and former United States Senator Mark Udall, whose lives were touched by Outward Bound and who then went on to make a positive difference in the world. They show how each of us can, in our own way, use the Outward Bound philosophy to bravely face the wild unknowns in our daily lives.

From training the first Peace Corps volunteers to partnering with thousands of educational institutions and corporations, Outward Bound has helped build the self-confidence and character of participants who have gone on to live richer, more fulfilling, and successful lives. Outward Bound internationally operates in thirty-three countries and impacts nearly a quarter of a million people annually.

Mark Michaux Brown worked for twenty-two years as a field instructor and program manager for Outward Bound, where he helped design some of the first Leadership Development Programs used by hundreds of companies as diverse as the Home Depot and Cox Enterprises. He spent more than seven years on the leadership team of a New England company using Expeditionary Leadership principles to transform its culture. He currently works as a master organizational coach and consultant, guiding people and organizations to thrive through change. He also serves on the advisory board of several organizations, including two technology start-ups and the University of New Hampshire's Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.