World-class rock climber Todd Skinner is also one of today's most sought-after motivational speakers for business audiences. Whenever he describes his history-making sixty-day free climb of the 20,500-foot Trango Tower in the Karakoram Himalayas (shown on the jacket), people are in awe of his stamina, skill, ambition, and determination. They are also eager to apply his lessons in their professional and personal lives. Skinner argues that everyone has a mountain to climb, whether it's meeting your annual sales target or launching a new product or getting your department to improve its teamwork. And he stresses that you should set your goals even higher than you normally would, and constantly look beyond the current summit to the next one. For instance, instead of aiming for 10 percent revenue growth, go after a seemingly impossible 50 percent target, and then think of new ways to get there. In both rock climbing and business, you must define your exact mission, assemble the right team, make the critical transition from preparation to action, have courage when crossing difficult terrain, and weather the storms well. Skinner offers fresh insights into all of these topics and explains principles such as: how you think is more important than what you know pick teammates for what they will do, not what they have already done make decisions in answer to the mountain fall toward the summit see each challenge as part of a bigger picture, your lifelong ascent Beyond the Summit presents fresh and inspiring advice on leadership, teamwork, and decision-making skills, combined with an epic adventure tale.

Todd Skinner sees climbing mountains as a natural metaphor for business challenges. To climb a mountain you must know how to define your objective, plan the best strategy, prepare your team, and surmount any obstacles on the way to the summit. This book takes the reader through this process in ten stages that apply to both real and metaphorical mountains. Skinner explains how to stay true to your vision no matter what happens, what tools you need to carry, and which preconceptions you need to leave behind. Skinner weaves these lessons into a compelling narrative, featuring the heart-stopping action of climbing the sheer rock face of Trango Tower in the Himalayas.

“I have read several accounts of Everest climbs, but none gave me the "behind the scenes" view this book provides... Whether you get exercise climbing mountains or strolling shopping malls, you'll find your heart racing as you read The Summit: Faith Beyond Everest's Death Zone. If not, you should call 911 immediately and get checked for a pulse.” - Philip Yancey It’s one of the greatest challenges one can face on Earth; an ascent to the top of the world on the slopes of Mount Everest. Eric Alexander experienced grace and a faith-empowering journey he will never forget as part of a record-setting team in May 2001, scaling the heights of Everest with his friend, blind climber Erik Weinhenmayer. Experience some of the most dangerous locations in the world, including abject terror on Amadablam, a blind ski descent of Russia’s Mount Elbrus, and up Kilimanjaro in Africa with four blind teens Gain wisdom in the application of trust, courage, innovation, teamwork, leadership, and integrity to overcome your own Everests Discover practical faith lessons learned on the highest peaks of six continents Here is the powerful story of Eric Alexander and his unique life journey of guiding people with disabilities to the most perilous places of the world, including Mount Everest’s first blind ascent. In The Summit: Faith Beyond Everest’s Death Zone you will follow in their historic footsteps, and learn about faith, trust, prayer, depending on God, as well as the perseverance needed during these climbs and in your own life. Be inspired and motivated by Eric’s insight, not simply to survive but to thrive every day in God’s grace.

Arabs and Israelis have battled one another in political and military arenas, seemingly continuously, for some fifty years. The 1991 Madrid Peace Conference sought to change this pattern, launching bilateral and multilateral tracks in the Arab-Israeli peace process. As a result, a broad group of Arab states sat down with Israel and began to cooperate on a wide range of regional issues in what became known as the Middle East multilaterals. Yet why did enemies reluctant even to recognize one another choose to cooperate on regional problems? And once this process began, what drove the parties to continue such cooperation or, in some cases, halt their cooperative efforts? Beyond the Handshake addresses these fundamental questions, exploring the origins of the multilaterals and the development of multilateral cooperation in the areas of arms control and regional security, economic development, water management, and the environment. Dalia Dassa Kaye, challenging conventional concepts of cooperation, argues that multilateral cooperation in the Middle East must be appreciated as a process of interaction rather than solely as a set of outcomes. Presenting theoretical insights of value to students of regional and international relations, Beyond the Handshake provides a unique look at the evolving nature of Arab-Israeli relations and exposes the foundation the multilateral peace process laid for future regional cooperation in the Middle East.

What does it take to be one of the world's best high-altitude mountain climbers? A lot of fundraising; traveling in some of the world's most dangerous countries; enduring cold bivouacs, searing lungs, and a cloudy mind when you can least afford one. It means learning the hard lessons the mountains teach. Steve House built his reputation on ascents throughout the Alps, Canada, Alaska, the Karakoram and the Himalaya that have expanded possibilities of style, speed, and difficulty. In 2005 Steve and alpinist Vince Anderson pioneered a direct new route on the Rupal Face of 26,600-foot Nanga Parbat, which had never before been climbed in alpine style. It was the third ascent of the face and the achievement earned Steveand Vince the first Piolet d"or (Golden Ice Axe) awarded to North Americans. Steve is an accomplished and spellbinding storyteller in the tradition of Maurice Herzog and Lionel Terray. Beyond the Mountain is a gripping read destined to be a mountain classic. And it