Leader on the Edge

In 1996, Swan helped UNESCO celebrate its 50th anniversary by spearheading an expedition by 35 young people to the South Pole. He matched up people from historically divided backgrounds -- an Israeli and a Palestinian, for example, or a Yugoslavian Muslim and a Bosnian Croat. Now in their teens and twenties, these young men and women will be in their fifties and sixties when the Protocol on Environmental Protection comes up for review -- and, if Swan's hopes are realized, they will be the ones who renew that agreement.

To the Top of the Business Agenda

By 1992, Swan had spread his message to a wide range of nationalities and age groups, but he had overlooked one crucial segment of the population: businesspeople. In June of that year, while he was speaking at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. "I saw all the world leaders there, and I thought, 'Great,' " he says. "I saw all the environmentalists there, and I thought, 'Marvelous.' But still, I said, "This is a waste of time because industry isn't here.' Business has the power to change things -- and maybe looking after our world is the biggest business opportunity on Earth."

After the Earth Summit, Swan began reaching out to business executives, and before long he was speaking to corporate audiences worldwide. His presentations are intentionally low-tech: It's just Swan, a Kodak Carousel slide projector, and dozens of dazzling images of icebergs, ocean, mountains, and snow. ("People say that the lecture makes them cold," he laughs.) He can afford to score low on style because the substance is so compelling. He offers a riveting tale of enormous ambition and success, peppered with episodes of disappointment and difficulty -- including the sinking of a ship and the never-ending challenge of raising money to fund expeditions. "I'm not some sort of asshole standing there saying, 'This is how to sort your life out,' " Swan says. "I simply try to get people to see that changes are possible, that they are not negative, and that they might even affect the bottom line positively."

John L. Steffens, a vice chairman of Merrill Lynch, one of the companies that Swan has given presentations to, believes that the explorer's message is indeed inspirational. "What he's accomplished is unbelievable," Steffens says. "It's not just the feat of reaching the poles -- it's all of the dedication that it took to raise money and to do what everybody told him couldn't be done."

What should businesspeople take away from Swan's story? "First," says Steffens, "businesspeople need genuine vision and commitment -- the same kind of dedication and drive as Swan has displayed on his expeditions. Second, Swan created a real team model. He worried less about whether people would fit together than about picking people who were experts in particular areas, and then he built the camaraderie. Third, he showed unbelievable integrity. On the Antarctic trip, when the ship sank, cleaning up all the garbage was a real inconvenience -- some team members had to stay on for another year -- but he was committed to it. Fourth, he's taking all kinds of kids on his trips, and that's a wonderful addition to the program."

Finally, says Steffens, Swan's ability to maintain his poise and direction amid constantly changing circumstances is a required skill for navigating the new world of business. "Swan is somebody who, on an almost daily basis, has had to change his strategy," Steffens says. "The concept of maintaining a positive view -- of being in control rather than being fearful of things around you -- is really excellent."

For hardy business adventurers who would like to go one step further than listen to Swan recount his stories, the explorer offers employees of his corporate sponsors the opportunity to sail to Antarctica and to experience firsthand both the surreal beauty and the horrifying environmental problems of the South Pole. "To talk about the problems is a waste," Swan says. "I've got to show people the problems." Swan's efforts now center on what he calls Mission Antarctica. In essence, it is a five-year project to assist the Russian clean-up of the Bellingshausen Base, in Antarctica.

This December, the fourth corporate expedition will set sail from Ushuaia, Argentina. The composition of the crew is not yet set, but past crews have included executives such as an account consultant from Standard Life Assurance Co., one of Europe's largest mutual-assurance companies, and a marketing consultant from Cable and Wireless PLC, a London-based telecommunications giant.