Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of the Japanese internet giant, Rakuten, takes his leadership team on annual mountain-climbing trips to the peak of Mount Tanigawa, a mountain notorious for taking more lives than Mount Everest. Mikitani’s rationale for his yearly unconventional trip was that he saw it as a fantastic non-traditional opportunity to force his team to get to know one another on a deeper level. He saw the trip as a tangible representation and reminder of the teamwork necessary through whatever hills and valleys the company may face. (Pun intended).

Recently, I patted my fellow teammates on the back for completing the first part of the Group Business Plan and this article is a fantastic reminder of the importance of fostering teamwork. When a team member slips, are we there for them the whole way, thick and thin? Or will we, mindful of our own safety, let them keep falling?

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This physical journey that the Rakuten’s leadership team embarks illustrates the how a team should function. We don’t necessarily have to take every team member we are met with in the future on a physical perilous hike, (albeit, there are many beautiful mountains in British Columbia to explore), but we should remember that our team members, as valuable assets as they are, are human too and it is worthwhile to take the given opportunity to invest in deeper, more meaningful relationships.