Do You Know Your Sherpa's?

In our weekly solutions meeting here at United Sign, we had a vendor of ours come in this week to show off some of their new clothing offerings by way of materials, fabric patterns, hot fashion trends for casual business wear, athletic clothing and oven some really nice outerwear items, one of which was called “Sherpa Lined”.  It got me wondering…..does anyone here know what a Sherpa is?  

So I asked.

Didn’t get a single response other than “a coat liner”.  Well, kinda, but not really.  So what is or who is a Sherpa?

Sir Edmund Hillary and his "Sherpa" Tenzing Norgay - First pair to summit Everest

A Sherpa is an ethnicity of people who live mostly in Nepal, China, Tibet and India and they are specifically known for their ability as mountaineers and living in the harsh climates of the foothills of Mount Everest and they are remarkably able to sustain at very high altitudes as their blood carries in some cases almost triple the levels of oxygen that a normal person does.  They actually have three teams of Sherpa People for climbers trying to make a summit attempt on Mount Everest.  One team for base camp, one for middle camp and the heartiest of the bunch are called the “Summit Team”.  They all go up in advance of the climbers to help them along the way as the actual “climbers” have to stop three times on the way up to “acclimatize” themselves to the thinner air, often for weeks at a time.  If a person were to go from sea level to the summit of Everest the simple fact is, they would lose consciousness in a matter of seconds and die within minutes.  The Sherpa guides are there to take care of their needs.  They are truly remarkable humans.

Ed Viesturs and his "Sherpa" Jamling Norgay, who happens to be Tenzing's (pictured above) son.

The reason for this blog and tidbit of info?  Have you looked around you lately for your “Sherpa’s”?  Do you recognize this among your employees who always come through in a clutch?  Do you stop to thank the people who help you reach glory?  Do you have someone who truly is able to carry a heavier load or lead the charge while everyone else take a little time to adapt?  They are the people who truly make up the life blood of your business.  Yes, just like the Sherpa’s on Everest, I am sure your Sherpa’s are compensated, but the key here is to always remember that without them….your climb to the top would be a disaster.

Thanks for the read!