🌪️ When the Storm Hits: Why Experience Isn’t Optional

Some weeks ago, during a PMI Barcelona Chapter roundtable on managing complex project situations, a memory from 2018 came back to me — one that perfectly captured the essence of real leadership under pressure.

I was at the Port Ainé ski resort in the Pyrenees, on a 15-minute chairlift ride to the peak with two kids (8 and 10) learning to ski, guided by an instructor named Pepe — who was 72 years old at the time.

A calm day. Clear sky. Nothing unusual. We reached the top and suddenly… everything changed.

🌬️ A violent blizzard hit us out of nowhere.

💨 90 km/h winds👁️ Zero visibility

⚖️ Loss of balance and orientation

Literally, we were in Mordor.

One of those moments where panic is easy… and the margin for error is zero.

And when everything turned chaotic, one truth became crystal clear:

👉 Focus matters

👉 Fast decision-making matters

👉 But above all… experience matters

Pepe’s mountain instinct, serenity, and decades of navigating real storms got us down safely. At 72, he outperformed what any textbook, tool, or methodology could ever teach.

Without him, I might not be telling this story today.

And this parallels what so often happens in organizations.

👤 Seasoned professionals often become invisible once they reach a certain age. When in reality, their accumulated judgment, pattern recognition, and calm under pressure are irreplaceable — especially in complex or high-risk scenarios.

But here’s the key point:

🆕 Fresh ideas matter.

💡 Younger teams bring innovation, energy, and new perspectives.

🔄 Ensuring generational renewal is essential for companies to evolve.

And all of that is 100% compatible with acknowledging — and valuing — the people whose experience anchors us when things get tough.

The future belongs to organizations that can do both: empower new talent AND honor the wisdom of those who built the foundations.

What’s one situation where the experience of someone senior — or the fresh ideas of someone junior — completely changed the outcome for you or your team?

Share it below 👇 I’d love to hear your story.