Outback Truckers

I thought being hooked on ‘Outback Truckers’ was just one of those things I do that most other people don’t, like motorcycling and laughing at my one-liners. But as it turns out, a TV show about driving trucks is more popular than 90% of all other reality documentaries. And here’s why:

The risks these people are prepared to take venturing out into the middle of nowhere with little or no safety net is compelling. You find yourself willing them on to overcome anything from getting 90 tonnes stuck in the mud to running the gauntlet through bush fires. And whilst most logistics around the world has been engineered to squeeze out as much risk and disruption as possible, driving in the outback requires a completely different mindset. One that sees any unforeseen change ahead as a challenge to be solved.

To say that outback trucking and conventional trucking are the same because they’re both forms of road haulage is like saying that Australia and Great Britain are the same because they’re both islands.

Everything is on an extreme scale: the mind-boggling distances, the size of the trucks (over 50m in length), the weather, the corrugated assault courses that pass for dirt roads, and routes that take the drivers hundreds of kilometres from the nearest assistance.

So what goes through the minds of the men and women who choose this extreme lifestyle? Well, in the words of one of the drivers featured, Scott Conohan:

‘I love my job. I look forward to getting up every day and having a chance.’

How brilliant is that? Most people reading this have probably never aspired to be trucker (outback or otherwise). But who wouldn’t aspire to have such a zest for life?

All that most people want is a chance – to succeed, to beat the odds, to make a difference. The good news is that you don’t need to drive a road train to explore the outback of your capabilities. You just need a change mindset that’s ready for whatever happens next on your journey.

If you want to know more about how to raise your Change Intelligence, check out our HPC Programme, and I look forward to connecting with you soon!