Bo Parfet's Advice: How to Stay Calm During Stressful Situations

Bo Parfet is a successful real estate professional, author, naturalist, and philanthropist. He has helped develop teams to perform at their highest and helps businesses build success from the ground up. His organization, Denali Venture Philanthropy, works to develop small businesses and startups that are focused on promoting positive social and environmental change. Parfet has learned what it takes to build a strong team and become an invaluable leader from a wide array of challenging personal endeavors.

Parfet likes to take calculated risks. He is a methodical and vivacious explorer. He is an avid mountaineer and has earned recognition as one of just 127 people to have completed the Seven Summits, climbing to the peaks of the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents. His experiences on the mountain have led to his successes on the ground.

Preparedness, teamwork, and the ability to discern when to let others take the lead are just a few of the attributes that one must have to scale the world’s highest peaks before making it back down to the ground safely. These same attributes are crucial to being a successful leader in business. Most important, however, is the somewhat innate skill of keeping calm and collected during periods of acute stress.

The ability to regulate thoughts and reactions when unexpected controversies and challenges arise can make all the difference in what defines great leaders. Remaining level-headed and calm while encouraging others to do the same is crucial for properly engaging, connecting, and learning from mistakes and misfortunes.

Parfet has dealt with his fair share of stressful moments. From needing to turn back when three-quarters of the way up Mount Everest due to a team member’s death to getting trapped in horrible weather while on the mountain, Parfet has never wavered in his determination to make it through and bring his teams to success.

He, however, is the first to emphasize that his calm, strong character did not come naturally and that he must remind himself daily to evince gratitude, practice purposefulness, and maintain resolve when it comes to running his business in several ways:

Practice Gratitude
Gratitude is more than being thankful for what you have; it is also appreciating who you are. Understanding what makes you tick is an important step in remaining calm during high stress situations. Parfet spends a small portion of his mornings outlining what he is grateful for. He analyzes even the smallest annoyances and how they trigger him before working to find positive aspects within the negatives.

“When things get out of control,” says Parfet, “step back and take a moment to appreciate who you are and how you feel in that moment. This reflection will allow you to see the problem as it is, removing the insignificant parts and allowing you to focus on fixing the bigger issue.”

Lead With Purpose
A man without a plan has set himself up for failure. Plan for the unexpected. While you cannot plan for every circumstance, you will be better prepared if things start to go downhill. Understand that you are the leader of your team and accept your rank. Be the leader that people can come to in times of duress.

Trust the Process
Lastly, if you maintain a calm and gracious presence, the high-stress situation will resolve itself under your leadership. Trust that your decisions are the right ones and allow others to help make those decisions as well. Leading a team with purpose and passion will ensure that success will follow.

About Bo Parfet
Bo Parfet is a real estate professional, philanthropist, adventurer, and author. He and his wife, Meredith, co-founded Denali Venture Philanthropy (Denali), an impact investment organization that fuses their love of business with their passion for working to fix social and environmental issues.

Parfet began his career as a research fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and joined J.P. Morgan on Wall Street as a financial analyst. In 2012, he founded Iconic Development, a real estate development firm that earned Inc. 500’s Fastest Growing Companies distinction. He currently serves as managing director of DLP Real Estate Capital.

Parfet is a passionate explorer and mountain climber. He is one of 127 people in the U.S. to have completed the Seven Summits. He shares his harrowing experiences in his book, “Die Trying: One Man’s Quest to Conquer the Seven Summits.” He also contributed his stories to a book by the Explorer’s Club, “They Lived to Tell the Tale: True Stories of Modern Adventure.”

Parfet is known for his philanthropic efforts. He received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for completing more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service around the world. He is a member of both the Explorer’s Club and Young Professionals Organization, and he is an advisory board member for the nonprofit Adventure Scientists. He sits on the board of the Gilmore Car Museum in Michigan.

Parfet has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Colorado State University, a Masters in Applied Economics from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He and his family reside in Boulder, Colorado.