Goal Strategist.
CEOs, Boards, and Athletes work with Adam to achieve difficult and audacious goals.
Download The Heartbeat Adam's signature framework for building elite teams and that get things done.
Trusted By
And a Handful More
“Before engaging Adam, we were stuck and spinning. His approach allowed us to create a transformational opportunity for the company."
— Brian Solano, CEO and Board Member
"What sets Adam apart is his skill in sparking creativity, leading to fresh ideas and solutions that I hadn't considered before."
— Andreas Deptolla, Chief Technology Officer at Atari
About Me
I’m a former professional rock climber who summited some of the world’s most difficult mountains and managed to stay alive.
After climbing, I led growth at two startups that each surpassed one million users before successful acquisitions.
Curious why some goals succeed when most fail, I spent seven years conducting The Great Project Study, examining 298 of the world’s most audacious goals. From that research emerged a set of simple tools any team can use to beat the odds and succeed.
Today, I work with a small number of CEOs, boards, and athletes each year to apply those lessons to their most important goals.
Have Fun. Try Hard. Do Big Things.
Adam Stack
“Adam subscribes to the philosophy that you pick a big goal and structure your life to make it happen. At this, Stack is relentless.”
— Chris Weidner, Sports Commentator and Journalist
The Research
298 of the world’s most audacious goals. Most failed. A few succeeded. What was different.
From that study emerged three profoundly simple questions I use to prepare teams for difficult goals.
Is your goal based on understating or do you have a Wishful Hairy Audacious Guess (WHAG)?
1.
2.
Who owns each part of the map and what is missing?
3.
Do you have a culture that rejects the tyranny of shrinking goals to fit and rises to the occasion?
The Climbs
I'm no longer at the peak of the climbing world — it's not an old man's game. I wish it was, but it's not. So it goes. I still use climbing as a laboratory for testing new goal frameworks because nothing clarifies your thinking like exposure.
The Grand Teton Traverse, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 17 hours — Partner: Tommy Caldwell
Cirque of the Towers, Wind River, Wyoming, 16 hours — Partner: Tim Kemple 
El Capitan and Half Dome, Yosemite, California 20 hours — Partner: Tommy Caldwell
Special Thanks
Everyone working on big goal needs a friend who sets a high bar to shoot for.
Special thanks to Jim Collins, my climbing partner and author of Good to Great.
When I was lost in my mountain of research, his choice words and questions helped me see clearly.