Lessons from the Tasman: Why Perseverance Beats Perfection

Fail we may, sail we must!

Welcome to the second post of Exploratory Tales – a new twice-monthly series where we dive deep into the strategies, mindsets, and real-world lessons that drive exceptional team building, leadership, and high performance. We’ll be publishing this through our blog, LinkedIn channel and emailed directly to our existing audience, so make sure that you get this in the format of your choice, by navigating through the relevant links.

When you’re repeatedly smashed by storms, capsize multiple times, and fail to reach your goal three times in a row—it would be easy to walk away...

But Axe didn’t. On his fourth attempt at crossing the Tasman Sea, he and teammate Luke Richmond not only succeeded—they made history.

This success wasn’t the result of blind grit. It was built on mindset, learning, iteration, and team culture. And these same principles power high-performing teams in the corporate world.

Here’s what Axe learned—and how you can apply the Explorer Mindset to your own team:

🌊 Explorer Mindset: 6 Key Team Lessons from the Tasman Sea Crossing

  1. 💡 Embrace Small Failures
    Create “safe-to-fail” projects to test bold ideas and fuel innovation without major risk.
  2. 🔁 Debrief Often
    Daily feedback loops helped us adapt quickly—build in regular reflections to spot what’s working and what’s not.
  3. 🗣️ Model Psychological Safety
    Open dialogue is key. Lead by example to encourage honest conversations and better decisions.
  4. 🎯 Set Bold, Clear Goals
    A clear and ambitious goal unites the team and gives direction—no room for vagueness.
  5. 🚀 Start Fast, Iterate Faster
    Don’t wait for perfect. Launch, learn, and refine as you go.
  6. 🎉 Celebrate Progress
    Mark key milestones to keep energy and motivation high throughout the journey.

Push Boundaries, Build Resilience, Step into the UNKNOWN!
If there’s one takeaway from my record-breaking crossing, it’s this: When teams push beyond their comfort zones—embracing failure as part of the journey—they unlock resilience and achieve what once seemed impossible.

At Explore Performance, we help teams do just that:

Push boundaries. Build resilience. Step into the unknown.

👉 Want to explore how to embed the Explorer Mindset in your organisation? Let’s talk.