VUCA, which has been adapted to the fast-changing environments businesses face in the digital age of disruption, was introduced Wednesday as a conference theme by Gregory Bunch, an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business<\/a>, the keynote speaker at La Plata County Economic Development Alliance\u2019s 12th annual Economic Summit held at the Sky Ute Casino<\/a>.<\/p>\n Al Harper, owner of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad<\/a>; James Coleman, managing partner and CEO of Mountain Capital Partners and Purgatory Resort<\/a>; and Aaron Kimple, program director at the Mountain Studies Institute<\/a>, discussed how they coped in the past year when all the weather-dependent variables they rely on went awry.<\/p>\n Coleman said VUCA describes the situation Purgatory finds itself in dealing with the uncertain fates of winter snow.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you can extend VUCA to everything that we do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n From attracting more families, dealing with a labor shortage to enhancing forest health and dealing with fire mitigation around Purgatory, Coleman said VUCA is an apt description.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies are desperate for quality time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to examine, how do we create those experiences to make them want to come back? There\u2019s an incredible amount of competition for this right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Adding a 4,000-foot roller-coaster with a vertical drop of 300 feet, Coleman said, is part of the resort\u2019s efforts to attract more families and to become a more all-season destination.<\/p>\n The resort allows children up to age 10 a free ski pass, and Purgatory plans to expand the program in the next two years to children up to age 12. While giving away free passes might seem counterintuitive for a business, Coleman said the program has consistently attracted more families and helped the bottom line.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more we give, the more we get back,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cIt\u2019s been successful for us for decades. I totally think that\u2019s an overall life principle.\u201d<\/p>\n Kimple said Silverton now has about 500 wintertime residents, up from a little more than a hundred 15 years ago, and that comes in part from Mountain Studies Institute\u2019s effort to help diversify the town\u2019s economy while protecting ecological, sociological and economic values.<\/p>\n Mountain Studies is focused on community-driven science, Kimple said. The institute communicates its research to the public, with the aim of finding applications useful for communities from Silverton to Taos, New Mexico.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to do science people can use \u2013 don\u2019t freak out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After purchasing the D&SNG, Harper said on his first ride, he noticed he was the youngest passenger on a Silverton run. \u201cThat\u2019s not a good model from a demographic perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n The Polar Express, he said, was D&SNG\u2019s effort to deal with the uncertainty of nurturing a sustainable business model in the face of demographic vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n The effort has been successful \u2013 he noted D&SNG has sold 12,000 tickets so far for Polar Express runs in December. He anticipates the Polar Express will carry about 35,000 passengers during its 45-day season from Thanksgiving to New Year\u2019s.<\/p>\n The train will also be adding a more affordable run from Rockwood to Cascade \u2013 opening a new market for families who previously could not afford the Durango-to-Silverton run.<\/p>\n The changes come, he said, as the train adapts to a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment.<\/p>\n Speaking of the year\u2019s challenges, Harper said: \u201cSomewhere about May 15, I didn\u2019t know it at the time, but I\u2019ve been VUCAed. I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a shot for that.\u201d<\/p>\n