| In 1989, a Chinese chauffer lived in a small apartment with two kerosene lamps. In 2009, the executive he drove 20 years earlier returned to China. The driver invited his old friend to his home, a larger, newer apartment on the 20th floor of a high rise.
His family now enjoys heated floors, air conditioning, a double door refrigerator and multiple flat screen televisions. In the last twenty years, three hundred and fifty million Chinese people have made the same transition. Eight hundred million more will do so in the future.
Tony Hayward told this story a year ago in a speech at Stanford. (Entrepreneurial Spirit Needed, 54 min) He also said, “If you lead an organization, you have a duty of care for those in it. When you walk around your business what you see is a reflection of you.” It was a good talk. I liked a lot of what was said and liked the guy saying it.
Tony Hayward, British Petroleum CEO, is not the devil incarnate. Right now, however, things are looking bad for Hayward, the Gulf natural environment and the many families who depend on the ocean for their livelihoods.
Somewhere between 80% and 90% of all energy produced in the world is from the combustion of fossil fuels. A unit of energy produced by oil and gas takes an investment of $1.00. Production of that same unit of energy from an alternative source takes an investment of $5.00.
Thirty percent of US domestically produced oil comes from the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana is the largest oil producing state at 1.6x that of Alaska. There are thirty oil rigs in the gulf, nine of which are deeper than Deep Water Horizon.
China energy consumption per capita is 1.5Kw, Japan and Germany are at 6Kw and the US is at 11.4Kw. I drive about 25,000 miles a year and burn a fair amount of jet fuel also.
Tony Hayward is at the helm of every leader’s nightmare. Eleven families who depended on his leadership have lost loved ones. He is the poster child for what may be the biggest environmental disaster of the century. His commitments to fix it and compensate those who have lost as a result will be well tested for a long time. I hope he passes.
There is a lot here for leaders to learn. Here are a few points.
- Respect the frame of reference of others. Engage people where they are if you hope to move them to where you are. Hayward is a Ph.D. geologist. His perspective is global. He runs a $239bb business with 80,000 employees operating in 30 countries. Early on he said, "The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount or volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume." Maybe true but credibility is completely impeached by one picture of an oil coated bird or dead turtles.
- Where are your essential relationships, who will help, do you know them? How quickly can you rally a competent emergency team? Take all the sound-bites and PR spin out of this situation and there is a massive collaborative team of government and industry using incredible technology and working together to solve this problem. Could you do as well in your emergency?
- If you cannot add value in an emergency, shut-up and stay out of the way. Regardless of your position or authority, getting in the way of the solution is not helpful.
“I believe ultimately that if we can win the hearts and minds of the communities that are impacted, then we have the potential to enhance our reputation rather than have it damaged,” says Hayward. Now that is a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). Looks pretty much impossible at this point. If that statement endures as the marching orders after the flow of oil is stopped and ultimately becomes a reality, Tony Hayward will be on my list of top CEOs.
"It does not require many words to speak the truth." - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce
 A Look in the Mirror
... for your next executive team meeting: What is the greatest potential Deep Water Horizon magnitude risk in our business? Lead the discussion beyond the loss of customers, revenue or product. You may be surprised at what emerges.
Lagniappe
It is a term from Cajun cooking that means a little something extra that makes all the difference. Each month we make a contribution to a worthy charity in recognition of a person who has provided something extra service that made a difference.
Goldie is a server at Carmine’s on Rush Street in Chicago. Five of us enjoyed many bottles of Chianti and lots of great Italian food at a sidewalk table last Friday night.
Great location for watching whatever you like to watch. Goldie, however, is that little something extra that makes all the difference. Like when one of the Texans tried to order the Ravioli entrée. “Chef Boyardee doesn't work here. You don’t want that. Get the Bolognese,” advises Goldie. She enjoys what she does and makes new friends every night.
Every Chicago trip includes at least one night at Carmine’s. Make reservations as they are packed.
A donation will be made to Seattle’s Fare Start in appreciation of Goldie’s something extra that makes all the difference service.
I appreciate the good service and products we get every day as a result of all the leaders who keeping things working. Thanks for reading Boek to Business but more than that, for keeping the wheels of commerce turning.
If it is time for you to take action to improve alignment and build greater leadership capacity for better business results, let’s talk. Remember, we provide a complimentary High Performance Leadership Forum.
Tell me how Boek to Business can be improved so that it will have the greatest value to you. I hope you will forward this to a friend or colleague. Please use the forward button on the newsletter to do so.
Best Wishes,
Randy Boek
ROUTE 2, Inc.
5400 Carillon Point
Building 5000, 4th Floor
Kirkland, WA 98033
425-359-8506
randyb@route2results.com
www.route2results.com
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