According to the Cambridge Dictionary, one definition of initiative is. “A new plan or action to improve something or solve a problem.” In corporate parlance this often translates into yet another short-term and often politically correct effort to demonstrate forward motion/social citizenship. Often forgotten faster than the evening news cycle as new searches for performance
Who among us have not uttered these words as a child or for those who are parents heard them? Usually in the context of a trip in an automobile, but perhaps now in our journey to the next . . . Society is on a number of interconnected journeys. Most visible is the Covid-19 transit
Originally published as a LinkedIn article on July 6, 2021, this updated version is reprinted here with the permission of the author. Links to relevant sources are added. Lately, many LinkedIn posts bemoan the state of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The seeming slow take up of great ideas. Some argue that DEI initiatives are no
“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” — Napoleon Bonaparte Volumes have been written on decision-making and this pundit has offered his share of insight and comment on the subject as well. Some of our comments regard the appropriateness of the human intercession in electronic decision making. Others
“For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind” Second only to the basic need for food, water and what is required to sustain physical life, safety and security are the next step in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In other words one cannot love or feel belonging or achieve a level of
“When converted into productive thought and action, the energy it takes to blame, shame, and game is enough to launch anyone into heights of real success and happiness.” – Charles F Glassman Entrée It is not often that an entire geographically LARGE state loses power and water simultaneously. Now we know it can happen! Welcome
Crisis Drives Change In 2001 this writer approached the Houston medical community, post tropical storm Allison which flooded many basements in the Houston Medical Center with the loss of experimental data and other records. We proposed the development of an Internet based solution to hold and manage medical records of all types. The response to
It appears that issues associated with the Covid-19 pandemic will remain for some time. Hopefully, the emerging vaccines will be readily available in the coming months. That said, one of the disruptive changes that may codify is Working from Home. In our March 16, 2020 piece, Home Base During a Crisis: ‘get up, clean up
Current events may have us all longing for the ‘good ole days.’ Sounds good on paper but not something any of us can realize. Nostalgia aside we all must continue to slog on. It is after all a one-way trip and there is no Delorean to help us. The Challenge of Change People change all
In a recent Harvard Business Review, I was struck by an article about Best Practices for small businesses. From that piece, “To successfully navigate Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) challenges like Covid-19, family business leaders can look to best practices from another organization that specializes in VUCA situations—the U.S. military’s Special Operations Forces (SOF)”
April 20, 2020 marks the tenth anniversary of one of the most horrific incidents in the upstream oil and gas sector—Deepwater Horizon. In addition to the tragic loss of eleven lives, the sector forever changed. Immediate restructuring of federal oversight resulted in the establishment of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and their
According to legend, the term KISS or ‘Keep It Simple, Stupid’ was coined by Kelly Johnson, lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works and noted by the US Navy as early as 1960. Subsequent phrases such as ‘Less is More’ followed. At first glance, it makes sense not to overly complicate a product, process or
By one measure, the US presidential primary season is off to a rough start. In a small state, counting the ballots became a challenge. Wasn’t technology supposed to solve the problems of past confusions? Yet the mechanism seemingly failed—again! How is this different from the Boeing Max 8 disaster? In one sense it isn’t. Disclaimer:
The advent of 5 G so soon after 4 G—Humm. What’s next? How many G’s are there? In 1965, Gordon Moore put forth the construct that the density of transistors in integrated circuits doubled each year. The so-called Moore’s Law has governed technology growth ever since. However; over 50 years later, some argue that we
Watch almost any media talk show and the interviewer will often interrupt the guest trying to answer the question just posed. This is such a common phenomenon that it is accepted behavior perhaps driven by ratings that come from on-air confrontation. It is part of the culture! Why ask the question if you’re only going
Several weeks ago, as an amateur history buff, I was watching a documentary about World War I. During one segment the commentator discussed the apparent fact that if soldiers refused to charge out of their trenches across an open field into the teeth of waiting machine guns they would be shot. The brutality of such
At lunch the other day and for whatever reason, the history of the 3M Post It Note became a subject of our conversation. This technological marvel unveiled in the 1970s is still widely used today. As with other new or disruptive technologies, the ‘sticky note’ was panned at first and for some time. According to
Years ago, as part of a never-ending series of company reorganizations, a team of our change management consultants headed to the ‘field’ to interview users. Upon their return, they presented an extensive list of technology investments deemed necessary to remain competitive. Their list focused on technology and not business concerns. Wondering, I asked who they
I recently submitted an internal organizational document that was spellchecked in addition to my review; several times. One sentence where there the intent was to say, “that which is …” was change to “that witch is …” Did I type it wrong or did ‘auto correct’ take over the decision process? In any event spellcheck
“Failures of culture have been the single biggest destroyers of value in the last five years,” states the former senior vice president of HR of Google in a recent article. This revelation by one of the contemporary tech giants supports the previous dictum, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Depending on one’s perspective, this latter quote
When discussing the likelihood of DNA in crude oil, one source comments, “So the DNA they are talking about is like the DNA, where they’re looking at the live bacteria in the crude oil, which would be descendants of the bacteria that was around when the oil first began its degradation from organic material.” Time
Our recent article, “The Digital Oilfield Culture: Transformation Value for the Organizational Ecosystem” (pp.24-26) takes a somewhat different change management approach. Why not brand your digital oilfield culture? Most consumers are familiar with the so-called ‘Brand Name.’ These are names so ubiquitous that in some cases that we take them for granted. Soft drinks, beer,
On March 10, 2019 the second Boeing 737 Max 8 (in approximately 5 months) crashed in Ethiopia. This incident has led to extensive investigations and as of this writing that model aircraft is grounded. This pundit cannot and will not hazard a guess as to ‘why’ this aviation incident happened and what its ramifications will
“Ergonomics (or Human Factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.” According to Gartner, “Digitalization is the use of digital technologies to change a
The United States officially entered World War II on December 8, 1941. The war in the Pacific formally ended on September 2, 1945. A recent documentary on one of the history channels chronicled the path the United States took from a nation with an underdeveloped military to global dominance over this period. What struck this
In a recent Houston Chronicle article, its author puts forth the premise that while oil and gas companies should do well in the stock market this year, don’t expect the energy services sector to fare as well. As those who are either in the sector or track it (stock analysts) know all to well that
Are we on the verge of another California gold rush, boom market or depression? No one knows. What is certain; risk mitigation must be central to any business model. This year may be especially challenging for the oil industry. Recently, conventional wisdom is downgrading average crude oil prices for 2019. Reasons include a plentiful supply
It is hard to believe we are now 19 years into the century. Seems like only yesterday we were worried whether the lights would stay on at Y2K. Each year many of us promise to do better at a list of things, some personal and some professional. Some days or weeks later, some or all
Every December 24th, this jolly ole elf embarks on one more global initiative. We know this to be true because each year since 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD and its predecessor the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado have tracked his operation–www.noradsanta.org. We are happy to report
Originally published in 2013. On January 1st at 0348 hours a young engineer employed by a service company is trying to address a problem she has encountered with a compressor on a drilling rig in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. She graduated from college three years ago and went to work for a large energy
