Fleeting Success: In Pursuit of Sustainability
Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” The late Prime Minister nailed it; once again! Our journey through life, including our career is a marathon not a sprint. While we…
Three Years—Ten Months: How did they do it?
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…
Beat the Market: Can Operational Excellence Increase EPS?
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.[i] As those who are either in the sector…
Bull or Bear: Is there gold in them there markets?
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…
Resolution: Celebrating a New Operational start one more time
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…
Millennials Take On Our Increasingly Complex World
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…
Command and Control: Is this the Way to Run the modern Railroad?
The managerial model, Command and Control (C&C) dates back to the dawn of humanity when tribal chieftains dictated the behavior of the group. It survives to this day in many forms. Typically, one thinks of military operations as the current manifestation of C&C in the…
Are Organizational Governance Models Broken: Why Can’t Management Get a Handle on Things?
Over 15 years ago, organizations such as Enron, Worldcom, Tysons, and others failed after massive managerial maleficence and even criminality. Enron’s auditor, Arthur Andersen folded as well. The result of this carnage was the imprisonment of many, the death (apparent heart attack) of the disgraced…
Organizational Predators: Jackals, Hyenas, and Wolves in Managerial Clothing
Prologue In the author’s August 2004 edition of the then, Executive Briefing Newsletter (early online delivery) we addressed the impact on the firm of managerial misbehavior. This article was one of a list of challenges put forth to that generation of management. Sadly, recent events…
Excellent Behaviors: Assessing Relationships in the Operational Excellence Ecosystem
One of the hot business buzzwords of 2017 is “Operational Excellence.” It has been the subject for many pundits, including this one. In October and November we published a two part series, Assuring Operational Excellence from Contractors and Their Subcontractors through BTOES Insights. Each part…
Critical Mass: Value from the RBC Framework
Nuclear physicists define the term, “critical mass” as the amount of fissile material whereby a nuclear reaction is self-sustaining. From that original definition, the construct is further developed along societal and political terms as a function of the environment and number of adopters and their interdependencies that create enough of a consensus for individual actions that sustains an undertaking.
In 1996, the author published the first of several case studies on a societal interaction model based on the Relationships, Behavior and Conditions (RBC) construct among economic actors. Previously the model was only in the domain of academia.
This blog addresses contemporary issues from the RBC perspective and whether in the present state they are sustainable or not. Many readers may be familiar with the “Innovation Adoption Curve.” RBC seeks to enlighten the causality of behaviors that cause movement towards the critical mass that generates movement along this diffusion curve.
Recent Posts
- Fleeting Success: In Pursuit of Sustainability February 14, 2019
- Three Years—Ten Months: How did they do it? February 4, 2019
- Beat the Market: Can Operational Excellence Increase EPS? January 30, 2019
- Bull or Bear: Is there gold in them there markets? January 11, 2019
- Resolution: Celebrating a New Operational start one more time January 7, 2019
Archives
Other Blogs Dr. Shemwell Authors
Dr. Shemwell is an author for the following 3rd party blogs.
Governing Energy Blog
From 2012 to the closure of PennEnergy in June 2016, Dr. Shemwell has authored a bi-weekly blog in partnership with PennEnergy. Governing Energy addresses contemporary management issues facing the global energy sector.
The complete set of Governing Energy Blogs are available in book form..
BTOES Insights
BTOES Insights is the content portal for Business Transformation & Operational Excellence opinions, reports & news. Dr. Shemwell is a contributor.
Consult 2050
Consult 2050 connects organizations with a wide range of consultants all around the world. The firm operates an online marketplace for consultancy services.
About the Author
Dr. Scott M. Shemwell has over 30 years technical and executive management experience primarily in the energy sector. He is the author of six books and has written extensively about the field of operations. Shemwell is the Managing Director of The Rapid Response Institute, a firm that focuses on providing its customers with solutions enabling Operational Excellence and regulatory compliance management. He has studied cultural interactions for more than 30 years—his dissertation; Cross Cultural Negotiations Between Japanese and American Businessmen: A Systems Analysis (Exploratory Study) is an early peer reviewed manuscript addressing the systemic structure of societal relationships.