Exxon no longer largest producer

Rosneft displaces ExxonMobil to be largest producer of oil in the world by a tiny fraction.  Another prediction coming true of National Oil Companies becoming real threat to International Oil Companies.  Nonetheless, both cannot be truly independent of one another considering technology remains to be the Achilles Heel for NOCs and IOC craves for access.

Rosneft Largest Producer of Oil

Of Audits and Reviews

Fourth quarter was a hectic time for the company.  There were 4 simultaneous operation start ups in remote locations around the world.  Our history of start ups in new country entries has been disappointing, so much focus was channelled to ensure safe execution.  The ultimate prize is zero incident for start ups.

One neat tool that our leader has introduced in the system was assurance reviews.  These reviews are meant to invite professionals from outside the business to review and assess the state of readiness for local team to execute the plan.  It normally happens about a month before spudding the first well or starting up the first rig in a new environment.  The team composition varies depending on local needs and challenges but purely Drilling & Completions and HSE professionals.

The business units see this as another "audit".  Audits are processes to ensure systems, measures and tools are in place in accordance to polices and standards set by the corporation.  The outcome of audits are typically made public with a set of mandatory action items and scoring.  Our assurance reviews are designed to be more "useful" in some sense.  Not only the assurance reviews assess gaps in delivering a business plan, the review team would most times provide the means or resource for gap closure.

Being involved in numerous start up reviews and engineering assurance reviews have given me a better insight of our business, the mechanics of our processes and have reinforced the things I need to do and avoid when I become a leader.  The best part of being involved is the increased visibility and opportunity to improve my communication as outcomes need to be relayed to the highest order - this is when your message needs to be sharp, concise and crisp.

Looking forward to another year of building D&C functional excellence.  Much rest needed before another busy year!

(pic taken at Company Annual Dinner)

Execution

I was fortunate to be invited to a leadership summit recently hosted by our chief executive to elaborate the current strategy, the state of the union and plan for next year.  The portfolio and pace of initiatives were heavily discussed and the underpinning ingredient to success is people.  The organization has been stretched thin due to our size and also recruitment competitiveness.  Pinching and poaching is omnipresent targeting the technical savvy.

Execution has been poor in new entries and will continue to be the focus for the next few months.  I listened carefully the discussions among our senior leaders and watched with interest the behaviors that were displayed. People generally like to discuss issues and highlight problems with little focus on solutions.  That's when strong leadership is required to steer the direction of the discussions and decipher the real issues at hand.

When asked what execution meant, the typical answer is getting things done.  Execution is really a process and culture that enables things to get done.  The process must be embedded with a strong people process, talent management and above all, clear accountability.  The culture must reward performers who deliver and coach the ones who struggle.  With this in mind, it's imperative to tie strategy back to reality and operations plan.  This  is typically what needs to be tuned and tied together.

The areas I see needing improvement is around accountability.  Often accountability is vague especially in a matrix organization.  Who is responsible for delivering the plan?  Who is accountable for the execution of the strategy?  Successful organizations have figured this out well.  Accountability must always be a single point and not shared to avoid confusion and vagueness.  Many are responsible to play their individual roles in executing a given plan, but there must be only one single point accountability for delivering the business plan.  This needs to be refreshed from time to time.

Each individual leader must state clearly in his or her performance contract what they must achieve to deliver the plan. This must be stated clearly with tangible predictions of results, milestones and timeline.  Putting things like "deliver wells on time and budget" is just too vague. 

Stakeholder analysis and why it matters

Ever wonder why your execution gets derailed by another department that you think lives in a different planet?  Or a partner who seems to get it when you explain it to her that the memo needs to go out by lunch time and the following week she asks you what memo?  That's when most of us label everyone else to be incompetent and we tend to try to solve it ourselves, take charge, subdue and direct.

As leaders, getting things done is an important trait.  The thing to remember is that as leaders, you must have followers, therefore it's more important to get things done through people.  It gets more tricky in huge organizations with multiple wheels running, numerous departments with different priorities and aspirations (then you start to question whether the organization has a common goal), multitude of datelines and conflicting wants and needs.  You always tend to think that your stuff is the most important, you tell your staff to drop everything else without realizing the ripple effect.

Stakeholder analysis is crucial especially when kicking off a major initiative, whether it's selling off that asset that's not meeting shareholders expectation or reorganizing the group because of overlaps or lack of clarity in roles and expectations.  The easy questions to ask are who will be impacted with this new initiative, what's in it for me, what's in it for them, what are we trying to achieve.  You plot these in a boston matrix and rank their closeness to the project and determine who makes the decision and who needs to know about the project.

In a complex organization like the government, the stakeholders can vary from other ministries, state government agencies, the people, sometimes foreign government and you have to dive into details about who exactly gets involved at the department level.    Sounds like a lot of work?  Sure but I rather do this first than find out later that Department X is sitting on my contract award recommendation because Director Y is accusing me of blind siding him.

The tough part about the analysis is not so much of figuring out who's involved, whether internal or external to your group.  It's sitting down with them, sharing the common objectives, reworking the priorities and above all, getting their buy in.  The project may seem straight forward to you, would easily churn productivity, generate more cash flow and produce results that shareholders can be proud of.

Getting shareholders buy in is the pillar of any stakeholder analysis.  Kicking out an email and expecting someone to either agree or understand what you're trying to say does not work.  Face to face is always the best and human beings want to feel their needed.  Engage your stakeholders wisely and intimately and by making them feel part of the larger team, your execution will see minimal disruptions.

My son Syarique is the master of stakeholder engagement.  Our common interest is video games so when we visit the mall, he'd tell me to check out the new first person shooter that was supposed to be out - giving me the impression that he cares about my needs.  When we do swing by the video game store, he would storm to the nearest demo console and try out the demo games or would browse the latest Wii games titles.  He knows I'm happy at the PS3 section so he quietly executes his real plan - recognizes win-win situations.  Smart kid.

Not just a doctor, it's THE doctor!

Extremely thrilled to receive a copy of "A Doctor In The House" written by the one of two individuals who have strongly shaped by views and thoughts. Have so far devoured 5 chapters and it's difficult to put the book down albeit the huge size.

I remember the tingling vibe whenever Tun Dr Mahathir walked into a room and the entire crowd welcoming him stood in awe, just the mere notion that we are breathing the same air in the same space as one of Malaysia's respected leaders.

The Perdana Leadership Foundation which he founded was always organizing series of talks by luminaries. I was always fortunate to get a heads up from friends who knew if a program was in the horizon. The events were always packed with the young, the old, the curious. Some were regulars and it was as if they never got enough of the dosages Tun Mahathir would administer to his audience.

When Tun Mahathir was really upset with how the government and country were managed by his successor, there were a lot of discussions on succession planning. A mark of leadership is having the forward view of handing it over to someone who is ready and able. He admitted that he have made several mistakes in his life and one of them is succession planning.

Succession planning and organizational capability are the two topics that interest me a lot of recent. Any great organization that wants to stand the test of time must have these two elements executed well. Succession planning is typically undermined when a leader is comfortable with where he is and does not regard continuity as key ingredient of sustaining a great organization. It's not just about who's taking over, but whether you are setting him up for success.

Off to the movies, signing off for now!

Mad rush in Texas in the Eagle Ford Shale

http://www.kens5.com/news/South-Texas-oil-boom--128424968.html

great to see economic growth and job creation in this part of the world.

Reinforcement-based Leadership

I'm sure you've picked up lots of books on leadership and what makes it work. Although I graduated from a school whose motto is "Serve to Lead" with a reputation of churning out the country's future leaders, I feel the that sometimes it's hit or miss in terms of getting students aligned with the program at the Royal Military College. For one, not everyone had formal leadership roles and titles. Second, scores of "successful" old puteras, the term we use for alumni, were not rank holders during college days, so what made them great after graduation? Furthermore, you always have the 10% exception which represents those who dreaded every second being there but they later become successful in their careers (let's leave the definition of "successful" for later discussion).

I was enrolled in a leadership course back in January. Before leaving for the first class, my boss told me about the 4-point rule that has stuck in his head till this day. They were 4 things that kept people focused in their career. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

1) Opportunity - the timing and sometimes luck for opportunities to present themselves and for you to seize the moment

2) Motivation - promotions, monetary rewards, recognition, personal satisfaction - anything that keeps you liking what you do and wanting to do more

3) Enabler - training, mentoring, coaching

4) Competency - how smart you are and how well you get things done

The concept of reinforcement-based leadership is that humans are naturally selfish, self-centered and want to accomplish certain things for their own benefit alone (naturally if our goals are not aligned, conflict arises, not rocket science). So the more opportunities you give to your high potentials or the more recognition they get whether in terms of reward or promotions, the better they execute the business plan. At least that's the common thinking. The cumbersome piece about reinforcement is that it requires constant maintenance.

Politics is a great example of typical reinforcement-based leadership where politicians use motivation and opportunity strongly in their campaign. Monetary rewards are legal in the context of recognizing employees in your organization. Constituents do not count!

A very close friend of mine is visiting us this weekend. Looking forward to his company and 2 weeks away from my desk.

Understanding You

I was thinking about the order of which articles should be written, whether I should be churning out articles on certain topics then move on to other relevant topics. In the interest of maintaining my motivation to keep on doing this, I decided NOT to over analyze the methodology and go with the flow!

It's the second week of Ramadhan and I am away from home again for work. Missed my daughter's third birthday which was on August 8th, however, we did a pre-celebration the night before I left. Here's Iryna and her birthday "cake" (a medley of cupcakes really).

In 2 days, August 11th, it would have been my late father-in-law's birthday (my thoughts and prayers are with him). My father-in-law was quite an intricate man; at times, you would think that you have had him figured out, and then you quickly find out that you've had more to learn. Seemed hard-shelled and stubborn on the exterior but definitely soft and delicate on the inside. He was hugely passionate about politics and would go on for hours at the dinner table on policies he did not agree with or selection of leaders he thought reflected the poor taste of our party's leadership (I was visibly agreeable with him for the most part by nodding or adding reinforcing statements, being the good son-in-law, and was quiet on the parts I did not agree with him out of respect including the fact that I was living in his house for a few years!). It takes a certain personality to manage my father-in-law and gain his trust.

How do you know your own personality and work on the areas needing improvement? Sounds a bit straight forward but if you jot it down on paper, it's nothing but. A few months ago, I was asked to take a personality test to evaluate my personality. Organized by Insights, a company head-quartered in the UK, the personality test started with a series of multiple choice questions on your response or reaction to certain scenarios. Initially I thought it was quite elementary and thought that I got it figured out - typical "Red" personality (I will explain briefly what Red means)! A few weeks later, we were mailed a thick report based on the questions you answered.

The report had numerous topics, including my "profile", suggestions on how to deal with people like me, how other "profiles" should interact with me, the do's and dont's with me - the report was really a thorough analysis on how I view the world and how the "world" views me. There were four colors to group people's different characteristics: Red signifies the typical manager who wants everything done his way, listens little and is results oriented. Blue signifies a technical person who gets into details and is very organized, despises others lacking process, standards, strategy, or organization skills. Yellow signifies a happy go lucky person, trouble-free and highly sociable. Green is the type that likes to bond and build relationship, highly collaborative, wants to move as one team. I was flagged as 50% red 50%blue, a "reforming director" with a "green" subconscious. In short, reforming directors are typically self-motivated, organized, strategic but lacks empathy and does not spend time to "reward" and "recognize" people.

As I read the 30-page report, my initial thought was this is a template that they send out to typical red/blue individuals. Thinking of outsmarting the system, I asked several of my colleagues in the program and read the reports which had a red/blue designation. To my surprise, they're all written differently and highly customized to the individual. I quietly returned to my room and finished reading the report.

There were a few statements that stood out - I was impatient with people I perceive as having lower standards (sadly true!), I tend to avoid social bubbly people (so true which explains why I hate cocktails and black tie events), I typically fail to say enough "thank you" and appreciate people's work (there was a whole section of weaknesses!).

How did this help me? "Yellows" tend to be people with extrovert characteristics; they want to have fun all the time, very present time-oriented and do not want to worry about the future, highly disorganized, bubbly, always optimistic, you get the picture. "Blues" are the natural opposites. The program teaches you how to strategically approach your opposites and work on the skills you need to build a cohesive team; including "yellow" team members! Over time, I learned the hard way that 1) I am not right all the time 2) spending a few minutes a week to appreciate someone else's hard work pays off dividend in the future 3) a leader is not a leader until he has followers!

Using the report as a guideline, my leader and I built a personal development plan which included not just the typical career-related aspirations and training requirements, but the things I'm working on to be a better leader. We also built a 90-day plan to "test" one or two principles and evaluate after 90 days.

I must say that I now carefully plan how I approach certain subjects in my communication, whether it's a quick email or a lengthy meeting with edgy and anxious staff. Your personality affects how quickly you build allies to support tough decisions or get ignored for coming up with ridiculous ideas. I still have a long way to go to master this.

A new face but the same philosophy

These past few years have seen the rise of numerous political blogs that I think another input from a nobody will not set any fundamental shift in the way the world currently works (used to blog on local politics). I reserved this blogspot address a few years ago thinking that someday I may jot down a few notes about my observation in the corporate world and this may lead to something else, who knows, in 10 years! At least it could be a guiding book of principles for my children to use when I'm no longer among the living for them to ponder who their daddy was.

For my first entry, I should make it short and concise. I dedicate this site to my lovely and loving wife Noreen who has sacrificed so much for me to pursue my dreams - whatever that may be. Let's leave this one for later discussion.

I still follow politics especially political news at home quite closely whether at surface or sharing notes and thoughts with friends who battle on the front day in day out. As I think about the two individuals who have shaped my thinking strongly, my father and Tun Dr Mahathir, I wanted to provide some perspectives on the things I'm working on as an aspiring leader. The perspectives I think transcend the boundaries of politics and business. Passing out from the most prestigious military college known to man, also known as the Royal Military College (RMC), in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the concept of leadership has definitely been a subject of interest since I was a budding under officer at the age of 17.

As the leader of Foxtrot company, I had the pleasure of serving as the Senior Under Officer with a great line up of leaders managing a company of about 50 students, if memory serves me right. The 5 leaders including the Junior Under Officers (JUO) helped me built a cohesive group within a year. Our ultimate reward was the coveted Commandant's Trophy, an award given to the best performing company of the year. The members of the winning company get to wear a yellow lanyard, signifying their accomplishment of the past.

Albeit a short "training" by our senior mentors, the leadership training at RMC was more on-the-job exposure as there was no formalized methodology to teach one of the roles and responsibilities of an under officer. We were fortunate to have great leaders such as the then Administration Officer Captain Adi Ridzuan (now Lt. Col), former SUO Hazeem Ariff Haroon and other great role models to learn from.

In short, I wanted to summarize key points of how the team worked in such a short time.

1. Team work - I believe our leadership team worked well together, considering we were young and naive at that age. We had different personalities, ambitions and sometimes ego, we knew our specific roles and did not get in anyone's way. We were also fortunate to have a composition of brilliant students and talented athletes. We did not force the studious ones to win a basketball trophy nor did we try to impose the athletes to get A's for subjects they were weak in.

2. Respect - Mentoring the third formers was a challenge given that they had the same years of experience at college and were a bit reluctant to follow orders from people they considered as equals (the fifth formers, some with designated leadership roles). I think we dealt with them not as younglings but as equal partners. The other element of respect we enforced was to never embarrass a senior member of the company in the presence of other company members. I think that policy worked out well.

3. Trust - We won trophies for court games and best academic performance overall, which led to the victory of securing the Commandant's Trophy. To be honest, we never had in mind the Trophy as the end state (the last time Foxtrot Company won the Trophy was in 1976, 20 years before we secured it again). The trust factor was more "indirect" or "unplanned". We did not micromanage the sports teams or students to study hard but gave them the freedom to work on what they want and like to do.

4. Discipline - The old saying of walking the talk is true, regardless of age. Because of the strict military regime at the institution, we wanted our boys to obey the rules while internalizing the fundamentals of being a military student: elements such as co-operation, being punctual, obeying commands and other basics. You can only ask your team members to do something if you're exemplifying the right behaviours. I think we did well.

10 years in the multinational oil & gas environment, these concepts are nothing new. I've been blessed to work for a great leader now, who lives these values and continues to perfect his phenomenal leadership skills. These principles would seem almost elementary to most people, but it's the elementary concepts that people struggle with everyday in all types of organization, either political, business, etc. Often times, the lack of understanding and mastery of the fundamentals keeps us from meeting business targets or getting alignment from stakeholders.

Till the next write up!