Comments on: Decision Making Chaos on the Deepwater Horizon http://www.lmmiller.com/blog/2010/05/31/general/decision-making-chaos-on-the-deepwater-horizon/ Navigating the Shores of Lean Management with Lawrence M. Miller Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:51:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Larry Miller http://www.lmmiller.com/blog/2010/05/31/general/decision-making-chaos-on-the-deepwater-horizon/comment-page-1/#comment-59145 Larry Miller Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:28:18 +0000 http://www.lmmiller.com/blog/?p=160#comment-59145 Steve, there is not doubt that this incident raises a lot of questions. The drive for profit, versus safety and environmental concern, have always presented a tension. Managers are pulled in two directions at the same time. In most cases I think managers do make the right decisions. But, as this proves, it only takes one bad decision to create a huge disaster. Like the fall of Enron and Arthur Anderson, this will change behavior. There is nothing like a good hanging in the village square to focus the mind. BP has lost (as of last night) 70 billion dollars in market cap as a result of this and there is serious talk about taking into receivership all of their U.S. based assets. If that doesn't make an impression in the board room, than nothing will. Steve, there is not doubt that this incident raises a lot of questions. The drive for profit, versus safety and environmental concern, have always presented a tension. Managers are pulled in two directions at the same time. In most cases I think managers do make the right decisions. But, as this proves, it only takes one bad decision to create a huge disaster.

Like the fall of Enron and Arthur Anderson, this will change behavior. There is nothing like a good hanging in the village square to focus the mind. BP has lost (as of last night) 70 billion dollars in market cap as a result of this and there is serious talk about taking into receivership all of their U.S. based assets. If that doesn’t make an impression in the board room, than nothing will.

]]> By: Steve Hall http://www.lmmiller.com/blog/2010/05/31/general/decision-making-chaos-on-the-deepwater-horizon/comment-page-1/#comment-59144 Steve Hall Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:28:42 +0000 http://www.lmmiller.com/blog/?p=160#comment-59144 Larry- Good blog. Trust it will generate much thoughtful collaborative exchange. As a former USN LCDR and pilot, I couldn't agree more. One point I would add is that the practice of subcontracting crucial and critical operations further dilutes command/control functionality and impedes, if not halts, decisions where time is of the essence. Although we may find out, a cynical opinion is that this was done to to obfuscate responsibility as well as to save costs. It leads to another logical question of greater dimension where and when should the capitalist drive for corporate profit, be tempered if not led by "doing the right thing"? Larry- Good blog. Trust it will generate much thoughtful collaborative exchange.

As a former USN LCDR and pilot, I couldn’t agree more.

One point I would add is that the practice of subcontracting crucial and critical operations further dilutes command/control functionality and impedes, if not halts, decisions where time is of the essence.

Although we may find out, a cynical opinion is that this was done to to obfuscate responsibility as well as to save costs. It leads to another logical question of greater dimension where and when should the capitalist drive for corporate profit, be tempered if not led by “doing the right thing”?

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