The Truth About “BP” and the Lessons It Holds

A decade ago, the company made a Bold Promise to the world that it was going green, going to be an ecologically oriented energy leader.

That promise proved to be a Bad Plan. Why? Because by any financial measure BP’s corporate assets were fundamentally oil-based. Despite increased investment elsewhere, BP’s center of gravity remained petroleum. Making a promise that doesn’t sync up with the facts is an accident waiting to happen.

BP is a central player in one of the most powerful industries on earth, which has a reputation for arrogance and the idea that, barring illegalities, you can do almost anything you want to do. Somewhere along the line, someone decided that re-crafting the image of the company would aid its reputation.

Call it Blind Power — a short-sighted decision to try and change the leopard’s spots without really changing the leopard.

From an image standpoint, it’s hard to know whether BP’s actions (or inactions) will result only in Burst Perceptions, or a fatally Blown Pedigree.

It didn’t have to be this way, if only BP had adhered to a few Basic Priorities.

Want to know what they are? Take a look at my recent newsletter, which lays out the lessons hidden inside those two, not-so-innocent letters, BP.