Archive for June, 2010
Race to the bottom? Hayward vs Obama
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010As the Washington Post posed the question about who has been least effective in handling the Gulf Coast oil spill, I say It really does not matter whether President Obama or BP CEO Tony Hayward has been the least effective. What matters is that we need both men to demonstrate excellent leadership during this crisis, and unfortunately both have fallen short in that regard. Crises are marked by time constraints, ambiguity, remarkably unusual circumstances, limited or conflicting information, and a need for immediate and decisive action; not to mention anxious stakeholders, naïve observers, and aggressive media who all want information and answers. Given these pressures, the demands of a leader in crisis can be unique and require a different set of abilities than what would typically be expected during non-crisis times. Both President Obama and Mr. Hayward have demonstrated capability in non-crisis situations, but as evidenced by their performance to date, it does not appear that either of them has what it takes to lead under the intense pressure and scrutiny that crises pose.
But, for all the criticism that Obama has received over his lack of emotion over the spill and his inability to stop the flow of oil, let’s keep in mind two things: (more…)
Reality TV no replacement for compassion
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010BP has made numerous missteps in the 5 weeks since the initial explosion that resulted in the massive oil spill. Transparency, or more accurately the perception of inadequate transparency, is one of those missteps. Early on executives from BP and Transocean bungled responses to reporters and others regarding the cause and severity of the explosion and subsequent spill, leaving the public to speculate on both accounts. In the absence of meaningful communication from the sources that are privy to what is happening (in this case BP and Transocean), speculation inevitably led to inaccuracies and exacerbated the blaming game. Lack of transparency also leads to the assumption that the companies are not doing enough, or enough of the right things, to stop the flow of oil. So their communication and strategy up to this point has been fairly dismal.
Generally speaking transparency during a crisis is a good thing—regardless of how ugly the truth is. I do not know what motivated the decision to put the ‘spillcam’ on live feed. Perhaps it was an attempt to change course and become more transparent; or perhaps there were other motivations. Without knowing what prompted this decision I think it may be a stretch to say that the on-going live ‘spillcam’ feed is actually a strategy. Rather it comes across as merely a tactic to try to reclaim some of BP’s reputation by allowing the public to see the top kill maneuver. Doing so merely gives the illusion that they are being more transparent.
Transparency comes in two forms: (more…)