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2010 Executive Tidbits
Price of denim jeans: 47% under $25, 37% $25-50, and 16% over $50. |
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Check out Keith's other site:
Virtual Writing Coach |
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The
Executive Connection SM
a publication of The Virtual Executive
Coach SM
"Vision + Accountability = Success!"
www.virtualexecutivecoach.com
July, 2010
In This Issue:
1. Preview
2. Executive Summary
3. BP: Fact or Fiction
4. Helpful Hints
1. Preview
The Executive Connection explores the creative and analytical
process of business development, team-building, and executive
development. We are an interactive community of executives
and small business owners who desire to network with like-minded
high-performance executives to enhance our knowledge,
skills, and aptitudes in the competitive business world.
Published monthly, the Newsletter offers coaching suggestions
around the topics of: business development, financing,
marketing, networking, incorporations, mergers, human
resources, governmental regulations, and tax laws. Topics
are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and
represent only his ideas on creating and running your
business.
Because we are an interactive community of executives
and business owners, other viewpoints are welcomed and
may be printed in future monthly newsletters with permission
from Keith Barton.
2. Executive Summary
July, 2010
Dear Executive Connection Subscriber,
This month's newsletter features: BP: Fact or Fiction
3. BP: Fact or Fiction
Okay, when are we going to hear something else on the news besides: Day 62, 63, ... the BP fiasco
makes the Exxon Valdez incident look like a minor puddle. And the CEO, Tony Hayward getting
grilled by senators who know nothing about oil and gas using their senatorial privilege to expound
on the criminality of BP and their executives who look more like the Evil Empire than the good guys;
in fact, why not dress BP's CEO in a Darth Vader costume and parade him around the senate floor
complete with cape and light sabre.
Let's look at some facts:
- First major offshore oil spill from a platform in forty years.
- Obama is using the BP crisis to advance his alternative fuel initiatives.
- BP may have been negligent in the completion process, but Minerals Management Service (MMS)
had already signed off on the well.
- How many CEO's know about operations; Tony was not allowed to bring any other
execs with him and all the senator's questions were operational-they used their
grandstanding to mock a foreign company exec (U.K.). I don't see Ronald Reagan
mocking Margaret Thatcher during his term of office.
- Did we already forget about the former CEO, John Browne, who forced cost-cutting measures
on BP in 2007, only later to resign amid a sex scandal into his personal life?
- What about Chris Oynes, a top Interior Department official who was MMS director for 12 years
in the Gulf who retired in May, 2010.
- Ken Salazar, the Colorado Senator turned Interior Secretary for Obama didn't investigate MMS
until a month after the spill; what about the cozy relationship between MMS and the oil lobbyists
(remember when MMS workers were caught looking at porn on their governmental computers?) MMS has
a history of mismanagement spanning both the Bush and Obama years.
- Steve Newman, CEO of Transocean, a Swiss company who owned the Horizon rig pointed fingers
at BP (let's follow deep pockets).
- Tim Probert, CEO of Halliburton responsible for cementing the well points fingers at both
Transocean and BP; let's blame it on the other guy.
Time's piece on BP and the "Dirty Dozen" article by Bryan Walsh appropriately gets it right with
his equation: BP + DC = DISASTER. The Feds have no oversight knowledge on offshore
drilling. They rely on the information fed (no pun intended) to them by the oil companies
(sound familiar to Enron?) And the April, 2010 disaster is not the first time BP has been responsible
for deaths and hefty fines: witness the 2005 Texas City refinery blowout drum that overfilled with
liquid carbons, killing 15 people and wounding more than 170.
BP is responsible for the oil spill, cleanup and reparations but unless governmental oversight is
taken seriously there will unfortunately be more accidents on offshore platforms drilling more
than a mile down for oil, having been forced off the continental shelf into the Gulf waters.
Notice that Obama has placed a moratorium on drilling off the California and Eastern seaboard to
appease the alternative energy constituents who will force the U.S. to buy oil from OPEC and be
held hostage to the ultimate lobby group in the Middle East.
Yes BP requires an immediate cultural, management, and process realignment with safety rather
than profits. BP had over 700 safety violations and paid out more than 87.4 million dollars in
fines, a drop in the ocean for a company that reported over $20 billion profit in the first quarter
of this year. And the money paid out will not come close to compensating fisherman and the travel
and leisure industry on the Gulf Coast for years to come. Marylee Orr of the Louisiana Environmental
Action Network said in the Newsweek article that life in Louisiana used to be defined as
pre-Katrina, post-Katrina, but now will be pre-spill versus post-spill.
Too bad a company couldn't protect their workers, families, and coastline as well as the deep
pockets of their stockholders.
Helpful Hints:
- Who bears responsibility for the BP oil spill in the Gulf? How long do you think
litigation between the three companies (Halliburton, Transocean, BP) will drag out a settlement?
- Do you think we should continue to explore fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) and why? Why not?
- Could the spill have been prevented? What actions would have to have taken
place to prevent the spill, if yes?
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Contact Information:
Keith Barton, Ph.D.
Voice: 281-583-5005
Fax: 281-583-5008
Web: http://www.virtualexecutivecoach.com
E-Mail: keith_barton@att.net
(c) Copyright 2010,
Virtual Executive Coach SM
and A. Keith Barton, Ph.D.
All rights reserved.
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With advance permission, we are happy to edit an issue
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The Executive Connection SM
Mission:
The Executive Connection SM is dedicated to
helping first-time business owners and executives to recognize
resistance to change, while they create and manage their
own businesses. My goal is to help you transform your
vision into a successful business venture with the addition
of accountability structures and silent partner.
The Executive Connection SM is a publication
of The Virtual Executive Coach SM and Keith
Barton, Ph.D.
We would like The Executive Connection SM to
be as interactive as possible. If you have feedback, comments,
topics you would like addressed, or can suggest additional
resources to benefit us all, please email us at any time.
Send your e-mail to keith_barton@att.net.
Please forward this issue to anyone you think would find
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Archives:
You can read previous issues of The Executive Connection
SM in our archive section.
About Keith Barton, Ph.D
Dr. Barton received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University
of Texas at Austin and has been a practicing therapist
for over thirty years. He is a graduate of MentorCoach
and is accepting new clients.
He has been an adjunct professor at the University of
South Carolina, consultant to Fortune 500 companies in
executive development, founded and managed Texas Community
Living Ventures, Inc., in 1986 for providing group home
services to persons with mental retardation. Keith founded
and has been running a clinical practice in Northwest
Houston since 1990.
He writes part-time with the goal of completing one novel
a year. His desire to coach others derives from his passionate
interest in helping others become attuned to their creative
powers of storytelling.
Dr. Barton has training in coaching, cognitive and family
therapy and health psychology. He has published articles,
made presentations and conducted workshops about:
Small Business Development
Employee Wellness Programs
Anxiety and achievement
Stress management
Self-esteem
Communication skills
Leadership styles
Core values in the workplace
Executive Development
High-performance groups
Physician support groups
Writer support groups
© 2010 The Virtual Executive Coach SM
and Keith Barton.
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