PM ADVISORY

Execution Meltdown: Four Key Failures
That Sank BP

By Rick Lepsinger

USA

Though the worst oil spill in history resulted from many contributing factors, they can all be summed up in one big problem for BP—lack of execution. Here’s exactly what went wrong…and what other companies can learn from BP’s failures.

The oil spill is a tragedy that “never should have happened.” That’s the sentiment expressed by former BP CEO Tony Hayward during the recent congressional hearing on the Gulf Coast oil spill. Obviously, no one would disagree with him—especially the Americans left to deal with the terrible aftermath. And Hayward is right: the tragedy really shouldn’t have happened—and the fact that it did is a failure of execution.

For any business, the inability to get things done is a serious issue. If you can’t execute well, you aren’t going to be very successful even if you’ve got a great strategy, terrific products, or talented employees—and as we’ve seen from this event, you could potentially cause significant problems for others as well.

It’s obvious from recent events that BP has an enormous execution gap. And had the company focused on recognizing and closing that gap, it would have prevented this unprecedented disaster.

In my research-based book, Closing the Execution Gap: How Great Leaders and Their Companies Get Results (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, June 2010), I zero in on what I call “The Five Bridges”—a set of characteristics and competencies that make closing the execution gap possible. They are a structure that supports execution, alignment between leader behavior and company values, company-wide coordination and cooperation, employee involvement in decision making, and the ability to manage change.

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About the Author Rick Lepsinger Author Richard Lepsinger is president of OnPoint Consulting and has a 25-year track record of success as an organizational consultant and executive. His client list includes Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Citibank, Coca-Cola Company, ConocoPhillips, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, NYSE Euronext, PeopleSoft, Prudential, and Subaru of America, among many others. In addition to writing Closing the Execution Gap, he has coauthored four books on leadership including Flexible Leadership: Creating Value by Balancing Multiple Challenges and Choices, The Art and Science of 360° Feedback, The Art and Science of Competency Models: Pinpointing Critical Success Factors in Organizations, and Virtual Team Success: A Practical Guide for Working and Leading from a Distance, all published by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. For more information, visit www.onpointconsultingllc.com. Closing the Execution Gap: How Great Leaders and Their Companies Get Results (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, June 2010, ISBN: 978-0-4705313-0-3, $45.00) is available at bookstores and from major online booksellers.