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118 grow from within

to articulate the value proposition for BP and demonstrate what
the technology could contribute in a real business application.
Focusing from the start on articulating real business value was
critical to building credibility and a reputation among the busi-
ness units. One method of engagement came to be known as Blue
Chalk events. Blue Chalk events are small seminars that expose
BP leadership to the potential business significance of emerging
IT. The CTO office tries to have at least one senior executive
cosponsor each event, which focuses on a particular theme. These
events serve as a seeding process for new ideas and a forum for
seeking management alignment around a particular topic by
exposing multiple external viewpoints or approaches.
In the early years, projects would generally begin by identi-
fying an emerging technology that met a business challenge
and discussing it with relevant BP management. The CTO
office would then scan its network for relevant offerings,
quickly focusing on likely vendors. If a technology looked
promising, the CTO office would recommend a small trial—
perhaps $50,000, including management time—with a narrow
scope and well-defined objectives. If the technology generally
delivered what the vendors promised, then a larger-scale
demonstration might be recommended as part of an overall
rollout strategy. Responsibility for any rollout would be tran-
sitioned to the business unit, with the CTO office providing
facilitation where necessary. The expectation was that full
implementation of the technology would be supported by the
business unit’s budget. However, the CTO team built a repu-
tation for being willing to iterate and endure where others were
ready to drop an idea as soon as significant problems arose.
What mattered was deploying successful projects, and that
often depended on perseverance. That being said, “We don’t
get bogged down,” explains Daru. “The process is designed to
remove the ‘clutter’ . . . [and] identify really significant oppor-