Page 70 - The Voice of Authority

from an annual report of a Fortune 10 company to see if
you find anything thought provoking:

Our industry is constantly evolving. The industry has
globalized as the world’s economies have expanded.
Partners and competition change. New opportunities
are larger, more capital intensive, and often in remote
areas or difficult physical environments. Business cy-
cles fluctuate, but our long-term view provides us
with consistent direction. Finally, technology has im-
proved the methods we employ and the results we
achieve in meeting the world’s energy challenges.

Any great revelation here? Nothing specific. Could have
come from any energy company in the market—or remove
the word energy and you
could insert it in just about
any annual report. Bureau- Bureaucratic. Bland. Bor-
cratic. Bland. Boring. What ing. What in the world are
in the world are they doing they doing behind closed
behind closed doors? Para- doors? Paragraphs like this
graphs like this make share- make shareholders won-
holders wonder, where in der, where in the world is
the world is Waldo work- Waldo working?
ing?

Start with the Punch Line

Mike Duffy, a former senior manager working for a sub-
sidiary of Occidental Petroleum, learned this principle the
hard way. During the transition period after his company
was acquired, his team had been experiencing delays in
getting their budgets approved for special projects. One
specific pipeline repair presented what his engineering

58 The Voice of Authority