I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - expecting the same people who were too inept to even realize the problems they where in charge wont be, cannot be, the same people who can get us our. Culture is the problem, and this magic bullet org chart solution thinking is part of the problem.
Pretty much this.
OP: @a7+1jmw5cqa4
I think that middle management is the issue. They create the many silos that the bottom doesn't need to align with, and the top wants to eliminate. The folks at the coalface would be happy with open collaboration between departments but their managers think about their headcount, their decision rights and their self-importance. As a senior leader I would constantly change the structure of the org, use more contractors (so no one notices when they are offloaded) and I'd value my key-skilled people at the coalface.
@ac9 good grief. Is this your first time here? Even this thread has ideas. Look at the other threads too before you post.
What if they say “here’s the keys, you drive” what’s your first action as CEO? Clean house??
@b2+1, bit of an own goal there. You’re right - I probably wouldn’t do much differently. But then, I’m not commanding a 7 or 8 figure salary. For that type of money, I expect leadership to have more extraordinary strategic insight and command than someone on a low 6 figure salary might have.
Arguing that the people at the bottom of the chain of command wouldn’t do differently isn’t the flex I think you think it is.
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity. They need to invest in growing the top line, build technical capability so they don’t sc--w up projects, stop rewarding leaders who sc--w up. Has anyone asked how much they spend on consultants every reorganization and what are the results and who is accountable?
Someone spends too much time writing these replies. So many experts in managing a global corporation but in reality they would do exactly the same or worse if they were in charge. Get real with yourself. Sure it feels good to vent but you can’t live in a delusion where you think you’re the smartest best person to grace chevron with their presence
@ac+1jmx04w3g
Changing the culture is difficult to accomplish with the existing management teams in place and many people have reflected upon this in the various post topics. Changing the employees / mangers to other countries, allows the ELT to change the management chain. The new management chain will change the culture over the next few years. I have noticed while working with people in Manila, they have many good characteristics. They are very intelligent, and polite, but most importantly they like to follow procedures. They have trouble with independent thinking. This is not to say they are not intelligent.
This is a cultural mindset that US employees do not have. In the US, procedures are commonly followed in what we refer to as blue collar jobs or paternal management styles. There are many types of technician roles, HR, Finance and IT jobs that can be performed this way. But Chevron has never managed to standardize jobs into procedures. I am sure many procedures have been written for jobs but not as many jobs that can be and should standardized. I know people I work with that cannot write procedures that they perform each week. Some people consider this "tribal knowledge" to be the key to their success in the US.
You may have already noticed managers are now asking people to write procedures and document workflows. If they had started this 10 years ago, we could have gotten more valuable work completed. But, the decision to move forward in another direction has been made.
People should consider reading a book called, "Who moved my cheese?". It's a story about 4 mice that encounter changes to the source of their food. It is a easy book to read, maybe 2 hours. Most people will identify with one of the four mice in the story. I was the mouse that looks for a new food source before the current food source is gone.
Does not make me better but it defines how you think about change. Truth is change stinks, but it is inevitable and Darwin wrote books on it.
Culture “Club” is the problem…..
The culture starts at the top and rolls down.
Muppets theme song come to mind
As the details continue to emerge, I am feeling they don't want to correct the underlying issues, but just cut costs by sending most of the lower level work to India.
The disaster will continue. They can establish all kind of engines or layoff 50% of people. If this reorg happens with the same incompetent people who decide who stays and who remains or who gets hired, then cvx will go deeper and deeper into the hole. They tried several times so far. It didn't help to just layoff people.
You can't expect anything different when leaders don't have enough humility to publicly own their actions. It's really a shame, because that level of vulnerability and accountability is exactly what's needed for cultural change. Until then; rinse and repeat.