Thread regarding ConocoPhillips layoffs

Overthinking

4 minutes left in the game. Atlanta is ahead by 16 points on the 22 yard line with a first down and a running back averaging 7 yards a carry. Hand it to the running back 3 or more times and kick a field goal and they are world champions. But they overthink, they are too clever and lose...

Everything we do is over thought and over-analyzed:

Our leader warily states this is the sixth downturn he has gone through. So why did he not have a simple scenario plan response? He states our earnings are negative because we had to re-categorize reserves as resources. But we have the most complicated resource reporting system in all industry and he proudly reports this number at all of the analysts meetings (our reported resources have collapsed since he took over), so why is this a surprise?

It takes him ten minutes to explain the VCIP calculation.

We are having financial problems so we think it smart to assign a non-Finance person to the CFO position.

Our exploration reporting is so complicated and inconsistent it's only the best presenters that get their dryholes approved.

Our budget process is year round and, in the end, rewards the best liars.

We change our company metrics annually and the current one (COS) is so complicated that only a few employees can calculate it. But we have 4 different groups to explain it.

Our dispositions are so over-analyzed that we take years, then make bad decisions

Our HSE reporting and paperwork is so bureaucratic that it massively negatively impacts getting actual work done and leads to incidents.

Our HR processes act as a huge delay and drag in treating employees right.

What happened to common sense ?

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| 1464 views | | 8 replies (last ) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+MdtiduQ

8 replies (most recent on top)

Maybe need to consider Cowboys solution....Romo is No Mo.

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Post ID: @1xaq+MdtiduQ

Ha ha, it's not like we are trying to fix the US health care problems- now that is complicated!

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Post ID: @1knv+MdtiduQ

This is so spot on!

I wish someone would print this out and force feed it to our ELT and their +1s

I describe COP to my friends and family as a company run by intelligent engineers (and a few geos) that don't have a lick of common sense and no gut feel. I laugh at some co workers that think they are so busy but all they are doing is more crap analysis/modeling or generating "spin" presentations to justify the big armies of people and manager empires that will never go away until a new CEO comes in and zero bases the organization.

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Post ID: @icg+MdtiduQ

Agree, a lot of us have been saying this for years. I will add however, that COS is simply the price that gives you discounted economic breakeven. How difficult is that?

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Post ID: @ncy+MdtiduQ

I bet RL and management they do not come here and these aren't thing they hear

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Post ID: @sqq+MdtiduQ

Original poster, you have it right. Our processes have taken over the company and now we have whole groups who spend their time justifying why their particular process is so good and explaining how you must adopt it. It is so frustrating to watch.

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Post ID: @yso+MdtiduQ

Spot on analysis. Simple money saving decisions take fighting with layers of management and departments. We spend money on technology development in this time for people who sit around and do nothing but copy paste same ideas dragging their feet for years and years. Simple check of last 5 years of a specific project budget justification vs outcome will drown a lot of fat cats.

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Post ID: @xfp+MdtiduQ

If common sense was used, the things you explained would not exist. Unfortunately there is very little at COP. I always thought it was funny (had to laugh or else you'd cry) that managers would entertain the same stupid ideas that they knew wouldn't work or ever be implemented, but instead of saying "we already looked at this and it's a no go" would have the person or group keep hopping down the bunny trail. I never understood it but everyon was so "puckered up" and worried about hurting someone's feelings they wouldn't say what was needed - "this idea s---s" - or something similar. Now these punks who were never straightened out are running the company. So no need to wonder why this dumb sh1t is happening, it was inevitable.

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Post ID: @fso+MdtiduQ

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