Beyond Business Paperback – April 12, 2011

I found this to be an extremely interesting business and personal story, ranging from industry nuts-and-bolts to soap-opera high melodrama.I loaned Beyond Business to a friend of mine has worked for BP since the early 1980s, when EJPB (as he was known by the rank and file) became prominent in upper management. My friend said it was like reading a book about your family that was written by a cousin or an uncle -- someone present all along, but seeing all the same things from a slightly different perspective. Friend pointed out with glee that EJPB even mentioned an exploratory dry hole which, to that point, was the most expensive dry hole in oil business history... and a source of some amusement for BP folks other than those in the unit which drilled the well. That sort of tale-telling supplied an enjoyable degree of credibility, authenticity and sincerity to the author's account.

Ok, so it was a tad self serving, for example Browne claims the explosion at Texas city was a result of BP not implementing their culture enough in the former Texaco plant. I think most would say the opposite is true. However, his biases are exactly what makes the book so readable and fascinating. You can get inside his head a little bit, and see the world as only a world leader can. He made some mistakes, and some may even blame him directly for setting up the conditions for the Macondo spill. I think there is some truth to that accusation. However, he also masterfully built an organization into one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, and that deserves some attention as well.Whether you love him or hate him, the book is fantastic.

An interesting account of personal and business events while leading one of the mammoth size world energy companies