It was a like watching a virtual crucifixion. As the safety record at BP came under ferocious, bitter and sceptical public scrutiny, Tony Hayward’s claim that it was his number one priority at BP fell apart before the congressional hearings into the Gulf disaster.
Sometimes in my more gloomy moments in life, I wonder what a small company such as Maynard Leigh could ever have to say to a giant like BP. Surely they have everything in place to do whatever they want? Don’t they have an unimagined treasure chest of resources to get things right?
But now I know. BP does not get culture change. Hayward who took the top job a couple of years ago specifically claiming that safety was his number one priority, reluctantly let it be seen that he has spectacularly failed.
Constantly ducking behind the promise that he would await the results of “the enquiry” before taking action, if it was found that anyone had made decisions at the expense of safety, he simply could not hide from numerous compelling adverse public facts about the company’s safety record.
Doubtless Hayward does give safety a high profile in the company. As an individual he may even have believed that he was changing BPs culture. Yet the evidence makes it abundantly clear that the cultural shift has not succeeded so far.
