Dynamics as a success factor for Statoil
On October 27th gathered Beyond Budgeting the network again in London for the 58 member meeting. Attention was drawn to the new members of the network COWI, Elliott, Volvo Cars and Sodexo.
The meeting began with an honorable mention to the recently departed Jan Wallander (1920-2016) who has been a major source of inspiration for the network since its inception in the late 90's. According to Wallander, the budget was just a detail that prevented companies from acting the way they wanted. Decentralization was the important issue.
Then Bjarte Bogsnes, Statoil, about the second edition of the book “Implementing Beyond Budgeting” and comparisons between Beyond Budgeting, Lean and Agil development. The latter have a narrower focus while Beyond Budgeting looks at the whole, while the ambition to be dynamic is important in all. For Statoil, dynamic control has been absolutely crucial in an industry that in recent years has been tested extra hard as the oil price has fallen from just over $ 100 to a bit below $ 50 per barrel. Thanks to the lack of fixed contracts in the form of a budget, Statoil has been able to quickly prioritize and create improvements that still make them profitable.
Michele Zanini from Management Lab then talked about how he, along with Gary Hamel and Polly LaBarre, works to reduce or eliminate bureaucracy in companies and organizations. John Seddon, author of the book Rethinking Lean Service, then went on to talk about the problems that arise when Lean is applied in the service sector and how to work to improve service companies. John Little and Dave Adams then showed how to greatly improve efficiency and customer benefit in the Portsmouth home service area.
The network meeting ended with an internship case from tw Telecom where Nevine White Denver, Colorado, USA, told how through a changed governance philosophy and efficient planning and follow-up processes, they created the conditions for growth and profitability 10 years in a row. The company was able to respond to changes more quickly, and for example, a downturn in the economy was already forecast in the spring of 2008, which for many became a reality barely a year later. The then CFO Mark Peters expressed the change with “We talk about results, not budget variances".
For those who are looking for inspiration in Swedish, new releases are recommended Beyond Budgeting in practice by Knut Fahlén, Ekan Management and Beyond Budgeting Institute. Knut, along with colleague Rikard Olsson, you can also listen to through a recorded web lecture with the same title. You will find the web lecture via the link; Web Lecture - Beyond Budgeting in Practice.
Want to know more about the network and what a membership can give you and your organization?
Contact Rikard or Knut for more information.
Rikard Olsson, rikard.olsson@ekan.com, 070-766 41 92
Knut Fahlén, knut.fahlen@ekan.com, 073-442 47 71