1. THE SOURCE OF THE
ENTREPRENEURIAL IMPULSE –
THE QUEST BEGINS

WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL IMPULSE? WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF OUR CAPACITY TO ACCESS THE KNOWLEDGE FOR ACTION WE NEED AT THE MOMENT?

In the spring of 1998, I was sitting in the back row of a large auditorium in the Shell Learning Center at the Woodlands just north of Houston. Eighteen months earlier, Shell Oil Company (the then-autonomous unit of the Royal Dutch Shell Group of Companies), Texaco, Inc., and Saudi Aramco had announced their intention to form an alliance of all their refining, distribution, and marketing (their “downstream” operations) in the United States. The “Alliance” would be the largest downstream organization in the world, with annual revenues approaching $40 billion. The Alliance hired Generon, a firm I had cofounded, to help develop its senior leadership and to assist in the integration of the units into a cohesive whole.

On that spring day, about 250 senior officers, who were members of the transition team, had gathered for the kickoff of the new venture. The chief operating officer of Texaco, Glenn Tilton, gave the opening remarks. In those remarks, Tilton identified the greatest challenge facing the Alliance – how to compete effectively with the newer and more nimble entrepreneurial downstream operators that had appeared in the marketplace in the last five years.

“We in this room have been operating in major oil companies as ‘elephants.’ But starting next week, we’re going to have to act as ‘gazelles’ – to become true entrepreneurs – or we won’t be in the phone book in five years.”

You could have heard a pin drop. Tilton continued, “We’ve got to rise to the occasion – but, to be honest – I’m not sure how to begin. I’m counting on each of you to help figure this out. We’ve got our work cut out for us in more ways than we can ever imagine.”

In that instant, the question flashed before me: “What is the Source of the entrepreneurial impulse? What is the Source of our capacity to access the knowledge for action we need at the moment?”

Although I didn’t know the answer, I absolutely knew there were important hidden implications I would discover if I stayed committed. In that very instant, my energy completely shifted, as if an internal rheostat had been turned up to the maximum.

I had an utter lack of self-concern, a sense of complete freedom, and a sense of overwhelming urgency. Nothing else mattered to me but to follow this opening, even if I didn’t fully understand why.

And that’s what I did for the next ten years.