The User Communities Officers

When we discuss the officers of the user community we are of course speaking of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer or CEO, CFO and COO. These positions will need to be filled once we have secured the board of directors and they have a chance to recruit these individuals. These are the people who will be able to put a name and a face to the organization and will become the public image of the user community. As in any organization these officers will have the authority and responsibility to enact the plans and budgets of the organization. They will be the ones that are looked to by all within the community for the direction, goals and objectives of the organization.

The user community will be comprised of a variety of different types of users. Some will be the casual user who is fully employed by a producer firm or a service provider. Others will be full time consultants who specialize in the analysis and systems work that is prevalent in the user community. Still others may be full time employees of the user community organization that we are discussing. These officers will be representative of all of these types of users and ensure that the collaborative input of their understanding of the oil and gas industry is captured and delivered to the People, Ideas & Objects developers. It will also be necessary that the user community is kept aware of the larger role that they share in controlling the business model of the industry. And ensure that this work continues to provide the oil and gas producers with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations.

It will therefore be a collaborative style of leader that we are looking to fill the three officer roles in the user community organization. Therefore I see these roles being filled by unique individuals from the oil and gas communities. Ideally they would be individuals who have achieved significant success in their career. Someone who would see the community role of these positions as something new and challenging. Yet still see the effectiveness and the power of the user community in affecting change in the oil and gas industry through the business model.

It is my concern that the user community would lose its focus and get lost in some of the blind bunny trails that organizations seem to find themselves in at times. This focus on providing the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations is an infinite challenge. That we have defined significant value in the model today is testament to the value of the low hanging fruit that exists in using the Joint Operating Committee. We have only begun to explore this model. And the value for the producer will essentially never stop, and therefore we can never stop collecting that low hanging fruit and reach for the more difficult value that is also attainable. This I see as a primary responsibility of the individuals who are the officers of the user community. To keep this community focused on finding that value for the producers through the hard work necessary to do so. Complacency is unacceptable.

What we know today about software is critical to be kept in the minds of the user community members and their leadership. That software both enables and constrains organizations. It enables them to do the things that software, when it exists, can provide the organization. It at the same time however constrains them from doing anything else. And that includes change. People, Ideas & Objects provides a software development capability to ensure that the industry has the ability to be enabled by software and to deal with the constraints of the software that it uses. But that is not enough. It also needs a user community that understands the dynamic nature of the software and its impact on organizations. And understands that it is not encumbered by those constraints due to the fact that the user community controls the business model and have a dedicated software development capability at hand. These are the tools that the dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producer of the 21st century needs to have at their disposal. And the officers of the user community need to lead the way in which this happens.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here.

The User Communities Board of Directors

For the remainder of this week I thought I would go through the individual positions that are available in the user community leadership team. That way people will have a better understanding of the types of positions that are available and which ones they may be best suited for. Today’s topic is the board of directors of the user community. As I have indicated before I don't know if this is a board of governors or directors at this point, we'll however just use the term directors at this point. There are six positions available here including the chairman’s position. One of the unique characteristics of the chairman's position at this point is that position holds two votes. As I indicated in a previous posting the position of chairman is being filled by myself.

The role of director for the user community will be that for the user community itself. It is a position that looks towards the needs of the user community and its requirements. Based on the user community vision it will hold and control the business models of the software contained within the Preliminary Specification. It will recruit the officers and executives necessary to operate the organization consistent with its vision. It will approve the budgets and financial statements of that organization. It will engage the oil and gas industry at large in agreements to provide for their needs in terms of what their ERP and other systems requirements are. It will be responsible for the actions and activities of the user community in fulfilling its obligations to the producers in the industry and its users.

The user community will be endowed with an Intellectual Property License from People, Ideas & Objects. This license will permit the user community to further develop this Intellectual Property with the understanding that all developments will become the property of Paul D. Cox, where they will remain available for the user community to use and develop further. No charge will be levied to the user for use of this Intellectual Property. On the contrary, users will be paid for their contributions. We are paying for the acquisition of the Intellectual Property from the user community. Resources will be provided from People, Ideas & Objects for this purpose. The user community will be for the exclusive use of People, Ideas & Objects.

Directors would preferably be drawn from the oil and gas business community. From a broad mix of administration, accounting, earth science, engineering and technological disciplines. Having a diverse board of directors would represent the needs of the users. Ideally they should be senior members of the community and have established careers. These positions would be part-time in terms of their time requirements however we would expect these people to be fully committed to providing the oil and gas producers with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. As that is the key differentiation that makes the user community so valuable and worthwhile.

If you are interested in these position please contact me below. Or alternatively if you know of someone who would be a worthwhile candidate for the user community, send this information on to them. What we have with the Preliminary Specification, the Oracle Fusion Middleware and Applications and user community developments is an excellent product to offer the oil and gas industry. What we also have is a plan in which we are offering our product as an alternative to the industry as a replacement to the bureaucracy. With a product and a plan we can now focus on the people and work towards this decision in January 2017.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Preparing for Decisions to be Made in January 2017

Our priority in the next five years is the development of the user community. In the next 30 months we are developing the user communities leadership team and preparing our offering to the board of directors of the producer firms. This offering consists of the vision contained within the Preliminary Specification. The Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Fusion Application infrastructure we will be using. The third and critical component of this offering is the user community itself. People, Ideas & Objects are user driven software developments. Without the users involvement we have software developers with a limited understanding of the oil and gas industry and are unable to fully comprehend the needs of the users. With the users involved in our development, based on the user community vision, we have a distinct competitive advantage and can provide the oil and gas producers with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations.

This decision that the board of directors of the producers will be making is scheduled for January 2017. It will compare our offering to the status quo bureaucracy and determine which method the producer wants their organization operated under, the mindless bureaucratic “muddle along” strategy, or People, Ideas & Objects offering as described above. Careful consideration should be taken by each producer to determine their choice. If they choose the bureaucracy they should understand that People, Ideas & Objects stands on 10 years of research and 23 years of effort by myself to get to the point that we are at today. It will be a long time before any other software offering comes along if People, Ideas & Objects et al is deemed inadequate. There is also the issue of using the Joint Operating Committee. That breakthrough was a result of my research and is a cornerstone of my Intellectual Property. No other offering will be able to use that IP in another offering. If you choose the bureaucracy it is something that you will have to live with for the short and intermediate term. And there will be nothing more satisfying to them.

From a producer point of view there is much to be concerned about. The opportunities that the Preliminary Specification et al provide are substantial and are summed up by our statement that we provide the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. With trillions of dollars in value in terms of the differences between ours and the bureaucracies methods of managing the industry. Some quantifiable through the decentralized production model, and some unquantifiable through the toolset of automation, specialization and the division of labor. Ours is an appropriate vision for the oil and gas producer in the 21st century. One that enables the producer to focus on their core competitive advantages of their earth science and engineering capabilities, and their land and asset base. Where the administrative and accounting minutiae is moved from a producer based capability to an industry based capability. Freeing the producer from the constraints of growth in their production profile.

In the next few days we'll go through the individual positions that we are looking for in the leadership team. As I stated before these will be exciting positions that will have a dramatic impact on the outcome of the future of the industry. There will be much risk involved as we do not know what the results of the decisions by the directors in the producer firm will be. However, with much risk there is much reward. These leadership positions stand to gain substantially as they are at the beginning of the development of the user community and will have the ground floor opportunities in establishing the sub-industry we call the service providers.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Who Decides?

If we consider the amount of reserves of oil and natural gas that are held in the shale basins. The high costs of producing these basins. The bureaucracies inability to manage their production at any volume other than at full capacity. We can quantify the decision being made by the industry in terms of selecting either the bureaucracy or People, Ideas & Objects, the user community and service providers in the trillions of dollars of profits. Just on that basis it will be hard for the bureaucracy to make their case that they should be kept in charge. If you think they'll change their strategy and their means of operations you truly are an optimist. Ask yourself, where will they start and how will they begin.

The question that we need to answer today is who is it that is going to make the decision on behalf of the industry. What great power is going to come down and make this decision to go with the bureaucracy or with us. Simple, each producer firms board of directors will be asked to make the choice for their firm. Then, based on the aggregate of the decisions that are made we will determine which group wins the decision. This also assumes that the company will be forwarding the financial resources for the developments with their positive vote for us.

Some may consider this to be a foolish question to pose to an otherwise uninterested board of directors. It is also an invitation for the bureaucrats to invade the boardroom and infect the minds of the directors with their double speak. Quite possibly. How else can we have the decision made? I think this falls within the scope of the directors domain. Its also a decision that falls within their authority. I think this is the place that we should be spending our time in the next 30 months.

I mentioned yesterday that the decision makers should consider the consequences of choosing the bureaucracy. Having no choice but the bureaucracy would be the outcome, and if you're unsatisfied with their attitude today, just wait until there are no alternatives present in the marketplace. There is also the possibility that that form of organization is on its last legs. Its not unfamiliar today to hear that the industry is unable to staff up for the future. That the ability to meet the future demands of the industry are questionable based on the resources that are available in the marketplace. Is this not a failure of the method of organization that is being employed by the industry. Is the bureaucracy failing to meet the needs of the industry?

The better question might be what if the bureaucracy fails. As we have mentioned before it did fail before in the great depression. A time when government had to step in and take a larger role in the economy. If it fails again what will the industry rely upon? Failure is a concern but there is also the fact that the bureaucracy might just decide to quit. The average age in the industry is in the 40’s. Retirement or the next vacation is the topic of discussion in most elevators. What happens when this discussion becomes final and the bureaucracy just leaves and doesn't come back.

Preparation for the future is something that should be seriously considered as one element of the changes that are being discussed here in the move towards People, Ideas & Objects. Keeping your options open might be a good strategy for the dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producer in this time of change and opportunity.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Decision Day January 2017

We have therefore made the decision to prepare our solution to the industry so that they can make a decision as to which method they will use to operate the industry. The bureaucracy or the People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification, the user community and service providers. This decision will be made by the oil and gas industry and we have established January 2017 as the day for that decision to be made. That leaves us with thirty months in which to develop the leadership team and continue developing our offering. That offering consists of the Preliminary Specification as the vision of how the industry would operate. The Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Applications as the infrastructure of our offering. And the leadership team of the user community. The leadership team consists of both the leadership of the user community itself and the leadership of the Preliminary Specification.

This change in our decision timelines does not change any of our product delivery timelines. It does however affect the timelines in which the industry will be called upon to financially support People, Ideas & Objects. It will be January 2017, upon the decision of going forward with our offering, that the funds detailed in our budget will be forwarded from industry to People, Ideas & Objects. These resources will then be used to support the user community development and introduce Oracle to our offering and begin the developments with them. No work or discussions will be undertaken with Oracle during the next 30 months leading up to the decision being made by industry. If Oracle is in the room or not does not make any difference in the decision making criteria of the industry. Oracle will be asked to do their job when we are in development. They will not be asked to do any favors or provide any commitments to industry. We will pay them for the work that they will do when the industry has provided us with the resources to do so.

The question then comes about what happens as a result of the choice to go forward with the bureaucracy. And that we must have a plan for as well. It will be clear at that time that the bureaucracy is impenetrable and will survive for the foreseeable future. Industry should consider the consequences of that decision. However we also need to consider the consequence of that decision. And I have. Although it would be ideal to proceed with the development of the software, the user community and service providers there really is no second best alternative for the Preliminary Specification. Implementation of the Joint Operating Committee dictates an all in type of methodology and mindset. There is no partial pregnancy when using the Joint Operating Committee. Things like the decentralized production model only work when the industry is operational on it. It is that stark and that uncompromising. Therefore in terms of preparing a secondary offering for industry. Or compromising on the Preliminary Specification as it stands today, its not possible because of the nature of using the Joint Operating Committee.

Therefore People, Ideas & Objects will be dissolved as a going concern as will the user community. Their opportunities for any future will be non-existent and therefore the organizations will cease to exist. The Intellectual Property however is a different story and I will manage that property as I see fit.

Until the day we know what the decision is we have much to do. The first is to start with the development of the leadership team of the user community. After all what we want to do is to get rid of the bureaucracy and build some software so that we can provide the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Adjusting our Timelines and Deliverables

Presenting a clear choice as to which method of organization the industry would operate is the only manner in which to eliminate the bureaucracy from the landscape. There has to be a comparable way in which people can see the differences in how the industry would perform, based on the two different methods. There is no other way to remove the bureaucracy other than replacing them. The industry also has to see a community of like minded people prepared to deliver that alternative to them if they should be chosen. With People, Ideas & Objects we have the vision of how the industry would operate with the Preliminary Specification. Using the Joint Operating Committee as the key organizational construct, the decentralized production model organizing the industries resources in a manner that is more efficient and enables features like a “price maker” strategy. Building on this vision of how the industry would be operated is the Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Fusion Applications that provide the cloud computing infrastructure on which to operate.

What we need now is the user community to begin forming. The user community is a critical element of the quality of the software that is developed from this point forward. People, Ideas & Objects are user based software developments. We need a strong user community to be permanently developed to direct the software developers in the needs of the software that will be used in the industry. This user community, based on our user community vision, has the resources and wherewithal to affect the changes within the industry through the business models contained within the software itself. If industry wants to fundamentally change the way that the software operates then they are able to work through the user community in order to have those changes realized.

We want to be selected as the choice of which solution the industry uses to manage their assets. In order to do that we have to have certain elements of the user community established as the third component of our offering. We are starting by developing the necessary leadership of the user community. This leadership consists of both the leadership for the user community itself and the leadership for the Preliminary Specification. We have set in place time lines to have the developments of the Preliminary Specification begin in the year 2019. Enabling us the time to prepare for and to get the word out of what we are doing.

The bureaucracy have shut us out of the marketplace in terms of participation in the ERP vendor marketplace. We therefore have no resources and are doing this on a volunteer basis until our budget is raised. Our capital requirements are significant, however our impact to the individual producers is far greater than our costs. The opportunity costs that are being incurred during the time we are developing the leadership team will be in excess of $300 billion.

I think that it is clear to me that developing the user community beyond the leadership team would be counterproductive. Involving the general user in a potentially contingent operation is unnecessary and hazardous to their careers. Having the leadership team in place would be more than adequate for the industry to make a decision as to which method they want their assets managed. Going beyond the leadership team in terms of user community development would be a nice to have, however I don't think it adds any greater value to the decision making process that the people who will be making the decision will need. So I think we can keep it at these three components of our offering and force the decision based on those criteria. Based on that we need to revisit our timelines and recognize that our development start date of 2019 is appropriate however we need to move the decision time frame forward in recognition that we will not have a full user community in place. Therefore I have moved the decision timeframe forward to January 2017, 30 months from today, enabling an additional 2 years of user community development after the decision is made.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Preparing a Choice for the Industry in the 21st Century

With so much value being generated in the Preliminary Specification, the user community and the service providers. You would think that the bureaucracy would find the time to engage us and begin the work necessary to make that value accrue to the shareholders, the people in the industry and society in general. That’s not the case, instead they try and copy our Intellectual Property and use it for their own purposes. I am certain their use of the IP will be to provide the proof necessary that the concepts underlying the Preliminary Specification will not work and that they can proceed to be the only game in town. That is the way that bureaucrats think.

One thing we know for sure is they are not taking the opportunity to shut-in any production and halt the decline in natural gas prices. We have said it here before. Bureaucracies can’t change. For them to implement a strategy that rolled back production while inventories were so low would be a tactical win for the industry. Prices would respond handsomely as the market and the natural gas storage providers would be both competing for a lower level of production from the producers. This would provide the producers with a foundation of which they could establish the “price maker” position that the Preliminary Specification enables. However there is no discussion of this. There are no reasonable people standing up and saying that this is an opportunity on a go forward basis. Just silence and muddling along.

This is why the user community and the service providers that are affiliated with People, Ideas & Objects are providing an alternative means of organization for the oil and gas producers, investors and people in the industry. Enabling a choice as to which method they want their assets managed. The bureaucracy and their muddling along strategies. Or the People, Ideas & Objects ecosystem that provide the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. One that has tangible and significant improvements in the profitability of the industry.

Its amazing isn't it that for the many years that we have been touting the value that we generate the only thing the bureaucracy has thought to do is to steal it. What purpose at this point does it make in trying to steal it, I don't know. What we will keep doing is preparing our alternative means of organization for the time when industry makes the decision as to which group to go with. The bureaucracy or People, Ideas & Objects et al.

And that makes your participation in these next few years an important element of the success of this initiative. Particularly if you feel you can fill one of the leadership positions in the user community. It will be through your leadership that we will be able to prepare this offering and make the changes in the industry that are necessary. Bureaucrats don't change. They haven’t for decades and they won't in the future. We need to prepare an alternative means of organization for the dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producer.

It's an ambitious plan. Only because it is necessary as a result of the poor performance of the bureaucrats. If we saw some response that showed any sign of life from them then they might be given a second chance. However there is no sign of life and there are no second chances. There is only what we have to do to eliminate the bureaucracy from the landscape and implement what the industry needs for the 21st century.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Value Added Through the Service Providers

One area that we have not discussed in the recent past is the service providers that are enabled through the transition to the Preliminary Specification and the user community. The service providers are derivative of the user community in that they are based on initiatives and actions of the people who are involved in the user community. Members of the service providers are licensees of the People, Ideas & Objects Intellectual Property as they use the software and prepare their services based on providing the Preliminary Specification to the individual producer firms.

Service providers will focus on one detailed process or subprocess of the administration or accounting of the producer firms of the oil and gas industry. They will, in most instances manage that process for all of the producers within the industry. This is to enable them to focus on their competitive advantages of automation of the process, specialization and the division of labor. These tools will bring significant value to the dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producer through successive iterations of continuous improvement. Value not only in terms of lower cost of service but also in terms of the quality of that service.

The particular process that a service provider will manage may appear small in terms of its domain of what a producer undertakes. However, when aggregated throughout the industry the scope of the undertaking will present unique challenges to the service providers. Competition between the service providers will not be within the individual processes. Generally one process will be managed by one service provider. Some exceptions will apply as can be expected. The competition between service providers will be generated in the form of how they apply specialization and the division of labor to the processes that they manage. Innovation in this area will be high and lead to a competitive environment between the service providers.

I also foresee constant change and improvement. The way things are done today is to find the most efficient method possible. That is with the constraints that are present within each producer firm. With the situation we are discussing here the constraints will be based on the resources and domain of the industry. There will need to be significant trial and error in order to explore all of the possibilities of what are the most efficient and effective ways. This is one of the advantages of having a dedicated software development capability like that of People, Ideas & Objects available to the service providers.

It is important to remember that the service providers are replacing the administrative and accounting resources of the producer firms. Under the decentralized production model the producer firm is reduced to the C class executives, the earth science and engineering resources, the land and legal with some support staff. These service providers are then billing for their service on a unit of work basis when the producer incurs the service providers process. They then are billed for the standard rate for that process and that is the extent of the interaction with that service provider. If the producers production is shut-in for the month, then they do not incur the unit of work or the standard rate and as a result the producer does not incur any of the administrative or accounting overhead associated with that property. This is the benefit of the service providers to the oil and gas producer. If they shut-in production to 80% of capacity then their overhead is immediately reduced to that same 80% threshold. Doing so will therefore record a null operation, no profit but also no loss, save the reserves for a time when they can be produced profitably, increase the profitability of their operation in the short term, remove the excess production from the marketplace and increase the commodity prices.

The service providers are a critical part of the industry infrastructure necessary for the Preliminary Specification. They are derivative of the user community, and are a key part of that community. The owners and operators of the service providers will be the key members of the user community and will be those that have made a significant contribution to the user community. We will reward our user community members in the best ways that we can. And providing them with membership as a service provider is one of the key ways in which to do so. There may be several thousand different service providers in the end. But they will all be part of a new sub-industry that we are creating here that will be generating approximately $40 - 60 billion in annual revenues. These are the G&A costs that the oil and gas industry is incurring today in North America to employ these administrators and accountants. The people that will be moving to the service providers themselves.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Highly Effective Digital Enterprises

McKinsey & Company have published an article that speaks directly to the type of work that we are doing here at People, Ideas & Objects and the user community. The title of the article is “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Digital Enterprises”. You can view the article from the link. What the article provides is the necessary ingredients that are needed to ensure a transition from the “old” world to one that is similar to what we are discussing here at People, Ideas & Objects for the oil and gas industry. I won't go through the seven steps individually as they are all on point and necessary to make the transition. What I will point out is the major flaw in the article from our point of view, and maybe in other industries as well.

That is the bureaucracy are in control of the budget that will fund the “new” digital enterprise. And therefore the “new” digital enterprise doesn't and won't exist. At least in oil and gas. I cant tell you of the difficulty I have had with the bureaucracy. They refuse to sponsor anything that will eliminate themselves from the landscape. You have a group of self interested people who will do whatever it takes to make sure that their domain remains in power at all costs. They are not going to fund anyone or anything that will remove them from that position. If someone insists on it being done they may go through the motions if necessary but they will make sure that the initiative fails. The fact of the matter is that there is no way in which they can be dealt with in a reasonable manner. The assumption in the article that the funding for the initiative is in place is therefore flawed, and therefore the outcomes are flawed.

The only way in which to deal with the bureaucracy. And this is the current thinking that I have. Is to provide the investors, the producers and the people who work within the oil and gas industry. Those that are as frustrated and annoyed with the bureaucracy as I am. To choose to move to an alternative means of organization for the oil and gas industry. Therefore we need to prepare an alternative means of organization for the oil and gas industry based on the vision of the Preliminary Specification, the Oracle Fusion Middleware and Application foundation, the user community that we are building here and the service providers. Enabling a choice for people to make as to who they want to manage their assets is therefore the manner that we need to prepare our offering.

When the time comes to make the decision as to which solution to choose from. The bureaucracy will have a difficult time making any assertion that they should be the choice. When we provide over $705 billion in opportunity costs from the decentralized production model. At least as much unquantifiable value that we can achieve from the structure of the service providers using automation, specialization and the division of labor. The structure of the user community and its ability to facilitate change and make the industry a dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas industry. These are the things that we are structured to provide.

And we do this by going to the core of the business. By moving the compliance and governance frameworks of the hierarchy into alignment with the Joint Operating Committees legal, financial, operational decision making, cultural, communication, innovation and strategic frameworks. We achieve a flexibility, speed, innovativeness, and profitability in our producer organizations. A business model that we have only begun to explore. It is this alignment that also eliminates the bureaucracy from the scene. And that is why they fight us. They don't care about producer profitability, speed, accountability or being dynamic. They are only concerned that they remain in power and they have their pensions vested. And that is why they need to be removed. So join me and help prepare for this decision to be made and make the oil and gas industry into the dynamic, innovative and profitable industry we know it could be.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Appealing to Those in the Industry

What People, Ideas & Objects have to offer the user community is a compelling vision in the Preliminary Specification in which to build from. A means in which to operate the oil and gas industry if they were to join us and build the software with us. Software, and the services of the service providers that are derivative of the user communities efforts. Will provide what the oil and gas industry needs to be the most dynamic, innovative and profitable that it could be. That is what we offer the user community if people decide to join the user community and help us build the Preliminary Specification. And they will have the tools to do so. The user communities vision spells out the resources and means in which the user community would have in order to be able to make these changes within the industry. This is not your grandfathers user community. This user community has the money and the power to change the oil and gas industry.

We also offer the second component of our offering to the user community. That being the Oracle stack of technologies that the People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification will be built upon. Using Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Fusion Applications as the base of the Preliminary Specification provides us with the elements of what are needed to round out all aspects of our offering. We are a cloud computing offering. Providing solutions to the entire industry through our service providers. It is this solid foundation that gives the user community the assurance that our products will be state of the art and capable of handling the tasks that the user community defines.

We are taking these two components that we have and building the third component over the next few years. The third component is the most critical of all, our key competitive advantage, the user community itself. It will be the key differentiating component of our offering that gives the producers the understanding and means to manage their organizations. Without the user community we are software developers with a limited understanding of what the oil and gas industry is and what it does. With the user community we are able to fully and completely comprehend every element of the industry, define it, create a solution for it, have the software developers build the software for it and prepare the services for it.

And when we speak of competitive advantages it will be in the class of competitive advantages that Apple and Google have their user community as their competitive advantage. A cultural, systemic and deep within the core of our DNA type of competitive advantage. And we don't build that type of quality after the software is built. We build it before the software is even begun. So that is what we are doing here at People, Ideas & Objects. Taking the time and energy necessary to ensure that the user community is the key competitive advantage to our product offering. That it, and the derivative service providers are able to drive the industry in the direction that is needed to ensure the producers profitability is maximized in both the short and long term.

We have the product vision in the Preliminary Specification and the Oracle Fusion Applications and Middleware offerings. Building on this with our key competitive advantage of the user community. The foundation of our user community is the user community vision. We are preparing this offering to enable investors, producers and the people in the oil and gas industry to select us as the method they chose to manage their assets. We will be the natural choice when they compare this offering to the performance of the bureaucracy. And that is what we want to happen. Making change in the manner that an industry is managed is a difficult transition to make. It has to be made by a conscious choice by those that have a vested interest in the betterment of the industry. Our task is to prepare the user community in order to build the software, and to enable that choice to be made.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

How to Deal With a Persistent Bureaucracy

One thing we did not mention in yesterday’s calculation of opportunity costs for Encana Corporation was the firms extent of bureaucratic infestation. With so much value on the line this will inspire a shrug and a head shake from those pious beings who occupy that rarified air. Losing money is their claim to fame, and no one will steal their thunder. It is with that in mind that we know that they will never come knocking at our door to work with People, Ideas & Objects and the user community. And that’s ok, we have a different plan.

And it is the user community that is our primary focus for the next five years. Developing systems for oil and gas producers is an exciting business to be in. However, no one has ever developed user based ERP systems for oil and gas producers. And that is what we are doing by focusing on the user community in these next few years. Developing the user community to the level necessary to be able to drive the development team in the direction of the systems that the users want and need.

We are doing this on the basis of the user community vision that has been established here at People, Ideas & Objects. A vision that provides the community with the tools and means in which to affect the changes within the oil and gas industry. They will have the money and the power necessary to implement what it is they need. Never before has there been user driven ERP systems in oil and gas. And never before has a user committee had the tools and means at its disposal to make the changes within industry that this user community has.

The first step that we have undertaken to initiate this user community is defined a leadership team consisting of approximately 28 positions. These people will be responsible for both leading the user community as an organization, and leading the product development from the Preliminary Specification into the software that they want and need. These people are being actively recruited today and will be the founding members of the user community, and the associated service providers who are a critical “sub-industry” that we are establishing to provide the services necessary to support the software in its commercial release.

Taking the time that we have set out here to develop the user community is critical to its development. This phase of development can not be rushed. People need to understand the implications of the Preliminary Specification. How it affects their organization and how it will affect the job that they do in the industry. Once they begin to fully understand the implications then they can begin to feel comfortable with it and start to use the model to better accommodate their surroundings. With so many people contributing in this way, and People, Ideas & Objects providing a software development capability to support the user community. The dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producer will begin to see the results in a flexible, accountable, speedy, innovative and profitable organization.

If this is the place that you think the industry should be headed then you should stay tuned and watch as things develop. The method that we are using to change the industry is that we are providing an alternative means of organization to the oil and gas producer. Providing a choice for the oil and gas investor and to those that work within the industry. Your participation will be a key part of the solution. And then we can chose to move away from the muddle along strategy of the current bureaucracy and make the industry dynamic, innovative and profitable.

 The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Lou Gerstner on Strategic Planning

McKinsey Consulting have republished an article written by Mr. Lou Gerstner of IBM fame. Originally published in December 1973 when he was a McKinsey Consultant the topic of discussion is strategic planning. It seems pertinent today to the oil and gas industry in terms of the decision they should undertake to proceed with People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification. So I thought I would take the material and apply the knowledge to the situation in the industry and use Encana Corporation as the example firm in my calculations.

One of the first things you notice in this article is that its 1973 and there are no personal computers and spreadsheets have not yet been developed. The entire point of the article is to take the strategic decision that an organization could make and run a number of different scenarios regarding the changes that it would have in the business. To make those changes reflective in the financial statements on a proforma basis. The difference between 1973 and today is that these are done constantly vs. what appears to be a rarity in the period of time that Mr. Gerstner is discussing.

However the point is valid particularly for running the scenario of “what if” the firm adopted the Preliminary Specification as the business model for the organization. We have claimed that the scope of the changes are responsible for $705 billion in opportunity costs for the period between 2009 and 2019. Therefore it should be incumbent on each organization to run the calculation on their own financial data to determine what impact the Preliminary Specification and the user community would have on their organization.

As an example we have selected Encana Corporation and run the business model against their financial data for the period between 2014 and 2019. We chose Encana as it is predominantly a gas producer and their operations are marginal at best. Without too much surprise the total incremental value that is generated by using the Preliminary Specification and the user community is $17.1 billion for that period. It is made up of two components, the increase in revenues of $15.8 billion and decrease in G&A costs of $1.3 billion. With value increases of that scale it would be worthwhile for Encana to fund 100% of People, Ideas & Objects and the user community. If they did they would still have $13 billion left over.

Calculations for Encana are included in the Preamble Wiki page. It is important to emphasize that these are only the values that we are able to quantify. Further quantification of the value from specialization and the division of labor cannot be determined at this time. However it is believed to be as material. The value from specialization and the division of labor enable the industry to expand its output from the same resource base. Enabling it to approach the goal of energy self sufficiency for the North American marketplace.

We will continue to look for ways in which to ensure that we, People, Ideas & Objects and the user community, provide the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. We have the business model of the Joint Operating Committee as the key organizational construct of the dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producer. It is the means in which this value is being generated, and it will be the means in which future value is generated. For when we move the compliance and governance frameworks of the hierarchy into alignment with the legal, financial, operational decision making, cultural, communication, innovation and strategic frameworks of the Joint Operating Committee. We attain a flexibility, accountability, speed, innovativeness and profitability in our producer organizations. We have only begun to fully explore the potential of this model. In the hands of the user community there will be an unending flow of innovations that provide real value for the oil and gas producers.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Summary of the Accounting Voucher Module

For purposes of review and to keep the Preliminary Specification somewhat fresh in our minds. We have been occasionally looking at elements of the modules of the Preliminary Specification. Today I want to move from the Partnership Accounting module to the Accounting Voucher module to discuss what its purpose is. The Accounting Voucher is a unique module that conducts operations that have not been provided in other ERP systems. It seeks to resolve some of the issues of using the Joint Operating Committee as the key organizational construct of the dynamic, innovative and profitable producer. And opens up some opportunities for real innovation as well.

We are entering a time when the level of automation of the business process can accelerate in material ways. For People, Ideas & Objects not to address this opportunity would be a determining factor in the oil and gas industries capabilities to automate many of the business processes in the future. So much is dependent on the software that is used within the organization that it enables and constrains the organizations capabilities. With the capability to code an invoice to a basic accounting program from a smartphone. The ability and capabilities to capture transactions in highly automated means is a given in the People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification. Therefore what people will be involved in is not recording transactions but designing transactions with the Accounting Voucher. The way that this is stated in the Preliminary Specification is that we are to “manage the disparate inter-dependencies of modularity theory and Transaction Cost Economics.” In essence this will be an area of deep development for the user community to fully explore.

By moving to the use of the Joint Operating Committee, the concept of operator is relegated to the past. Each participant in the Joint Operator Committee is called upon to provide their unique capabilities to the property. Therefore each member of the Joint Operating Committee is incurring costs and generating revenues on the property. Thier access to the Accounting Voucher is a necessary requirement and with the Preliminary Specifications Accounting Voucher they have access to process payments and revenues for distribution to other working interest owners. Having the Accounting Voucher open to all members of the partnership is a necessary and valuable feature of the Preliminary Specification and enables the producer to attain a speed and accountability in their costs and revenues.

Another area where the Accounting Voucher has been used in unique ways is in the Material Balance Report. Here the volumetric information of the producers production is treated in a similar manner to the way that the financial information is treated. That is it must balance debits and credits. And balance within the system that is captured within the Accounting Voucher, or system balance, partnership balance and of course material balance. These balances being required before the Accounting Voucher can close. Garnering the attention of those producers who are partners in the property if the Accounting Voucher is unable to close in a timely manner.

And there are a variety of other minor attributes of the Accounting Voucher that we will highlight as we go through the module in a little more detail in the months ahead. I just wanted to give a bit of an understanding as to the differences and why those differences exist in the Accounting Voucher. It is a unique module that opens many areas of future development for the user community to expand on in the area of automation of the business process and remove ourselves from the labor intensive elements of accounting.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Users Operating the Infrastructure of the Industry

What the members of the dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producer will be focused on is their competitive advantages of their earth science and engineering capabilities, and land and asset base. What the member of the user community will be focused on will be the providing that producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. It is through the organizational structure of the industry that the producer will earn their profit. Granted it is highly dependent on finding commercial quantities of oil and gas reserves. However finding the reserves is not enough these days. How the industry is structured and operated will be a determining factor in the producers ability to earn a profit. With the Preliminary Specification the industry is structured and operated through the user community and its users are able to effect the changes necessary to ensure that the oil and gas producers are provided with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations.

If it were the 1850’s where buyers and sellers could be discovered serendipitously then we wouldn't need software or the user community. Producers would be able to produce their product and sell it out the back door of their office. But its 2014 and the complexity of our society dictates that we stand on the shoulders of giants and work within the systems and procedures that have been put in place over the past many decades. It is the operation of this infrastructure that the bureaucracy has put on automatic. Not allowing any opportunity to introduce any change within the system to provide for different outcomes. This is particularly noticeable in the case of natural gas prices. The bureaucracy are price takers, accepting any price that the market is providing. Giving up any hope or any opportunity to influence those prices.

With the user community the users are able to implement the changes within the systems to make the changes that are desirable to the oil and gas producers. In the case of prices, the Preliminary Specification and the users enable the producers to shut-in natural gas without any penalty of additional losses on operations, or too high of G&A. Producers are able to shut-in their unprofitable production and realize the higher prices as a result of the markets response to lower production. This infrastructure is a result of the software and users that are provided through People, Ideas & Objects and the Preliminary Specification.

Being proactive with the variables within the industry. As opposed to muddling along until something may or may not happen as in the bureaucracies way of dealing with things. Is the future of the oil and gas industry. The bureaucracy has other plans, and it doesn’t include a vision, profits or anyone other than themselves. What is needed is for the people who own those oil and gas assets is to sit down and ask themselves are they really being served by the manner that things are managed today. And is there a better way.

There is a robust future for the North American oil and gas industry. With the endowment of the oil sands and shale reserves, energy self sufficiency is a viable and worthwhile opportunity and goal. If left in the hands of the bureaucracy it will continue to be produced at a loss and be further wasted for the purposes of having them in power. We offer a viable alternative. A sound vision that works, is innovative and provides the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. The user community is a necessary element of the success of People, Ideas & Objects and they are key to the future of the industry. It is this vision and resource that provide a real alternative for the oil and gas investor and the people that work within the industry.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Looking Forward to 2019

If we look retrospectively at the changes that have been made as a result of the Internet. And the pace of those changes on our daily lives. I think we see a dramatic level of change that makes what had come before the Internet pale in comparison. If we look at just those changes that have happened since 2010, that can be quantified to be “cloud computing” and the impact it has had. We are in a particularly interesting time in terms of human history. Now I may be seeing things from a different perspective than some of my readers. But if we extend these trends out towards 2019, who would doubt that things will be very different from what exists today. And who would doubt that the type of organizations that we use today will be the same that we have used for the past one hundred years.

Its probably a bit embarrassing to state that I can do three hours of my work in the morning without having to get out of bed. Its not that I do that every day, but some days I do. Is there any reason that anyone else can't do the same? I am sure that most bureaucracies demand attendance at 8:00 AM be taken and therefore this is something that will not be happening in the short run. The fact that I can start my day at 4:00 AM in bed is the advantage that the bureaucracies are unable to comprehend.

I chose 2019 as the day that we should look towards. As that is the year that we begin the developments of the Preliminary Specification. That will also mark the fifth year of user community development. It will be that time that we have the vision, the details, the community and hopefully, the oil and gas investors and the resources behind us to begin the developments of the organizational model for the future oil and gas industry. It will also be a time when the Information Technologies have moved society even further than it has today.

During the next five years the user community will be able to take the vision that is the Preliminary Specification and make it into the type of organization that will be managing the oil and gas industry for the next 50 to 60 years. Based on the Joint Operating Committee, using the decentralized production model and all that can be, added to it by the many contributors that will have joined us. This will be how the industry is managed. Using the user community vision where the people who work within the industry have the means to affect the changes in ways that they work within the industry and provide the most profitable means of oil and gas operations.

What we are seeing today is that the Information Technologies are finally having an effect on our lives. And it is to the betterment. I think we can expect that these trends will continue and should soon begin to accelerate. However, they will accelerate much quicker in the hands of those that will be the benefactors. With the way the user community is established. It is they who have the power and the resources to effect the changes that they want in how they do their jobs. Our priority is to provide the oil and gas producers with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. How and what we do to bring the producers with those profitable operations is within our control. So if something strikes us at 4:00 in the morning we can deal with it then, and not have to wait until the mandatory 8:00 attendance.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here.  

Leadership in the User Community Part VII

What the oil and gas industry needs in the future is the means to deal with change. Change within the business model that it operates upon. Where the strategies, opportunities and risks can be addressed in a timely and effective way. What we do know about software is that it is the equivalent of pouring concrete on an organization. Software both enables and constrains organizations. The capacity to change afterward doesn’t exist unless capabilities to make the changes to the software are also built within the systems. People, Ideas & Objects are building the software development capabilities. However developers are blind and dumb when it comes to the actual activities of what and how people do their jobs in the industry. We need a user community to direct us. One that has the power and the money to be independent and proactive in the industry to solve the issues and pursue the opportunities that occur in the marketplace.

So that is what we are building here at People, Ideas & Objects, our user community based on our user community vision. A dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas industry has to be based on a dynamic, innovative and profitable method of organization, software, and user community. We have the Preliminary Specification which has the business models that provide the producer with those attributes. We will build the software that has those attributes once we have built the user community. What we need to do in the next five years is to build that user community that will lead the oil and gas industry and provide for it its dynamic, innovative and profitable nature.

To give an example of how this will work. The user community will realize that the shale reservoirs are creating a new dynamic in the oil and gas industry. One in which the marketplace is being flooded with the commodities. A new and unique situation to the oil and gas industry. What is necessary is for the oil and gas producers to move away from the price taker position and become price makers. This can be done through the Preliminary Specifications decentralized production model. Therefore it is decided in the user community to implement the decentralized production model into the software at the earliest possible point in time. This is how the industry needs to be managed. Effectively and efficiently through the user community that is being established here and now.

You may ask what it is that a producer is to concern themselves with? What they need to concern themselves with is to how to produce their oil and gas at the highest possible profit that they can. Focusing on their competitive advantages of their earth science and engineering capabilities, and land and asset base they have a scope of operations that is within the realm of what is controllable. Being a price maker is not within a producers controllable domain and therefore better left to the user community to deal with. Other issues that the industry face will be able to be parsed in a similar fashion. What the bureaucracy has traditionally left untouched in their muddle along strategy will now be handled through the user community.

It will be through the user community that the producer will be able to have their needs for both the controllable and uncontrollable domains satisfied. Operating software for an organization in the 21st century needs to be built to accommodate change. At People, Ideas & Objects that is what we have done. By building a software development capability that works for the user community we are able to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry in both their controllable and uncontrollable domains.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here.

Leadership in the User Community Part VI

We have been fortunate at People, Ideas & Objects to be able to quantify the differences between our method of organization and the current bureaucracies. Documenting the $705 billion in opportunity costs goes a long way to making our case for change. One area that is just as material in terms of the scope of change, however we are unable to quantify the differences, are the differences that are attributable to the toolset that we employ within the Preliminary Specification of automation, specialization and the division of labor. These will be material in their value to the dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producer. Probably more material than those benefits that we are able to quantify today.

It will be up to the leadership team of the user community to ensure that we employ the toolset in the development of the user community and the Preliminary Specification. This will be a difficult aspect of their work in terms of how it is undertaken. With the reorganization of the industry and reduction in size of the prototypical producer. The service provider becomes a specialized provider who uses their division of labor to approach the entire oil and gas industry as their client base. This of course is an entire new way of organization and perspective of how things are done. The scope of the change is tremendous. The size of the G&A resources that are being shifted in this reorganization are quantified in the region of $40 to 60 billion per annum.

Our leadership will need to spend a significant amount of energy on this topic in order to make this transition effective. I suspect that, in time, the Preliminary Specification will be seen as a desirable method of organization by many in the oil and gas industry. The demand to proceed with the Preliminary Specification will be strong and we will need to have this issue worked out effectively in order to satisfy that demand. This may be one of the critical points that we need to provide to the investors to be able to satisfy them in their decision to choose the Preliminary Specification over the bureaucracy.

The monetary value from the specialization and division of labor changes would be significant. From today’s resource base the North American producers may be able to approach the concept of energy self sufficiency. A material increase in the continents throughput without any footprint increase in the size of the human resource base. How does someone quantify that value. But this is the value of specialization and the division of labor. The ability to increase production from the same resource base. And what we do know is that the producers have been unable to exercise any advantages from specialization and the division of labor due to the constraints of developing all of their capabilities within their organizations. By moving to an industry wide capabilities development we are able to fully exercise the value of specialization and the division of labor in the administration and accounting fields, and earth science and engineering disciplines. Applying this toolset to essentially very fertile fields.

Taking a process and defining it and managing it on the basis of an industry wide capability will need to be the focus of the user community and particularly the leadership of that user community. I think if we have a good answer for how we will conduct this operation and implement it within the People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification. How it will be organized with the service providers organizations and the structure of their work. We will be on our way to convincing the investor and the people within the industry that our solutions is the better solution for the industry in terms of profitability for the oil and gas producers and the people who work in the industry.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Leadership in the User Community Part V

Looking at the overall scope of what can be accomplished by the leadership team and the users in the user community. It is important to remember that the user community has the wherewithal to make this happen. This is documented in our user community vision and includes the money and power that the community has at its disposal. So it is one thing to define broad strokes of a vision of what is possible, as I did in last weeks posts. And another to provide that community with the means to undertake that vision. And I think those mechanisms are within the domain of the user community and its leadership team.

The Preliminary Specification provides a solid vision and workable framework of what an alternative means of organization could be for the oil and gas industry. It works in that there is no deficiency or major failing where there is a breaking down in logic or implementation. It is a result of my vision of what could be, and a decade of very painful research. It is also incapable of providing the industry with the ability to be operated upon, as it stands today. It needs the input of thousands of others who work and understand what and how the industry operates. It is now time for these people, the users, to have their input into the process and build on the framework and vision that is the Preliminary Specification. I have nothing more to add.

This is the job of the leadership team as well. To guide the further development of the Preliminary Specification from its current framework to a comprehensive understanding of what and how the industry operates. With a detailed understanding of what jobs are required, what those jobs consist of and how those jobs are done. And how the software will be developed to serve those users. This needs to be done from stem to stern in terms of the number of people that work within the oil and gas industry. Earth science and engineers, land, legal and support people that are employed within the oil and gas producers. Administrative and accounting people in the service providers. And those people that are in the field and their head office resources of the service industry. This documentation needs to be comprehensive and complete.

And this work will be done with an eye to the understanding that the overall business models of the industry are under the user communities control. That to earn a profit and to be efficient is inherent in the software that the producer uses. That our societies today are structured and defined by the software that its people and organizations use. And that the user community is how the people within oil and gas and the producers use the software that the user community are responsible for. With this immense power comes immense responsibility for the leadership team. Oil and gas producers may own the oil and gas assets. However without access to the software that makes the oil and gas asset profitable, they have an albatross around their neck.

When the Internet came about in the mid 1990’s people saw the potential that this technology could have on society. As a result we had the technological boom in the late 1990’s that saw business models being rewritten by anyone with the ability to host a website. What subsequently happened is well known as the .com crash and the Information Technology field has not been the same since. There has been little in terms of employment opportunities. Businesses have not spent money in this area as it is perceived as a lost cost. And people don’t go into the field due to the generally negative feeling they get that technology is not necessarily the place you want to spend a career. What we do know about change is that change is always overestimated in the short term, and underestimated in the long term. We are definitely at the underestimating stage of the changes brought about by the Internet. What we are doing with People, Ideas & Object and the user community is what is necessary but also what is possible as a result of the maturing of the technologies in the past decades. The power has shifted, when will you.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Leadership in the User Community Part IV

Yesterday we discussed the career risks to those that may take the plunge and join the user community in one of the many leadership positions that are open. Today I want to discuss what it is these people will be doing if they do join. And what impact they will have on the oil and gas industry in the mid to long term. It would be my opinion that the work that is being done in People, Ideas & Objects and the user community will be some of the most interesting work that has ever been undertaken in the oil and gas industry. Few opportunities of this scale would come around within the lifetime of an individuals career, if at all. I have stated before this may be a once in a century type of opportunity.

The bureaucracy has been the prevalent form of organization in business since they took over from the merchants in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. What we are doing with People, Ideas & Objects and the user community is retiring the bureaucracy and replacing it with a new form of organization primarily focused around the Internet. This is the trend that is happening in all industries as the Internet is capable of providing greater efficiency in terms of the management of our organizations. This is the scale of the changes that are being made through the implementation of the Preliminary Specification and the development of the user community.

To participate in this level of revolutionary change. That is on such a scale, is a once in a century type of opportunity. The opportunity to take today’s prototypical producer firm and convert it to the one that operates under the Preliminary Specification and the user community doesn’t exist. The scope of change necessary is beyond what is humanly possible. The forces of inertia from the bureaucracy would need to be fought at every step and our energy would be wasted in such battles. So we chose not to concern ourselves with such battles and instead rely on the forces of creative destruction to make the choice between the performance that the bureaucracy provides, and the solution that we present here with the Preliminary Specification and the user community.

The transition from the bureaucracy to the Preliminary Specification may be as a result of successful producers buying out laggard firms that refuse to change. That is the normal course of change as a result of creative destruction. We don't know and we certainly don’t care. What we are concerned with is that we provide the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. And with the Preliminary Specification we already have a material difference in our value proposition. This will be the focus of the development of the user community and particularly the leadership. One area of our value proposition that we are unable to quantify is the value that we will be able to provide the dynamic, innovative and profitable producer due to the toolset that we implement within the Preliminary Specification. And that toolset currently consists of automation of the business process, specialization and the division of labor. With the configuration of the industry into service providers there is ripe material here for the ability to significantly add more value to the industry.

So it is these topics and areas of focus that will be the domain of the leadership within the user community. Very high level, once in a century type of work that will be something an individual can highlight their career with. The changes we are making are dramatic and will have a material effect on the performance, makeup and manner of how the oil and gas operates for the next 50 to 60 years. Foundational work that is material to how the producer performs, and since our organizations are a critical part of our society, healthy organizations lead to healthy societies which lead to healthy individuals.

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Leadership in the User Community Part III

There are significant opportunities that lay ahead for the people who participate on the leadership team of the user community. They will have a hand in developing the organization that defines the manner in which the oil and gas’ business model is defined and supported. As we have noted before, the motivation for participation is the power and the money that the user community and service providers will hold in the new oil and gas industry. That’s the upside, and for the individual members of the leadership team, this upside will be significant. There are however some risks, and most of all the costs associated with participation in the user community in any one of the leadership positions.

The first cost that you'll incur, particularly in the short term. Is that your connections that provide you with your source of income, whatever that is, a job, revenue in your firm etc. will be at risk to dry up faster than you can say “what happened?” The bureaucracy doesn't mind acting out against individuals and when they see an individual who is taking a position that is counter to their long term benefit they act swiftly and ruthlessly. If you need your job or are happy with your company you should think twice about a leadership position. Leaders are expected to suffer for their cause. And this will be the primary way in which you will suffer. I can almost assure you that you will not survive in your job or your business if it is discovered that you have taken a leadership position in the user community.

The upside is that you’ll have significant amounts of time to commit to the user community. The next five years will certainly draw in your time and tax your savings while you pedal backwards in your life while everyone else moves forward in theirs. This can be a difficult thing for some people to sustain. To maintain the necessary focus on the job at hand while their ship is being torn apart by the storm. Do you continue on where the sailing “might” be better or turn back to port. This takes a certain type of fortitude and is not the domain of the majority of the population. It takes a certain type of person. An “A” class entrepreneur I would suggest.

The prize is that there will be revenues that are established in the user community. In the current budget the user community has a budget of $333 to $667 million for the software development costs of the Preliminary Specification. These are for the initial commercial release. As we have indicated before People, Ideas & Objects and the user community are based on the changes that are required in the industry. It is those changes that are the source of our revenues. People, Ideas & Objects and the user community are very much going concerns for the long term.

In addition the members of the user community are the ones that are establishing the service providers who provide the administrative and accounting services to the oil and gas producers under the decentralized production model. It is estimated that the revenues for these service providers for the North American oil and gas industry will range in the area of $40 - $60 billion per annum. These revenues are a replacement of the current G&A costs of the producers. It will be the leadership team that would have the primary opportunities in configuring solutions within the user community and the service providers. Therefore the known risks that were indicated in the earlier part of this post are not without their significant potential rewards.

People, Ideas & Objects have a reasonably high profile with the bureaucracy. If your name should show up as being involved in this project, not something that we would do first of all, they would attack you and anyone who shared that name with you. We can do this quietly. And protect people as much as possible. The Internet will provide us with some anonymity for some time. It also reduces our costs to the time involved in this project. So if you can hold your position and work on this project outside your job, all the better. We just need to realize that we operate in an extremely hostile environment that is very dangerous to those who participate here. And we need to take steps to ensure that no one is subjected to the bureaucracies antics unnecessarily..

The Preliminary Specification provides the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here.