What do you know about drilling for oil? If you are like me, not very much. I’ve been reading up on drilling for oil to explore the idea, to compare it to everyday projects. Of course, technology has improved. Oil companies do what they can to find the most likely spot to drill, but someone has to go first. The initial step is a test to see if a bigger oil deposit is possible. The first one is called a wildcat well.
Any idea what the success rate is today for a wildcat well? The success rate is about 30%. It can cost around $50 million to dig the first well. Here’s the key according to Offshore-Technologyc.om “Most of the time, wildcats fail, but the hope is, when a company drills enough of them, it will discover enough oil to cover the overall cost. “
Did you catch that? The hope is to drill enough of the wildcat wells to win. It’s all about the doing. It isn’t about the planning, the technology, the surveys, the wisdom of crowds. It’s about drilling for oil. If you want to win, you must drill.
What’s the symbol of drilling for oil mean in your context? For me, it’s prospecting – literally the same word for the oil industry. I have to prospect to survive. If I prospect enough, I win. If I don’t, I lose.
It’s about the doing. It isn’t about the clever words, effective marketing, or beautiful products. It’s the work.
If we know we need to do the work, why don’t we? Why don’t I? What gets in the way?
1) A tendency to over think it. Better to act.
2) Dread out weights action; however, action blinds the dread. You can only focus one or the other.
3) Fear of failure. Self-fulfilling prophecy. Better to swing the bat and strike than just stand there.
4) All or nothing thinking. I can or I can’t – instead realize you can improve, get better.
5) Lack of goals. Set a target and work backwards. Warren Buffet says we all overestimate what we can do in the short-term and underestimate what we can do in the long run.
Are you drilling enough wells? The oil is out there.
