REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

248 REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

global leadership thrive? And, fi nally, what can be said about career - path

management in the global corporation?

A case study in internationalization

In studying the question of global leadership, we encounter the prob-

lematic area of the interaction between corporate and national cultures

and, inevitably, the issue of cultural adaptiveness. A number of com-

panies have tried to cope with these challenges, one example being

Schlumberger — a highly successful international organization in the

oilfi eld - service industry that operates in about 80 countries with about

84,000 people of 140 nationalities. What is salient about Schlumberger

is the emphasis placed on research and technology — very much a part

of the Schlumberger corporate culture. People who want to work for

this quiet giant are expected to subscribe to its orientation. But,

although the company is very technology - driven, there are other values

that have to be taken into consideration. The late Jean Riboud, a

former CEO of Schlumberger, touched upon these values when describ-

ing the company ’ s ‘ spirit ’ during his reign:

1. We are an exceptional crucible of many nations, of many cultures,
   of many visions.


2. We are a totally decentralized organization ...


3. We are a service company, at the service of our customers, having
   a faster response than anybody else.


4. We bel ieve i n t he profi t process as a challenge, as a game, as a
   sport.


5. We believe in a certain arrogance; the certainty that we are going
   to win because we are the best — arrogance only tolerable because
   it is coupled with a great sense of intellectual humility, the fear of
   being wrong, the fear of not working hard enough. (Auletta, 1984 ,
   p. 160)

Life at Schlumberger is different from that in many organizations. A

supervisor of a rig in Ireland can receive a phone call at noon on Friday

directing him to close down operations there by fi ve o ’ clock and report

for work in Northern Thailand at eight o ’ clock on Sunday morning.

Upon arrival at the airport in Bangkok, he will fi nd a jeep and the name

of a place a day ’ s drive away that he has to get to; no map, no instruc-

tions. It is very much up to him to make it happen, to make his assign-

ment a success.