June 11, 2007
By Ed Crooks
My colleague Lucy Kellaway has a characteristically brilliant – and almost persuasive – defence of the widely-discussed motivational email from David Greer, the deputy chief executive of Sakhalin Energy, who leant heavily on the words of General Patton (FT stories require subscription.) The email has also been published on www.royaldutchshellplc.com, an anti-Shell website run by a father and son partnership that has been a long-running thorn in the company’s side.
Lucy writes: “Not only is it not the worst motivational e-mail ever written, it is actually one of the better ones,” commending Mr Greer’s honesty and plain speaking.
Many of the comments in the discussion about the memo support her view, and some criticise the FT for reporting the leaked email at all. Contributors who say they know Mr Greer speak highly of his commitment to the Sakhalin 2 project and his management skills.
Even so, the lesson of all this, it seems to me, is that email is by its nature a pretty rotten motivational tool. Even General Patton’s original address to the 3rd Army would have fallen flat if it had pinged into their in-boxes one morning.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cd345c54-15d7-11dc-a7ce-000b5df10621.html
Posted by Ed Crooks on June 11, 2007
http://blogs.ft.com/energyfilter/royal_dutch_shell/index.html
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
