PJC Books Reviews: T. Boone Pickens

Book Review

The First Billion Is the Hardest
Reflections On A Life Of Comebacks And America’s Energy Future
By T. Boone Pickens
New York, NY: Crown Publishing, Random House, 2008. 260pp.

T. Boone Pickens, 81, Billionaire Investor and Principal/Founder of BP Capital Group[1] who is also widely known as The Oracle of Oil[2], published his third book, The First Billion Is The Hardest in 2008. In his book, Pickens offers his reflections on leadership, comebacks, and challenges facing America’s future energy needs. The book is a rather short read and is divided up into thirteen chapters.

The author describes his personal story of small beginnings living in Oklahoma and working as a geologist upon graduating from college. Pickens ventured out and formed his own oil company in 1954 on an initial investment of $2,500, which would eventually turn into company that by 1972 was running profits of nearly $15 million annually on $92 million in revenues (18). By the end of his tenure at the age of 68, Pickens Company had distributed nearly 2 billion dollars to stockholders in dividends and distributions (53). However, he faced a tough challenge as he was forced out as CEO and went through a difficult personal time including being entangled with a nasty divorce. That’s when Pickens formed a new company BP Capital Group and staged a comeback on life at the age of 68.

Pickens offers some practical leadership guidance to all business leaders. In the area of perspective he states, “the direction of success is never straight up. Sometimes in the oil business, you have to drill deep to reach your objective. If that fails, you reach a point where you think all is lost and there is nothing there. Most people, both in business and in life, surrender. As a result, they fall short of their dreams, opportunities, and potential…. just beyond the hard, tough spot we all have found ourselves in, there awaits opportunity to become stronger, more successful…. never, never, never give up. (61).

One section I found challenging was his emphasis on physical fitness. “When you’re young, fitness is a sport. As you grow older, it’s a necessity” (87). The more you push yourself, the better the results (90). At the age of 70, Pickens beat his personal trainer, who at the time was thirty years his junior, on a treadmill running competition. “Fitness is a daily priority”. Pickens was working out 24 days a month at the age of 70! “I am convinced that workouts strengthen not only my body but also my mind” (91).

Pickens’s also give his perspective on leadership throughout. “Always think like an owner” (21). “Only with risk come the greatest rewards” (69). “You win with a team, and I am a good team builder” (113). “Don’t manage, lead” (115). “Concentrate on achieving goals” (116). “Lead but also listen” (125). “A Leader keeps people focused on the future” (125).

In Chapters 7-13 Pickens offers a realistic outlook on America’s energy situation both now and for the future. He states, “The world is running out of cheap oil. It’s finite and a diminishing resource” (127). “Seventy-Five percent of the world’s oil is in the hands of state-owned companies” (132), he sites countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia as the two largest producers. In 2008, Pickens reminds readers that the U.S. is importing almost 75% of its oil at a cost of nearly one trillion annually which Pickens describes as “the greatest transfer of wealth in human history” (139). Pickens suggests America must “declare war on a crisis [energy] that threatens the very security of America by sending close to $1 trillion overseas each year, and pushing our fragile financial condition toward almost certain meltdown” (236). Pickens views America’s energy challenges as the “moral equivalent to war” (239).