The Right Hire Defines Success in Oilfield Services
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OPINION
In oilfield services, companies commit billions to projects in complex markets. Yet execution falters not because the technology fails — but because of who is trusted to lead.
★ Article by Arno Saffran, Wednesday 17 September, 2025This process is less about a direct pursuit of revenue and more about the strategic management of access and execution risk. It involves a specific kind of professional, one whose role is often miscast or undervalued in traditional corporate structures. Their function is not to sell in the transactional sense, but to align interests and navigate the informal pathways that so often define outcomes in complex, high-stakes environments.
The most effective strategies in this realm are characterised by a patient, pre-emptive approach.
It begins with a nuanced form of market engagement, focused on deep stakeholder mapping. The goal is to understand not just the official hierarchy, but the informal networks of influence and decision-making. This allows an organisation to position itself not as an external vendor, but as a understood and trusted entity within the local commercial ecosystem.
The objective is to shape the environment long before a formal tender appears. This involves a continuous exchange of insight, where a company demonstrates its value not through pitches, but through a genuine understanding of a client’s or partner’s long-term challenges and pressures. It is a process of building credibility through expertise and discretion, establishing a reputation as a reliable source of solutions rather than a seeker of transactions.
This work requires a particular caliber of individual. They are less often found in the frenzy of a competitive bid room and more often in the quiet conversations that happen years prior. Their skill set is a blend of deep sector knowledge, cultural fluency, and a nuanced understanding of how to build consensus across diverse groups. Their success is measured not in quarterly sales, but in the gradual removal of obstacles and the cultivation of access that makes eventual commercial engagement not just possible, but probable.
For organisations, the lesson is to institutionalise this long-term perspective. It requires creating and protecting roles dedicated to this gradual cultivation, insulating them from the short-term pressures of quarterly earnings. It means valuing the subtle art of relationship-building as a core strategic function, as critical as any financial or operational discipline.
The most significant commercial victories are rarely surprises. They are most often the logical outcome of a strategy patiently executed over years, built on a foundation of mutual understanding and aligned interests. In the end, the smoothest path to a signed deal is paved long before the journey officially begins.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Arno Saffran - VSG. With a background in industrial strategy and business development at McKinsey, and in advisory bridging commercial and government priorities in complex markets, he aligns extractive companies with the people whose networks unlock market entry, joint ventures, local content, and pre-tender positioning.
