Ray Hunt knows a few things about the oil industry, having been in the business for nearly 50 years. During that time, he has come to appreciate a certain set of values that have helped distinguish successful companies from their mediocre counterparts. "Corporate culture is what separates a great company from a good company," said Hunt, chairman, president and chief executive of Dallas-based Hunt Oil Co., one of the largest privately held independents in the world. He recently addressed some 500 attendees at the sixth annual A&D Strategies and Opportunities conference in Dallas, presented by Oil and Gas Investor and A&D Watch. In the past, Hunt said he would have said people are the most important factor in a great company, but the Enron scandal has altered his vision. The right culture in turn attracts the right people, and a large body of workers with shared values and ethics will cause the company to go in the right direction. Another important contributor is differentiation. A company should look for what allows it to be different and stand out, and by doing so embellish its positives and diminish its negatives. If a company is just average, the best it can hope for is mediocre returns, and the worst it can achieve is economic death. For more on this, see the October issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

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