--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The oil industry is a stunning example of…" description: "\"The oil industry is a stunning example of how science, technology, and mass production can divert an entire group of companies from their main task. ....." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/theodore-levitt-18792_areas_the-oil-industry-is-a-stunning-example-o_2818088.jpg" --- # The oil industry is a stunning example of how science… ![“The oil industry is a stunning example of how science, technology, and mass production can divert an entire group of companies from their main task. ... No oil company gets as excited about the customers in its own backyard as about the oil in the Sahara Desert. ... But the truth is, it seems to…” quote by Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/theodore-levitt-18792_areas_the-oil-industry-is-a-stunning-example-o_2818088.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/theodore-levitt-18792_areas_the-oil-industry-is-a-stunning-example-o_2818088.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/theodore-levitt-18792_areas_the-oil-industry-is-a-stunning-example-o_2818088.jpg) > “The oil industry is a stunning example of how science, technology, and mass production can divert an entire group of companies from their main task. ... No oil company gets as excited about the customers in its own backyard as about the oil in the Sahara Desert. ... But the truth is, it seems to me, that the industry begins with the needs of the customer for its products. From that primal position its definition moves steadily back stream to areas of progressively lesser importance until it finally comes to rest at the search for oil.” [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The industry shifts focus from serving customers to chasing resources, reversing true purpose. **In simple terms:** Companies prioritize product over customer needs. Key Takeaway Refocus on customer needs first. Themes marketing industry customer focus resource allocation Mood critical analytical Type business strategic When to use this quote - product development - sales strategy - corporate planning - resource management Key Concepts Strategic alignment value chain customer centricity Questions to Reflect On - How can firms balance customer needs with resource acquisition? - What mechanisms keep companies customer‑centric? A Different Perspective The quote may oversimplify complex market dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Areas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/areas/) [Backyards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backyards/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customers/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Excited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excited/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Industry Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry-begins-1558263/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Mass production](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-production/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Oil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil/) [Oil companies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil-companies/) [Oil Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil-company-452410/) [Oil industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil-industry/) [Oil Sahara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil-sahara-3568198/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Primal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primal/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/products/) [Sahara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sahara/) [Sahara desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sahara-desert/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-technology/) [Search Oil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/search-oil-3568199/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Streams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streams/) [Stunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stunning/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) ## Related quotes > [An industry begins with the customer and his or her needs, not with a patent, a raw material, or a selling skill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/an-industry-begins-with-the-customer-and-his-or-her-needs-not-with-a/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Some years ago one oil company bought a fertilizer company, and every other major oil company practically ran out and bought a fertilizer company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/some-years-ago-one-oil-company-bought-a-fertilizer-company-and-every/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [ I'm glad I wrote the book to show what I found out about the \[ Standard Oil Company\]. 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Who's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/speaking-about-our-largest-oil-company-rosneft-and-i-recalled-in-the/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [When an oil company executive tells American families that we don't need to be concerned with tar sands pipeline safety, it's not only misleading,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/when-an-oil-company-executive-tells-american-families-that-we-don-t/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [The best business in the world is a well run oil company. The second best business in the world is a badly run oil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/the-best-business-in-the-world-is-a-well-run-oil-company-the-second/) [John D. 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Rockefeller company was and the unfair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/i-decided-to-write-the-book-to-open-the-eyes-of-the-people-of-how/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [“It was in describing these early bargaining tactics by the British oil company that Dean Acheson, the U.S. secretary of state, made his famous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ervand-abrahamian/it-was-in-describing-these-early-bargaining-tactics-by-the-british/) [Ervand Abrahamian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ervand-abrahamian/) > [Of course there are many factors that led to the Iranian revolution, but back in 1951, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company - which would later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-curtis/of-course-there-are-many-factors-that-led-to-the-iranian-revolution/) [Adam Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-curtis/) > [Failing to warn the citizens of a looming weapon of mass destruction- and that's what global warming is- in order to protect oil company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/failing-to-warn-the-citizens-of-a-looming-weapon-of-mass-destruction/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“Incidentally, there's a little historical footnote here, if you're interested. The oil company that was authorized by the Treasury Department under Bush and Clinton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/incidentally-there-s-a-little-historical-footnote-here-if-you-re/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“One official in the state oil company likened the tribes to the Loch Ness monster, a mere figment of the imagination concocted by environmentalists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-wallace/one-official-in-the-state-oil-company-likened-the-tribes-to-the-loch/) [Scott Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-wallace/) > [In 2003... the White House conspired with an oil-company funded think tank to block a major government scientific report that sought to spell out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-romm/in-2003-the-white-house-conspired-with-an-oil-company-funded-think/) [Joseph J. Romm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-romm/) ## More by Theodore Levitt > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [The true purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer, not to make you money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/the-true-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-create-and-keep-a-customer-not/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [An industry begins with the customer and his or her needs, not with a patent, a raw material, or a selling skill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/an-industry-begins-with-the-customer-and-his-or-her-needs-not-with-a/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [A consistently highly creative person is generally irresponsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/a-consistently-highly-creative-person-is-generally-irresponsible/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [A powerful force drives the world toward a converging commonality, and that force is technology. … Almost everyone everywhere wants all the things they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/a-powerful-force-drives-the-world-toward-a-converging-commonality-and/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [People don't want quarter-inch drills. They want quarter-inch holes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/people-don-t-want-quarter-inch-drills-they-want-quarter-inch-holes/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Organizations, by their very nature are designed to promote order and routine. They are inhospitable environments for innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/organizations-by-their-very-nature-are-designed-to-promote-order-and/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer. Without customers, no amount of engineering wizardry, clever financing, or operations expertise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/the-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-get-and-keep-a-customer-without/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Experience comes from what we have done. 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