The OCP revolution : a radical transformation

OCP (Office Chrétien des Phosphates), the Moroccan state-owned phosphates company, had been sluggish for several decades until a change of management breathed life back into the company. Its CEO taught at MIT, worked for the World Bank and was determined to make changes in the company. He had been a consultant to the king of Morocco, was assisted by a practitioner who was equally atypical, and he decided to choose a dynamic group of managers. He sought to bring ambition back to the venerable institution and make a revolution not only in the company’s methods and structures, but in its investments and the corporate culture which had been static and hieratic. This unlikely reform did not take place without problems, but nevertheless benefitted the country and the employees, who were placed at the centre of the company by the management who were determined to adopt bold policies regarding training and accountability. Pascal Croset, a consultant and researcher, was the privileged witness of these events, and occupied a position at the centre of these changes. His book is the story of this extraordinary transformation.