I read Beyond Business, the autobiography by the former CEO of BP, alongside the frank diaries of the Labour politician Chris Mullins (A View From the Foothills) and during a week in which my own work was swamped by various public service activities. The contrast between the private and public sectors therefore impressed itself upon me. Of course, Lord Browne is one of the most impressive business leaders we've seen in the UK in recent times, and BP one of our leading companies. Even so, the chasm between the world of multinational business and the world of the public sector – in terms of strategic foresight, long-termism and even actually the sense of public service – is staggering. For the sake of complete clarity, it is big business which emerges favourably from the comparison.

Other readers will come to Beyond Business without this somewhat jaundiced perspective, however. Anybody who is interested in the oil industry, in BP itself, or in the role and responsibilities of large multinationals in the globalized economy will find this a fascinating account. One aspect that I particularly enjoyed is the demonstration in this book of an outstanding executive focusing on fundamental strategic questions. It made me think that two key requirements for a top CEO are the ability to think with clarity about long-term strategy and endless energy. After all, in the oil business, the long term is very long, a decades. Few of us really need to consider in our work the consequences of our decisions 20 years on.

Another fascinating aspect of John Browne's tenure in charge of BP is the emergence of activism against oil companies and other multinationals by NGOs and environmental campaigners. A lesson he learnt from BP's early encounters with protests and political difficulties in Alaska and Colombia was that constructive engagement with campaigners, in the form of extensive conversations and responding to well-founded concerns, made good business sense. Although the campaigners could be shrill and unreasonable, often they were amplifying a genuine underlying issue. He writes:

“Oil is a long-term business, requiring investment over a 30 to 40 year horizon. Enlightened companies recognise that, if they are to benefit from any society, they have to contribute to its well-being. That contribution to society needs to be more than just philanthropy. It needs to be about capacity building and governance.” (p118)

This is also a personal memoir, ranging from a childhood in Iran (John Browne's father worked there for the predecessor company to BP) through to the difficult year – for both personal and business reasons –  at the end of his tenure as BP's CEO. It travels the world and features an eye-opening number of colourful and even dangerous characters with whom oil executives need to do business. It sheds light on the organisation and management of a very big company spanning many borders. It highlights the very political nature of oil, not that readers will need much reminder of that. All in all, this is both an admirable and a very enjoyable book.

Other reviewers also enjoyed it on the whole. Here are the reviews from the Telegraph and the Economist, the former more favourable than the latter. The Economist's reviewer would have liked more personal revelation to make it a livelier read, but I myself don't have that kind of curiosity and for myself am more interested in the business insight.