In all the industries in which I do management consulting, each manager considers his own industry to be truly "unique. " Of course, each is different in some respects, and each has its own quirks and features. However, the similarities among in dustries far outweigh the differences. The critical dynamics and the management issues have a great deal in common. However, there are, I believe, two industries (or segments of industries) that have an important critical uniqueness that does distinguish them from the rest. One of these is the exploration for undiscovered natural resources, notably...