Business leaders can sometimes become so wrapped up in the day-to-day workings of their companies that they can believe they exist in their own private universe.

In its May 2005 issue, our sister publication U.S. Business Review had the opportunity to speak to Bob Murray, chairman and CEO of Murray Energy. As is typical of many of the executives we interview, Murray was excited to share the story of his company’s success and how he felt it got there.

“What greater satisfaction can a 65-year-old man get in his life than seeing people whose lives you’ve touched have a very high standard of living and are able to work with honor and dignity?” he asked back then.

It was in stark contrast to the interviews he would be giving just two years later, when a collapse in a Utah mine co-owned and operated by Murray Energy left six miners buried alive. In the days that followed the collapse, Murray swore repeatedly that he would not rest until the trapped miners were rescued. Critics said the collapse was caused by the company’s use of the reverse mining process.  

More than a month after the collapse, the six miners are presumed dead, and three rescue workers died attempting to reach them. Whether or not Murray Energy’s practices had anything to do with the tragedy, the focus of the nation’s eye on Bob Murray carries with it an important reminder for executives: The buck stops there.

When something as catastrophic as a mine collapse happens, people immediately begin looking for answers. Will those trapped survive? How long will it take to find them? What caused the collapse? Theories abounded, ranging from Murray’s initial claim of an earthquake to reverse mining to “bumps” caused by pressure from the mountain above the mine.

Even though Murray originally said it was an act of God, and even though a Senate subcommittee criticized the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s oversight of the mine in early September, most of the country turned to one person for answers: Bob Murray.

As the operator and co-owner of the mine, the collapse became Murray Energy’s problem to solve, one that took an emotional toll on Murray, he said. “I came apart,” he told the AP after the deaths of the rescue workers. On top of the workers’ deaths came round after round of criticism from union representatives, politicians and media.

The company’s past safety infractions were scrutinized, Murray’s past lobbying for the easing of federal and state restrictions was discussed and his every move watched. Business leaders can sometimes become so wrapped up in the day-to-day workings of their companies that they can believe they exist in their own private universe.

But when a crisis emerges, they need to recognize that there can be a lot more at stake than the loss of some revenue. “When you found a company and you hire people, these people depend on you,” Murray told USBR in 2005. “They become your responsibility. It’s a not responsibility that you can shed.”

Few business leaders can truly understand the gravity of Bob Murray’s words more than he can, now.