If you thought the Colonial Pipeline attack was bad, just wait until you see how vulnerable your company’s communication pipeline is to leaks, corrosion, bottlenecks, and other potentially catastrophic threats.
And to help you identify those vulnerabilities, this episode of will lay out the 5 most important communications-related questions you and other energy industry leaders need to ask so that you can avoid unwittingly damaging your personal and professional relationships.
Read MoreSure, you may be sitting in the driver’s seat…but your passengers know that your “autopilot” leadership style is driving them away from long-term success.
So, to prevent the leadership equivalent of “highway hypnosis,” we kick off Season 2 of The Energy Detox by sharing 5 parallels between Driving, Drilling, & Leading that you need to be aware of so that you don’t wind up stuck on the side of the road, in a mile deep hole, or at a hopeless organization.
Read MoreWhile the universally condemned events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 were inexcusable, indefensible, and counter-productive, it remains important for you as a leader to ask whether you might be settling for “peaceful” transitions in your own life when what you and your stakeholders actually need is a little bit of (lawful and non-violent) disruption.
And in this Season 1 finale of The Energy Detox (recorded November 2020), you’ll be encouraged to ask:
1) "In what ways am I unwittingly sabotaging my chances of long-term success because of short-term (and misguided) pressure from my stakeholders?" and
2) “How are the hundreds of discrete ‘transitions of power’ I make each day unwittingly draining my precious time and energy?”
And to help you answer those questions, we’ll weave together examples from sports, parenting, the global “energy transition,” corporate mergers & acquisitions, and—of course—from the U.S. presidential transition.
Read MoreLooking for the CliffsNotes version of “How to Successfully Lead a Sustainable Oil & Gas Career?”
Well, you’re not going to discover it in this 12,000 word episode of The Energy Detox podcast.
You will, however, hear Gyrodata’s Stephen Forrester outline the competitive advantage that (good) writing plays for the smattering of individuals and organizations who will manage to thrive in the face of today’s challenging energy landscape.
Stephen also shares his first-hand experience navigating this industry as an English major, while providing an impassioned plea to re-introduce the good old-fashioned paragraph as a way of countering the onslaught of superficial writing bombarding our eyes each day.
Read MoreThe writer H.L. Mencken once said, “For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple…and wrong.”
And with this idea in mind, one could argue that the KISS principle—which commands us to “keep it simple, stupid”—may not be enough to provide truly sustainable solutions to the many complex problems facing our planet and its 8 billion inhabitants.
And when it comes to leading teams, families, and businesses, it’s unlikely that merely embracing simplicity is going to yield the sustainable success that you and your stakeholders desire.
So, in this episode of The Energy Detox, we propose a slight tweak to the KISS principle that encourages leaders to “keep it sustainable, stupid.”
Read MoreBuilding upon “Coach” Pee-wee Herman’s assertion that “everyone has a big ‘but’,” we’ll explore the impacts that little “buts” can have on success and leave you with 3 things to keep in mind as you lead your team, your family, and yourself toward a more sustainable future:
1) You can openly acknowledge and embrace your “buts" without allowing them to drain your energy and slow you down;
2) You can help your stakeholders understand how to use their “buts” as an opportunity to grow; and
3) That while using blunt or negative words like "but" and “however” and “no” can have unintended consequences, artificially avoiding words that occasionally need to be said to others—and to yourself—can sometimes cause even greater damage.
Read MoreBy many measures, the energy industry was losing in 2020. It was losing momentum, relevance, and plenty of money.
And despite increasing demand and commodity prices throughout 2021, oil & gas companies continue to lose the current and future talent necessary for a sustained recovery.
So the question for current energy leaders today isn’t merely how best to streamline operations, clean up the balance sheet, and capitalize on the uptick in prices. The question is how to help employees—along with investors/boosters/fans—remain engaged, confident, and proud of the positive results that oil & gas can and should continue to produce.
Read MoreDo you ever feel like your time and energy are escaping over a bridge to nowhere?
Have you ever considered yourself as CEO…of yourself?
And do you ever feel like proactively setting off a few targeted charges to avoid an uncontrolled explosion later on?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions…or if you just want to understand the benefits of having a team meeting where you’ll address each different version of yourself, then this episode is for (all of) you.
Read MoreIn this episode, we reveal a different type of PPE that will protect your prior successes without becoming a barrier to continued progress.
And we’ll also demonstrate the universal value of a “safety mindset” that can be gained by asking three simple questions:
1) What is actually worth protecting?
2) Am I falling victim to a false sense of security?
3) What hazards can I influence…and which ones are outside of my control?
And, finally, if you're unwittingly investing too much time trying to predict and prevent the hazards that will limit your success instead of spending time improving your ability to respond when things inevitably don't go as planned, we’ll also help you strengthen your adaptability in the face of challenges so that you can take the decisive action expected of great leaders.
Read MoreAt this point in your life, you are well aware that failures and mistakes are necessary building blocks for long-term success. You have countless experiences to prove that the “best laid plans…often go awry.” And you know that seemingly straightforward data can often be misleading and shouldn’t always be taken at face value.
So why do you instinctively assume that bad results mean that the decision that led to those results was also bad? Why does your embrace of “extreme ownership” and your “no excuses” attitude prevent you from acknowledging the fact that sound decisions sometimes lead to poor results?
In this episode of The Energy Detox, we encourage you to generate more confidence in your leadership and in the decision-making abilities of you and your stakeholders by keeping one question front and center: “Do the results speak for themselves?”
Read MoreIn this second part of our “authentically fraudulent” conversation, we encourage you to move beyond the typical "personal brand building" exercises that we're all encouraged to do and instead spend time crafting an autobiography of sorts...even if you're the only one who will ever read it.
Because as polished as your social media presence and content might be, and as impressive as your resume and LinkedIn profile are, nothing is going to drive you forward more effectively and confidently than carrying with you a deep understanding of the authentic experiences from your own life that set you apart from others.
There’s one F-word that makes people shudder in corporate America, and it’s not the same one your grandmother might shake her finger at. The word is “fraud,” and embracing it now doesn’t mean you’re headed to jail. In fact, it could mean you’re headed to a much more satisfying and sustainable life.
Using a personal story of self-discovery, we explore how some layoff-induced (or quarantine-induced) reflection can determine whether you’ve been living a “fraudulent” existence, while asking challenging questions to make sure the labels you’re giving yourself or others don’t limit opportunities for future success.
Read MoreEven though the Law of Capture allows you to drain your neighbor’s oil reservoir, at current prices you’d probably be interested in stealing something much more valuable.
And given the stress and pressure than many people are under today, one would argue that few things are more valuable and precious than our figurative energy, which can quickly be drained by others if we’re not careful.
As leaders, it’s critical not only to be on guard against your own energy being depleted, but to carry a heightened awareness of how you might be impacting others…especially those whose limited energy might already trend negative.
Read MoreDo you feel pressure to eliminate every ounce of "non-productive time" from your life?
Do you feel guilty for not making this quarantine "the most productive period ever?"
Do you feel forced to start sacrificing existing things on your schedule to fulfill someone else's agenda?
If any of those are true, we encourage you to embrace the non-productive time in your life, to get rid of the notion that this period of isolation is some kind of "use it or lose it" opportunity you're missing out on, and to make believe someone is giving you an extra hour each day to be used however you wish.
Read MoreAre you unwittingly locking yourself, your teams, or your families into agreements that severely limit your ability to survive…let alone thrive?
In today’s episode of The Energy Detox, we challenge you to uncover all the ways that you and those around you may be operating under outdated contracts that—like firm transportation agreements—may no longer work for all parties, that may severely curtail the chances of producing sustainable success, that can increase the odds of figurative bankruptcy, and that will cause you to stand there asking, “Did I really sign up for all of this?”
Read MoreAre you unwittingly missing opportunities to build stronger and more meaningful connections with others, especially right now when your professional relationships are as important as ever?
From the single most important LinkedIn tip to consider when requesting a new connection to a deeper conversation about the importance of continued personal engagement for existing relationships, we challenge you to strengthen the foundation of the network upon which you will build the next phase of your professional journey.
Read MoreAs a leader, are you fully conscious of how impactful your words and actions can be on those who are closest to you, be they personal or professional connections?
Just as interference between neighboring wells has taught those in the oil and gas industry to be aware of the operational headaches caused by spacing wells too close together, the coronavirus has clearly shown us how easy it is to unwittingly spread harm to those around us, directly and indirectly leading to societal health, safety, and economic disruptions.
Read MoreHow do you maintain engagement, sustain momentum, and avoid unwittingly adding to the fear, stress, and confusion of your personal and professional stakeholders during times like this?
The answers to this question are rarely found on an outdated roadmap, in the advice of expensive consultants, or that same “gut feeling” that has steered you through past challenges, but through a practical and simple “Leadership GPS” approach that helps you (G)row, (P)rotect, and (S)ustain success for you, your organization, and your family in good times and in bad.
Read MoreThe Energy Detox blends oilfield themes and current events into relatable discussions that help you lead your way through the intense challenges and sometimes toxic environment within today's energy industry.
Through practical and realistic questions and conversation, this podcast challenges you to identify and avoid barriers that can quickly and easily rob you of energy, of optimism, and of confidence in your ability to achieve long-term sustainable success for you, your team, and your family.
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