The Energy Detox

Why would you lead your team to overtime if you have a chance to win in regulation?

That's essentially the question posed by Chris Wright and his Liberty Energy team in this year's "Bettering Human Lives" report, which 1) outlines the proven playbook that's already led 1/8th of the world ("the lucky one billion") to "lifestyles that would make Louis XIV envious" and 2) asks why world leaders would choose to play a new game when victory over #energy poverty is at hand.

That being said, this episode of 'The Energy Detox' weaves together insights from Liberty's unique ESG report, Super Bowl XVIII, and Vladimir Putin's recent interview with Tucker Carlson to help you better articulate your team's prior victories and better define what future victory looks like for you and your stakeholders.

#SustainableLeadership

Episode 89 of The Energy Detox weaves 5 hit songs from the sexagenarian Queen of Pop into 5 questions you can ask to better bridge generational gaps and avoid allowing yourself or others to prematurely "take a bow."

"Like a Prayer" - Do seasoned veterans in oil and gas have a prayer when it comes to seeking employment or advancing in their careers?

"Material Girl" - Are you able to quantify your non-material value for existing or potential employers?

"Vogue" - How can you proactively debunk the label of being an "old school worker that is stuck in your ways?"

"Like a Virgin" - What advice would you give your younger self on day one in the energy industry?

"Papa Don't Preach" - How can you model authentic curiosity regardless of how much knowledge and experience you have?

Have you heard so many repetitive references to the geopolitical, environmental, and economic benefits of #LNG that you and Punxsutawney Phil are about ready to drive off a cliff?

If so, take a break from the tired talking points and enjoy this Groundhog Day episode of The Energy Detox.

Are you bothered when someone refers to a "negative" temperature?

Or is that just an odd pet peeve of some people (or of one person)?

Either way, a North American cold snap not only inspires the sharing of that temperature-related pet peeve in this Calgary-based episode of 'The Energy Detox,' but also sparks a conversation about a pet peeve that's likely having a negative impact on your organization:

Generic Leadership

"HARMFUL FOSSIL FUELS"

If you discovered those words strung together in your child's news magazine, what would you do to address this apparent instance of fossil fuel fear-mongering that could limit a child's ability to think critically?

Similarly, what steps would you take if you found evidence that a fear-based culture is hindering your team's ability to grow, develop, and innovate?

To help you answer those questions, this Halloween episode of 'The Energy Detox' leverages both today's fear-fueled holiday and recent fossil fuel news to guide you through a 3-step leadership approach:

1 - IDENTIFY signs of fear by "flipping through your company's (figurative) magazines"

2 - ADDRESS fear-inducing #leadership behaviors by communicating directly with your stakeholders

3 - CORRECT past issues and establish a future plan that minimizes the risk of fear undermining your organization

Related Content:

“Squashing Lantern Flies & Energy Lies”

“What's more toxic: fossil fuels or C-SPAN?”

“Why are you banning fuel sources that could re-energize your organization?”

“No, Your Gas Stove is Not Haunting Your House”

"Suppressing good news is scaring our kids witless"

Ever wonder why SHALE INSIGHT® is always written in ALL CAPS?

Could it be that the Marcellus Shale Coalition has cleverly concealed a 12-word acronym within the name of its flagship event?

Either way, this post-conference episode of The Energy Detox podcast attempts to unearth S.H.A.L.E. I.N.S.I.G.H.T. leadership themes letter-by-letter, leaving you with 12 questions inspired by the 2023 slate of speakers:

(S)ustainability: Am I unwittingly undermining my attempts to seek sustainable solutions by employing off-putting headlines and stale talking points?

(H)umanity: Is my focus on intermediate goals and metrics causing my team, company, or industry to unwittingly ignore the No. 1 benefit of clean, affordable, reliable energy: helping human beings realize their full potential?

(A)udience: How well do I actually understand—or remember—who my audience is and what they actually need?

(L)egacy: In what ways am I unwittingly ignoring opportunities to pass along my knowledge to future generations of energy industry leaders?

(E)nvironment: Am I too scared to "clear the air" when toxic—and often false—narratives overtake my organization...or am I too ignorant to realize that such toxic narratives even exist?

(I)nnovation: Am I unwittingly stifling a potentially transformative step change—like Range's development of the first Marcellus well nearly 20 years ago—and instead encouraging my team to settle for safe, incremental improvements?

(N)etworking: How much time am I wasting complaining about silos within my organization and fantasizing about "tearing down silos" instead of simply finding creative—and perhaps easy—ways to connect those silos together?

(S)afety: Is my company missing opportunities to arm company men and other frontline leaders with the practical tools necessary to drive an effective safety culture in the field? [For more on the importance of front-line leadership, check out “Workers’ Perception of Leader Intelligence, Safety Climate, and Safety Participation in the Oil & Gas Extraction Industry” by Slippery Rock University’s Dr. David Renz, who was a part of the SHALE INSIGHT® 2023 University Research Showcase]

(I)mpact: Am I unwittingly allowing my attention to drift towards unnecessarily complicated strategies and, in turn, losing sight of tangible, local opportunities to make a sustainable impact on my most valued stakeholders?

(G)rowth: Am I leveraging existing resources that are capable of fueling efficient, sustainable growth...or am I allowing myself to be distracted by external "solutions" that cost unnecessary amounts of time, money, and energy.

(H)ub: What are the cultural or communication barriers preventing my message from flowing to others and preventing the valuable insights of others from flowing to me—that is, am I acting as a leadership "hub" or a disconnected manager? [For some hydrogen hub leadership content, see “What do a Hydrogen Hub, an Olympic Village, and a Sustainable Leader have in common?”]

(T)ransparency: How often do I miss opportunities to showcase the tremendous work of my team and—perhaps more importantly—the end results of projects we asked other teams to complete?

BP's CEO Resigns. Gas Prices Skyrocket. And New Jersey Drivers Still Don't Pump Their Own Gas.

What's the connection among those headlines?

Well, they're all fuel for thought on the hidden costs of self-serve leadership.

And they provide a perfect excuse to ask yourself these four questions:

1 - Am I unwittingly signaling that I've got it all figured out?
2 - What's the true ROI of the time and #energy I spend on self-help resources?
3 - Are my company's internal L&D efforts actually hindering #leadership sustainability?
4 - Are "full-service" third-party coaching resources merely filling me up with nice-sounding — but impractical — tools?

To help answer these questions, join NJ native Joe Sinnott as he pumps gas at a BP in PA — a state with some of the highest hidden fuel costs.

PA's spotted lanternfly infestation hasn't been blamed on frac'ing...yet.

But when the media (inevitably) does report (one-sidedly) on some kind of (flimsy) link, are you and your fellow industry leaders ready to squash yet another onslaught of #energy lies as enthusiastically as kids across PA have been squashing lanternflies this summer?

If your answer is no, then check out this episode of 'The Energy Detox,' which uses the "Kill it! Squash it, smash it" campaign from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to help arm you and your stakeholders with the tools necessary to eradicate (figurative) spotted lanternflies that are wreaking havoc inside and outside of your organization.

To learn more about the figurative lanternflies that inspired this episode—those being the recently released Pitt health and environment studies—check out the Marcellus Shale Coalition's latest blog, which demonstrates how to effectively stomp out media misrepresentations that, if left unchallenged, could be even more damaging than the real lanternflies: https://marcelluscoalition.org/2023/08/25/pitt-studies-contain-serious-methodological-flaws/

Summary of the 4 tools outlined in the episode:

1) Squash lanternflies head-on: Address misleading narratives or misconceptions directly. Like spotted lanternflies—which can’t jump to the back or side—they will escape the bottom of your foot unless you attack them from the front.

2) Seek, demand, and utilize good data about lanternfly whereabouts: Don’t assume that an occasional employee engagement survey or town hall meeting is revealing everything you need to know about the location and severity of toxicity within your organization.

3) Make good use of internal and external predators: Ally with trusted, knowledgeable resources who can hunt out lanternflies and help you construct innovative control methods.

4) Require and demonstrate universal responsibility: Nobody—including you and other leaders—is exempt from the responsibility of squashing lanternflies; and if you’re not demanding that everyone takes actions to protect the integrity of your organization, then you risk having an irreversible infestation.

#ConsciousLeadership

🤢 You may not have soaked your audience in human waste today...but there's a good chance your words & actions have unwittingly made a few of your stakeholders nauseous in the last 24 hours.

So take a moment to dive into this conversation about the "Dave Matthews Band Chicago River incident" of August 8, 2004 and apply 5 tips from today's vomit-inducing anniversary that will help you shift your #leadership style from nauseating to energizing:

1) Avoid Toxic Communication Dumps: From late-night, non-urgent email requests to evasive-sounding conversations filled with hollow "corporate-sounding" clichés, the easiest way to mitigate the impact of toxic communication releases is to avoid them in the first place

2) Lay Proper Containment: If you don't stop the ripple effect of toxic rumors among your gossiping front-line leaders, it can cause far more damage than a leaking pipeline or an overflowing tank

3) Filter and Rate Your Communications: Revisit your recent emails, meetings, phone calls, etc. and give them an emoji-based "nausea rating" from 1 to 5, where 1 nauseated face (🤢) represents minimal vomit-inducing language; 5 nauseated faces (🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢) is on par with dumping 800 pounds of human waste on an unsuspecting group of tourists; and 2 to 4 nauseated faces represent ~90% of LinkedIn posts.

4) Translate Toxic Messages: transform corporate fluff into relevant and actionable messages BEFORE your audience starts coming up with their own (mis-)translations

5) Clean Up Your Messes: Whether it's a band who dumps human waste into a river, an #oilandgas company who has an inadvertent release, or a manager who suffers a flare-up of foot-in-mouth disease, owning up to mishaps and rectifying them swiftly gives you a chance to avoid leaving a permanently bad taste in stakeholders' mouths.

#ConsciousLeadership

How can the art of pitch framing help your leadership performance stay above the Mendoza Line?

Find out in this West Coast edition of The Energy Detox podcast.

Only YOU Can Prevent (Corporate) Wildfires...

...by following these 4 Smokey-inspired #leadership tips:

1 - Speak the same language as your audience, NOT in easily dismissed or ignored talking points. For example, when speaking to an environmentalist about headlines linking fossil fuels and Canadian forest fires, acknowledge their disappointment regarding the millions of acres of lost trees...and calmly point out that you'd need to burn 3-4 million acres of forests per year to generate the same amount of energy the United States produces from #naturalgas.

And when trying to convince a high-potential job candidate that early career, in-person work is more beneficial than remote work, calculate and present the potential increase in LIFETIME earnings; and make the value of this investment crystal clear.

2 - Manage excessive "fuel loads" in your team. Regularly clear out rumors, uncertainties, and unresolved issues that may be causing stress or confusion.

3 - Ensure effective "fire suppression" by giving people the space they need to execute, clearly defining roles and responsibilities, and avoiding micromanagement.

4 - Eliminate the "diseases and insects" leading to large areas of dead and dying wood. Actively remove any toxic or unproductive elements causing decay or harm. 

As 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen closes in on career hit number 2,000, another MVP (Mountain Valley Pipeline) is finally closing in on completion of its ongoing construction/permitting saga that will have taken over 2,000 days from start to TIL.

So, what can these 2 MVP milestones tell you about sustainable leadership and, more specifically, the importance of striking a balance between energy & environment?

To find out, check out this episode of The Energy Detox.

Do you spend enough time encouraging your employees to steal?

If not, check out this episode of The Energy Detox, where you'll hear:

1) how a theft-based culture can actually be the key to sustained success; and

2) why it's up to you as a leader to implement rules that make it easier for your employees to steal.

Curious where the inspiration for this unconventional #leadership advice comes from?

Well, look no further than the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have have used every tool (sword?) at their disposal—including roster construction, data analytics, and Major League Baseball's bigger bases—to lead the majors in steals and, more importantly, to lead the National League in wins.

Steal like a Pirate. Lead like a champ.

#RiskManagement #SustainableLeadership

How was Pittsburgh's Fern Hollow Bridge reconstructed so quickly?

A) Local and state government got out of the way and used emergency declarations to remove red tape that would have normally caused a project like this to take 3-4 years;

B) The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allowed PennDOT to quickly dedicate $25.3 million in federal funds to the Fern Hollow project without impacting other regional infrastructure needs; or

C) The original bridge was hauled out of the way, which meant the contractor had extra space to work and didn't have to worry about maintaining traffic flow during construction.

Regardless of how much answers 'A' and 'B' factored into the bridge's rapid reconstruction, it's answer 'C' that is most relevant as you kick off the new year.

Why?

Because you and your teams are unwittingly wasting time, #energy, and money maintaining "bridges" that need to be demolished and disposed of.

“Tangible, Impactful, Local”—the mantra of the CNX Foundation—is clearly reflected in the $1 million commitment that CNX is making to broadband expansion in Greene County.

"Tangible, Impactful, Local"—or TIL for short—also happens to be a handy leadership mnemonic you can use to determine whether you're...

1) consciously maximizing the potential of EXISTING resources (like a multi-million dollar well or pipeline or compressor station that you simply have to Turn In Line—or TIL for short); or

2) unwittingly abandoning the investments of time, money, and energy you've already made and, in turn, falling victim to some shiny new "leadership" initiative that's actually just a bunch of abstract, irrelevant, generic ideas likely to produce uninspiring and unsustainable results.

To hear more about CNX's efforts to get rural residents "online," the actions you can take to turn your investments "in line," and some of the ways in which CNX's Nick Deiuliis' consistent messaging around "connecting" and "catalyzing" tie in to this "Leadership TIL Report," check out the latest episode of 'The Energy Detox' podcast.

Oil & gas companies can't avoid industry-wide booms and busts, but they CAN avoid costly BOOMerang leadership changes due to BUSTed succession planning practices.

Tapping into some lessons from Disney's boomeranging of Bob Iger—who replaced his successor Bob Chapek yesterday—this episode of 'The Energy Detox' will help you answer these 3 succession-related questions:

1 - In what ways are you settling for a warm body or the "next-in-line" instead of proactively fighting for the best talent possible?

2 - How has the narrative about the difficulty "everyone is facing" when it comes to attracting talent (true as it may be) caused you to lower the bar, to stop thinking outside the box, and change your definition of the "ideal candidate?"

3 - What are all the ways that the time, #energy, and money wasted on rectifying failed succession planning have caused you and your team to deviate from your company's core mission?

#ConsciousLeadership #SuccessionPlanning

How many heads of state at COP27 regret signing up for failed #energy policies?

How many investors regret buying into the FTX hype?

How many voters regret casting their ballot 6 weeks before Election Day?

How many of those people have the intellectual honesty to ADMIT their mistakes instead of rationalizing and doubling down on regretful decisions?

Regardless of the answers to those questions, YOUR poor response to buyer's remorse—in business, politics, and life—can drain you of time, money, and energy. 

So please take a few minutes to ask yourself in what ways your "sunk cost leadership mindset" is unwittingly sinking your team's prospects for long-term success.

#ConsciousLeadership

How many leaders do you know who rely on "smoke & mirrors" to fool their fans into thinking their apparent success is more sustainable than it really is?

In what ways have you been fooled into thinking that bottom line results—like the potentially misleading win-loss record of an undefeated sports team—reflect actual potential and long-term viability?

How often have you fallen into the trap of parroting talking points—like the often misleading facts & figures supporting renewable energy—that, in turn, lead to short-sighted decisions?

Regardless of your answers to those questions, this episode of The Energy Detox will remind you that bottom-line results don't always speak for themselves, drawing upon 2 green history lessons from the worlds of sports & energy:

1 - Notre Dame’s 2002 “Smoke & Mirrors” football season, during which the 8-0 Fighting Irish—wearing green jerseys at home for the first time in 17 years—were upset by Boston College.

2 - Ireland’s 2022 “Smoke & Mirrors” energy policy that has caused the Irish—who are stubbornly relying on a short-sighted view of “green” energy that has led to a continued rebuke of potential LNG facilities—to be the “worst prepared country in Europe” in terms of their ability to withstand an energy crisis.

#ConsciousLeadership #ItsNotEasyBeingGreen

“Insight without action is worthless.” - Marie Forleo

On the heels of this year’s SHALE INSIGHT® conference, what leadership actions can you take to strengthen and sustain yourself, your team, your company, and your industry?

To help you answer that question, this episode of The Energy Detox will translate a theme from each of the conference keynotes into proven and practical leadership steps you can take today to go from “insight to action.”