It’s almost as though energy companies are conspiring against me. No mergers. Minimal Q announcements. Even the Houthi rebels have taken a break, creating a void and deafening silence (to me!) in the energy space.

So what am I to do?  Break my posting streak of ~320 days or continue to break with tradition and tell a happy story? I don’t want to get the wrong reputation…

On the WP podcast, I talked of one of my first work mentors- the person who made the move to Denver happen, supported my MBA and put me on his leadership team. He would sit on my desk at 630 pm at night and tell stories, teach me about life and was just a great boss.

One of the stories he told was when, as a young engineer, he got sent to the rig in his 1st week. “Calculate the amount of cement we need to case the well” they said. Somehow- that calc went a little sideways and the well was SLIGHTLY over-displaced. He managed to turn the pad into a parking lot.

His boss’s boss screamed at his boss to fire him for being an idiot and a total failure. His boss said “Why would I fire him, I just spent $1mm to train him.”

The lesson I learned was: it is job #1 to support your people. No one wants to mess up- but when they do, the urge to fix it should far outweigh the fear of consequences.

#hottakeoftheday