Building 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.

By 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.