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.

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“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.

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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 to 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?

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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.

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Reality set in for Notre Dame’s “Smoke & Mirrors” football season 20 years ago when the 8-0 Fighting Irish—wearing green jerseys at home for the first time in 17 years—were upset by Boston College.

Reality is setting in for Ireland’s “Smoke & Mirrors” energy policy as the Irish—stubbornly relying on a short-sighted view of “green” energy that has led to a continued rebuke of LNG facilities—have made the country the “worst prepared in Europe” in terms of their ability to withstand an energy crisis.

With these 2 green history lessons in mind, ask yourself:

“In what ways am I allowing a short-sighted acceptance of surface level “facts” to fog up my decision-making, putting myself and my team in very upsetting positions?”

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Are you like Allegheny County Council, which decided to toss away the undeniable benefits of natural gas development in order to score political points?

Are you so set in your ways that you would rather shut down conversations about potential win-win scenarios than do your job by critically considering all future opportunities that could benefit your stakeholders?

Are you a member of the energy industry who shakes your head at the short-sightedness of many government officials...while missing out on opportunities to tell those officials what you think as an individual citizen?

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Are you like Allegheny County Council, which decided to toss away the undeniable benefits of natural gas development in order to score political points?

Are you so set in your ways that you would rather shut down conversations about potential win-win scenarios than do your job by critically considering all future opportunities that could benefit your stakeholders?

Are you a member of the energy industry who shakes your head at the short-sightedness of many government officials...while missing out on opportunities to tell those officials what you think as an individual citizen?

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You know that a hurried Energy Transition would cost trillions of dollars and may upend the lives of millions of people around the world already facing energy insecurity....so, is the net impact worth it?

You know how irritating it is when someone says, "Hey, I've got a 'quick question' for ya," knowing how likely it is that their question is neither quick nor important....so, is the fact that you do the same thing to others on a regular basis worth it?

You know that a “quick peak” at social media can cost you an hour or more of productivity....so, is scrolling through nauseating LinkedIn posts and watching a video from another self-proclaimed "coach" worth it?

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In light of yesterday's US/EU LNG deal, it's time to create a new federal position:

LNG Ambassador

And while you might argue that EQT’s Toby Rice has already been playing the role of LNG Ambassador, perhaps his #UnleashUSLNG campaign could use an assist from none other than NBA Hall-of-Famer John Stockton.

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Is there any better day than today—National Poultry Day—to ask yourself:

"In what ways am I acting like a chicken?"

And is there any better month than March—Women's History Month—to ask yourself:

"How are the chickens leading my company unwittingly stifling the career development of our organization's women despite all of the surface level corporate commitments to 'diversity, equity, and inclusion?'"

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What better day to honor Chuck Woolery—former host of 'Love Connection' and owner of the classic pre-commercial-break phrase, "We'll be back in two and two"—than today, Tuesday 2/22/22?

And what better way to honor Chuck & and 'Love Connection' than by taking 2 minutes and 2 seconds to ask yourself how many of the connections in your life—be they related to love, business, career, faith, friendship, etc.—are INTENTIONAL connections...

...and how many of of your connections are merely based on feelings, passions, opinions, and trends that are as volatile as the price of oil?

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In honor of Jerome Bettis’ 50th birthday, this episode of The Energy Detox will share the many ways that The Bus exemplifies sustainable leadership.

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In honor of the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita—patron saint of human trafficking—and the "International Day of Prayer for Victims of Human Trafficking," this episode of The Energy Detox takes a break from the usual conversations about leadership and the energy industry to boost your awareness of (and encourage you to take action on) an issue that trumps most of the relatively comfortable topics corporations weave into their Corporate Sustainability Reports.

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This episode of The Energy Detox weaves together 1) an announced alliance formed by EQT Corp, Marathon, U.S. Steel, and others to develop an Appalachian hydrogen hub, 2) the kickoff to Beijing's hydrogen-fueled, closed-loop, fortress-like Olympics, and 3) one of the easiest and most effective ways you can (but likely aren't) helping fuel future leaders.

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What leadership nutrients are found in Meat Loaf & American Pie?

Well, in honor of the 63rd anniversary of "the day the music died" when 3 young Rock ‘N' Rollers perished in a plane crash—and in recognition of another musical death 2 weeks ago—this episode of The Energy Detox will extract 5 sustainable leadership lessons/questions from 3 of Meat Loaf's hits to help you avoid a premature (leadership) demise.

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If the Hedge Hog known as Petroleum Phil casts a shadow on February 2, should commodities traders expect 6 more months of $80 oil?

If you make one “bad” prediction against a slew of “good” ones, should that one bad prediction define you?

Well, in this Groundhog Day episode of The Energy Detox, we’ll help you 1) avoid putting too much stock in the results of a single prediction and 2) look for times when your fear of making decisions is holding you and your stakeholders back from sustained success.

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"Do you have the capacity to take on more work?"

Is your default answer to that question:

A) "Well...[audible sigh]...my plate is pretty full...maybe if I wasn't so swamped...[grimace and hope person walks away]."

B) "Absolutely! Bring it on!"

C) "I could probably reprioritize a few things on the ol' to-do list if needed and if you're willing to step through potential tradeoffs. Whatcha got?"

Well, as with conversations about electric generating "capacity" or pipeline "capacity," the way you think and speak about your personal "capacity" can be misleading—wittingly or unwittingly—to yourself or your audience.

That being said—and inspired by different reactions to this week's news that "Solar power will account for nearly half of new electric generating capacity in 2022," this episode of The Energy Detox will help you:

1) Do a better job of asking others about their capacity/bandwidth; and

2) Provide more honest, specific, and helpful responses when answering how much room you have on your own plate.

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What's your favorite and/or most nauseating leadership cliché?

"Do more with less?"

"Think outside the box?"

"There is no 'I' in team?"

"There are no stupid questions?"

Or is it, perhaps, "Don't run AWAY from something...run TOWARD something,” which is the focus of today’s episode of The Energy Detox, which is driven by a recent Hart Energy article that points out how running AWAY from fossil fuels via divestment is a short-sighted and counter-productive approach for those who erroneously THINK they're running toward a more rapid energy transition.

The reality is that a "divestment mindset" will make it more difficult to meet the growing energy needs of our planet, a goal that all "runners" should be focused on.

And, as Citi's Chief Sustainability Officer Val Smith notes in the article, "We are going to have a very disruptive transition if divestment is part of that conversation."

So with that in mind, take a moment to ponder whatever professional and personal transitions are brewing in your life and ask whether you've become overly focused on "divestment" or whether you're truly excited about investing in something new.

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Q: What can Danny Tanner, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Elizabeth Warren teach you about Leadership Humility?

A: That it’s ok to ask for a little help from your friends.

🆘 Danny Tanner—played by the late Bob Saget on 'Full House'—sought the help of his friend Joey and his brother-in-law Jesse to support Danny's daughters following the death of their mother.

🆘 The Steelers sought the help of the Jaguars, Raiders, and Chargers yesterday to make the playoffs as they helped themselves to an upset road win against the Ravens.

🆘 Senator Warren SHOULD seek help from her friends in Appalachia as her Massachusetts constituents 1) face the potential of blackouts and natural gas shortages this winter; 2) pay far more for energy than residents of Pennsylvania; and 3) rely on imports of natural gas from not-so-friendly Russians.

All that being said, this episode of The Energy Detox will challenge your leadership humility and help you (G)row, (P)rotect, and (S)ustain success by encouraging you to answer these 3 questions:

💡 In what ways is your refusal to seek help hindering your ability to grow?

💡 What do you think you're protecting by ignoring assistance from others?

💡 For how long can you sustain momentum before you need a push or pull from someone else?

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On January 3, 2022, “Geriatric Millennial” Ben Roethlisberger likely played his final home game for the Steelers; and the Steelers may have played their final game under the shadows of giant ‘Heinz 57’ ketchup bottles.

And in this live episode of The Energy Detox, we use those headlines to help you defend against ageism in the oil & gas industry—regardless of whether you’re on the kicking or receiving end of this value-destroying problem.

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