"I have learned that every boom leads to the next bust, and every bust leads to the next boom, so letâs get ready,â said David Bert, vice president of drilling, Chesapeake Energy Corp.
Bert speaks from experience, having been through five oil busts in his 30-year career.
âThere is a really great book called âGrit: The Power of Passion and Perseveranceâ by Angela Duckworth,â Bert said. âShe defines grit as âpassion times perseverance.â I know it is a hard time right now for everybody, but I think everybody in our industry definitely has grit.â
Bert emphasized the importance of innovation in the energy industry especially in a down energy economy at the recent LAGCOE Education & Innovation Summit in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Survey results in a 2012 Gallup report titled âState of the American Workplaceâ found âworkplace morale is terrible, with 70 percent of Americans feeling negative and dissatisfied about their jobs.â The survey found only 30 percent of the employees were engaged in inspiring work, while 52 percent were present but not engaged, and 18 percent were actively disengaged or worse.
âMost everyone wants to be involved, but very few want to be committed,â Bert said. âI have thought a lot about that and I have become passionate about what I call âcareer momentsâ or âcareer projects.â I also call them âcareer highs.â
âThese are special projects and assignments â opportunities to develop and learn new things to do, to think, and to solve challenging and complex problems. These career projects typically involve working within a team and an opportunity to innovate. These are opportunities to add incremental value to the team and to the company. These career projects are opportunities to make a difference and to go above and beyond.
âWe all want to make a difference. I believe that many of the unhappy workers who were mentioned in the Gallup report have not had the opportunity to truly experience these career moments.â
Early in his career, Bert had the opportunity to develop several innovative solutions that resulted in U.S. patents. The first was for a control system device for controlling fluid into a process vessel, and there was also one for controlling steam breakthrough in a well. Perhaps the one he is proudest of is what he called an âinverted horizontal wellâ (today it is called a toe-up horizontal well).
âA lot of technology innovations occur at what I call the interface between technical disciplines,â Bert said. âAll of the opportunities I have had to collaborate have led to great and better ideas. There is also a lot of innovation that occurs when the energy industry looks outside and pulls in technology from other industries.â
Problems and knowledge sharing lead to creative solutions.
âPeople in teams develop technology,â Bert explained. âAs leaders in our industry, how do we create passion and energy? I think one way is to create career projects â those opportunities to develop, learn, think and solve, and, most importantly, to add incremental value to our companies and to go above and beyond as a team member.
âAs leaders, we should strive to create a team where employees go home enthusiastic about a really cool project instead of complaining of being bored. We should coach people on how to win at work and at life to be able to contribute in a meaningful way.
âThe world is changing, and it is changing fast. We are all part of that. Working together, there is no limit on how far we can go. What will be your legacy? Will you work hard and be fully committed and engaged with your team? Will you see out those career projects that really make a difference and truly add incremental value? And will you be a part of our industryâs bright future?â
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