Dear friends, welcome to the May 2018 issue of BIC Magazine. A few weeks ago, I sat to consider our company's first-quarter performance. How are we tracking against annual goals? How is progression on major projects? Then I began to consider, how am I doing as a leader in my company? Do I create an environment of empowerment for managers and employees to feel fulfilled and engaged in their tasks? There are so many priorities, seemingly so much to do, that it can be overwhelming if you let it. I like to remind myself that God wouldn't give me more than I can do in a 24-hour day. So if there is more to do today than can be done, He didn't put it there on that deadline. Now, this may not mean the work won't get done, but at least I can have some perspective about the situation.
Like the environment that many of you work in, the day-to-day business seems unrelenting at times. In any given day, there are meetings to schedule, planes to catch, conferences to attend, clients to visit, calls to make, reports to review, articles to write, proofs to read on deadline, photos to ID, etc. There is so much to do that we often spend much time re-prioritizing and hustling to get it done.
These issues of what we have to do are what most managers focus on. Still, knowing what to do is not the major challenge we often face; finding who to do it is. The "what" that needs to be done changes often and is frequently unforeseen. I have found when you have the right people on your team, the tasks get done, even anticipated, no matter what the future holds.
With our strong and well-trained staff in place, it is not a surprise BIC has enjoyed our best ever year in 2017. Our managers Heather Cavalier and Kaye Strong in our production department have over 16 years' tenure each at BIC. They lead a team that publishes this world-class publication.
Our growth has led to some great hires on our digital team who, along with Heather, have launched our very successful online presence. Similarly, we brought industrial publishing veteran Mark Peters into our family in a director role to assist me, Earl and our Vice President Jeremy Osterberger (14 years at BIC) as our company continues to grow. John Zapalac has led our investment banking arm since 2007, and our CFO Theresa Kennedy has been with our team almost 30 years.
The teamwork and caring relationships we have go a long way toward making the work smoother and more enjoyable. We do set expectations high and have specific goals and plans to reach new heights. As you can see, however, much of the success we intend to enjoy this year began some time ago with planning the "who."
Even the best companies sometimes lose good people. Sometimes health, family situations, better opportunities and other considerations lead to undesired turnover. The key is honing a great bench by mentoring, training and motivating the entire staff.
A few years back, the leader of BIC Recruiting -- our executive search division -- left for retirement. We were well positioned to promote Hazel Kassu to president of the division, as she had already been mentored and trained for several years with BIC Recruiting and had lots of recruiting and management experience prior to joining our team. Under her leadership, we haven't missed a beat.
I am reminded of a saying I once heard from the oilman T. Boone Pickens that is helpful if you didn't start planning the "who" early enough: "The best day to plant a tree was 20 years ago. Do you know the second best day to plant a tree? Today."
If you are feeling overwhelmed, perhaps you need to add to or make a change or two on your team. If you are interested in planning today for teammates you need for your future business success, please contact me or Hazel, and we will be happy to help place them.
You might also pass this issue of BIC on to the "who" on your team to help bring them up to speed on events and happenings in our industry.
In this issue of BIC, we include insight from Total S.A. Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné, ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery Manager Gloria Moncada, AFPM President Chet Thompson, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America President and CEO Don Santa, DISA Global Solutions President and CEO John Peterson, and MineARC Systems Business Development Manager Rick Ciemny.
We also feature a wide variety of articles on topics important to your business, including project planning, oil and gas investments, the future of FCC units, oil supply and demand, progress on infrastructure and much more.
We will be hosting a networking event Tuesday, May 22 in San Antonio, in conjunction with the AFPM Reliability & Maintenance Conference. We are expecting a great function and hope you will join us.
In closing, I challenge you, dear reader, to consider your teammates from a larger perspective. Remember no success at work will mitigate failures in your personal relationships, be it with your relationship with God, your family or friends.
BIC MAIL
Please send emails to kaye@bicalliance.com.
Kaye,
Special thanks to the BIC team for collaborating with us (March, pg. 11). It is clear the team is dedicated to making the process straightforward and easy while ensuring the delivery is clear and professional.
Deborah Carpenter
Marketing and Communications Manager
Kuraray America
Andrew,
I really appreciated the opportunity to contribute to BIC Magazine (March, pg. 76). It was a pleasure to work with you and your team.
John Slupsky, PE
Senior Facilities Engineer
Devon Energy Corp.
Shannon,
BIC did an outstanding job capturing the nature of Louisiana Energy Export Association (LEEA) and highlighting our overall message (February, pg. 20). The editorial staff was very prompt, efficient, easy to work with and very knowledgeable about the industry.
Caitlin Cain
CEO
World Trade Center of New Orleans
