A couple of weeks ago I found myself yet again on the phone with oil and gas executives who wanted to explain to me why the world will need oil for a long time.
You know that I know that the world is going to need oil for a long time.
I repeatedly find myself in conversations where I start somewhere “in the middle” on what oil and gas companies need to do to thrive in a time of continuous disruption: engage millennials, share aspirations, take the leadership mantle. And company leaders want to do with me what they are doing with the skeptical public: explain the need for energy and why the world needs them.
And so, I usually have to start at the beginning, and it takes some time:
- I first explain that the oil and gas industry is at a crossroads. There is massive disruption underway, accelerated by the pandemic and its legacy.
- How we choose to handle this disruption will decide not only our future, but the future of energy.
- When we take the path of least resistance — the path of insisting on and even fighting for the status quo — we lose sight of the future and our role as leaders.
- But when we take the path of the disruptor, we seize the opening that today’s disruption offers us to meet the public’s desperate desire for energy leadership.
- It is only as disruptors that we will lead the way into the energy future.
If you’re a long-time reader of Both True, you know the drill!
And then it occurred to me that you, the Both True reader, may also find yourself “at the beginning,” trying to explain why it is so important for us, as gamechangers, to lead into the energy future.
That’s why I created the Adamantine Foundations series — a set of three pieces that introduce you to my thinking about the disruptions we face and the disruptors you as leaders need to become in response.
If you need a refresher on where this work begins, this series provides it. If you’re not sure how to set up the conversation, you can share these pieces with your colleagues instead.
Our industry has a tremendous amount of the work — and it begins with us framing our situation in straightforward terms. My hope is that this foundation series helps you engage in this work with your colleagues.
The Adamantine Foundations Series
I begin in the first Foundations essay making the case for why our current strategies of “educate and engage” no longer work and why we must shift our mindset to engage proactively and constructively with the disruptions underway. In Adamantine Foundations 2, you learn about the three disruptors. And insights from the disruptors inform the third essay, which covers the game-changing actions that oil and gas companies can embrace to lead into the energy future.
Get Caught Up!
The Adamantine team is taking a break from writing Both True through the month of August while we launch Season 3 of our Energy Thinks podcast. This will give you plenty of time to catch up on Season 2! Check out our interviews with Matt Gallagher, Dominic Emery, Andrea Passman, and Pierce Norton.
Ready to get your company working on your risk analysis, decarbonization road map, or ESG strategy? Our team at Adamantine is taking on additional limited engagements in October. Additionally, I have two remaining speaking spots available in the fourth quarter. If you have been thinking about engaging us, please let us know!
Wishing you a few lazy summer days ahead,
Tisha
