Fire fighting
My colleague and I have done a lot of fire fighting this week, but we have solved a lot of problems; or 'challenges' if you prefer the management term... We have given each other several high fives and fist pumps, not sure what you call them to be honest, as a tough week comes to a close. My team rocks big time. They are hardworking, committed and together we sort stuff out!
Working in oil and gas is obviously 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Now, as office based staff, that, theoretically means I don't have to, but being country manager of a company that does, means you are always pretty much on standby and clients think nothing of phoning at 10pm or weekends, it's pretty normal. 95% of the time I pick up. Sometimes I'm too tipsy to talk, or in the shower, or a swimming pool and then obviously I can't answer, but mostly I do. It means I find it hard to switch off when there is stuff happening like this week. We just got over one challenge in Azerbaijan, and another pops up in Qatar. Nothing major, although it had the potential to be major, it's what is referred to as a high potential in the industry. We were on the phone most of the evening and into the night a couple of days ago and then got hauled in front of the end client yesterday. An investigation is a serious affair, and the key question is always 'what is the root cause.' But... and I know you should not start a sentence with a 'but'...we are dealing with human beings here. The incident had the potential to hurt another human being (it didn't), and so it's in our nature to want to blame somebody or something. In oil and gas we nurture a 'no blame' culture but some personalities are not wired that way and you find yourself defending people who are not in the room and the company you work for, when there is really no need to do so. These meetings are draining and difficult. My ops manager and I were clear, concise, of the 'no blame' attitude and looking for solutions. The meeting ended after only ninety minutes with a clear action plan and work to be resumed. It doesn't always happen like that.
This week I've been dealing with relocation challenges, vessel substitution and demobilisation challenges, contractual challenges, incident and investigation, cross-regional sales, pricing and technical meetings and a tonne of other stuff. I love my job, but it often consumes me and takes over a huge part of my life. I'm saved by an enormous amount of humour (my wingman at work is funny, I'm funnier ;-), yoga (took the wingman yesterday), WhatsApp messages from friends, books and (some) weekends.
Nepal on Sunday, have upgraded....
Namaste xx
Working in oil and gas is obviously 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Now, as office based staff, that, theoretically means I don't have to, but being country manager of a company that does, means you are always pretty much on standby and clients think nothing of phoning at 10pm or weekends, it's pretty normal. 95% of the time I pick up. Sometimes I'm too tipsy to talk, or in the shower, or a swimming pool and then obviously I can't answer, but mostly I do. It means I find it hard to switch off when there is stuff happening like this week. We just got over one challenge in Azerbaijan, and another pops up in Qatar. Nothing major, although it had the potential to be major, it's what is referred to as a high potential in the industry. We were on the phone most of the evening and into the night a couple of days ago and then got hauled in front of the end client yesterday. An investigation is a serious affair, and the key question is always 'what is the root cause.' But... and I know you should not start a sentence with a 'but'...we are dealing with human beings here. The incident had the potential to hurt another human being (it didn't), and so it's in our nature to want to blame somebody or something. In oil and gas we nurture a 'no blame' culture but some personalities are not wired that way and you find yourself defending people who are not in the room and the company you work for, when there is really no need to do so. These meetings are draining and difficult. My ops manager and I were clear, concise, of the 'no blame' attitude and looking for solutions. The meeting ended after only ninety minutes with a clear action plan and work to be resumed. It doesn't always happen like that.
This week I've been dealing with relocation challenges, vessel substitution and demobilisation challenges, contractual challenges, incident and investigation, cross-regional sales, pricing and technical meetings and a tonne of other stuff. I love my job, but it often consumes me and takes over a huge part of my life. I'm saved by an enormous amount of humour (my wingman at work is funny, I'm funnier ;-), yoga (took the wingman yesterday), WhatsApp messages from friends, books and (some) weekends.
Nepal on Sunday, have upgraded....
Namaste xx
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