Values-Based Management in Oil & Gas Processing
Agile leadership exhibits a long history of successful values-based management. From L to R: Luke Morrow, Principal; Nader Khaki, VP; Paul Morrow, President
We are building one brick at a time. Agile Process Solutions, as well as its sister company Morrow Renewables, embraces and manifests a “values-based” management system which has proven successful for many well-known organizations who did the same, companies like Four Seasons, Chik-fil-A, Rubbermaid, Wal-Mart, Habitat for Humanity and more. It is a business philosophy that heralds personal character and integrity, putting people first, whether employee or customer.
Our management philosophy is founded upon the belief that when people are treated right, and are genuinely fulfilled by their employment or the product or service received, when their opinions matter and your business validates them – then this gradually builds an indestructible foundation, and a business structure made of brick from bottom to top, and not a “sandcastle” or house of cards that will collapse with the first winds of change. (Read about our take on the industry downturn in the October issue of Exploration & Production Magazine.)
It sounds like a “no-brainer” but it is not so easy to implement, and there are continuous temptations to embrace the quickest and most profitable solutions without regard for individuals, quality or best practice.
This people-first management system requires a very holistic approach to each individual relationship and/or project, and that approach utilizes “process” in much the same ways Agile does when engineering refined process solutions for oil and gas plants. It could be said that if we were not already in the business of “process solutions”, we might not so readily see the necessity of a values-based management process with regard to our relationships. No matter what shape our “bricks” might take, Agile’s relationships, as well as the work we produce and the ways in which we produce that work, must all stand on their own, and speak for themselves. As a fact, each brick is “cured” in the fires of our patience and determination with respect to each client and employee, guided by an unwavering commitment to moral and ethical business practice.
In the short run, this philosophy might sometimes seem to work against that ultimate, underlying determination of business success… profitability. During the fracking boom, while everyone was hiring up and seemed to be saying “Yes” to the most questionable qualifications and project parameters, Agile leadership was, in fact, being very discreet and deliberate about its new hires, new projects and its path for long-term business growth. The process to an outsider may have appeared quite slow compared to the blur of activity happening all around.
YET, time and again for Morrow Energy (Agile’s parent company), this idealistic, even altruistic approach of people first has proven to be not just “pie-in-the-sky” psychobabble, but in actuality, the most practical and sure-fire means of building product and relationships that both work right, and last a long time. Our values-based business model solidifies our success, injecting reliability and high performance into a business infrastructure that not only resists collapse, but virtually assures perpetual business growth and profitability.
At Morrow Energy companies, specifically Agile Process Solutions and Morrow Renewables, our practices with clients, employees and project execution are the very embodiment of our brand, and profitability their ultimate manifestation. Employees are hand-picked not only for their immediate role, but for long-term compatibility, breadth of skill, and most importantly, ability and willingness to fully engage the learning process. Our company then leverages those same qualities and brings them very deliberately to each individual client project – making our clients look good with some of the best overall product value and reliability in the market.
What Agile clients find by working with us is their own professional agility, with a project partner that ensures success with adaptability, commitment, accessibility, and a reality/values-based approach to project parameters and client relations. And with a product that has so much on the line – I believe those qualities, in addition to manufacturing capability, are the most important ones to look for in a provider of oil and gas processing plants and equipment.
