It’s Back-To-School with Executive Coach, Podcaster and Professional Speaker Joe Sinnott of Witting Partners and The Energy Detox Podcast as he talks with Jason Spiess about the shift in the workplace, home life and society.
The two discuss how the shift in energy can make the workplace a completely new place than it was two weeks ago. In addition, the new schedules and extra curricular activities, Sinnott talks about patience, acceptance and communication during these times as coming to the surface during the fall season.
How the workplace and the National Football League compare is peppered throughout the interview.
The two also discuss a rumor that EQT may be purchasing THQ Appalachia, which then happened 30-minutes after our interview concluded. From Reuters:
EQT Corp (EQT.N), the largest dedicated producer of U.S. natural gas, is in advanced talks to acquire peer THQ Appalachia I LLC and associated pipeline infrastructure for around $5.2 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The deal comes as EQT’s shares hover close to seven-year highs. The company has benefited from soaring natural gas prices in global markets in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, emboldening it to pursue acquisitions.
For more information on Witting Partners, The Energy Detox and Joe Sinnott, click here.
Below is the transcript from the interview.
Jason Spiess
Let’s go to the Zoom live where we’ve got Mr. Joe Sinnott on the line. He’s of course with Witting Partners as well as The Energy Detox podcast. How you doing today?
Joe Sinnott
Doing fine, Jason; how about yourself?
Jason Spiess
Hey, not too bad. Glad you could join us here today. One of the topics, of course, we’re back to school now, so many people are just involved in this, you know, momentum of back to school. And it doesn’t even matter if you have a kid in school, so many other people do. And so there’s that part of the energy and then you’ve got football back. And, boy, there’s all kinds of new energies and new activities happening. And so I thought we talked a little bit about how that impacts the office today. So let’s talk. How are your kids doing?
Joe Sinnott
I mean, at this exact moment, there’s a lot of screaming, because two of them who started back last week, they had a long weekend, and then an extra day off today for parent teacher conferences. And then of the other two that were supposed to start school today, one of them is sick for the first day of school. So long story short, Jason, this is, as you said, a changing season, but we haven’t quite changed yet in terms of back to school. So long answer there, but they’re, they’re healthy, and they’re being normal children at the moment; how about that?
Jason Spiess
But that’s sounds like you have about the perfect fall season, which is, you know, everybody thinks they know how it’s gonna go. But then reality sets it and you gotta, you know, you got a sick kid here and a flat tire here. And whatever it might be, it just seems like, Boy, I tell you this, this fall period becomes very, very just parallel with the way business goes for a lot of people, especially during times of uncertainty, and when you got to change your business plan, and etc. What kind of advice that you have for somebody, you know, in this dynamic changing season that we have in the fall?
Joe Sinnott
Well, I mean, one acknowledge the dynamism of the changing seasons. And yeah, realize that whatever plan you have in place is very likely going to change. You know, a lot of people I think, get stuck in their heads that, hey, this is how it’s going to be–whether they realize it or not–and then they might be setting themselves up for disappointment. So again, the first thing is, yes, acknowledge, you’re going to have flat tires, and you know, turnovers, if you will–to bring in some football analogies–and things are not going to go as planned. But Jason, I will caveat that and say, on the other hand, you need to not give up on wanting to plan and set the stage for something bigger down the road, because, again, I think people can swing the other direction and kind of move into that sort of apathetic mindset where it doesn’t really matter. You know, businesses are there in their planning seasons now, right? They’re getting ready for 2023. But are there people in their company saying “yeah, it doesn’t matter, you know, what, what’s going to happen anyway, who knows what’s going to happen with commodity prices, are we gonna get bought or sold or whatever, it doesn’t really matter.” And, again, I think you need to avoid yourself kind of swinging the other direction running away from plans. And–probably more importantly–make sure that other people aren’t falling into that trap. So, again, I think, probably not an uncommon piece of advice, which is avoid the extremes, keep moving forward and stay conscious of the fact that things are gonna change. But you’re still better off having a plan that changes then trying to navigate things with no plan at all.
Jason Spiess 03:29
Went to do my favorite coffee place the other day, and I walked up to the door and it said, closed, the lobby is closed because of staff shortages. So they just closed the lobby and make everybody go through the drive thru. Well, that changed my day completely, because I’m not going to go through the drive thru and wait 20 minutes in line and all these other things. And, you know, we’re seeing the term “quiet quitting” in the in the news, which I don’t even know what that means. I know what, you know, stop coding, showing up to work. I know what that means. And I know it, not giving your two weeks notice means and excetera. So how about, you know, when we’re talking about back to school, you know, some kids, they just might go back to school, and maybe they don’t tell their employers. I don’t know, I just see this term, quiet quitting in the headlines. And now we’re seeing staff shortages. And boy, I tell you, these business owners, they if it’s not one thing, it’s another
Joe Sinnott
Yeah, you’re you’re spot on there. I mean, you’re spot on in terms of the fact that if it’s not one thing, it’s the other; in terms of quiet quitting. I don’t know if there’s a universal definition of that yet; it feels like this–I don’t know if it was a tick tock craze, or, or what the heck happened. But you know, it sounds like it’s an iteration on things we’ve always seen, right? You know, are people “lazy” or they’re just going through the motions and, you know, on the heels of what was last year’s trend of the great resignation, now you have this quiet quitting trend where, again, people are going in and they’re theoretically doing the minimum or they’re at least not going above and beyond. And again, there’s parallels to going back to school too, right? You know, some kids are going to show up and they’re going to do the minimum Their goal is to pass or, you know, what’s the whole thing: “D is for degree,” hey, they get their D, if that’s enough to get their diploma at the end of the day, then then that’s enough. And, yeah, we see those parallels in the working world where sure people are showing up to work, which, as you just said, you know, can be a challenge right now for a lot of organizations, but is that organization getting what they expected to get? But on the flip side, or the expectations that the organization has for a given employee, maybe above and beyond what’s in writing? So again, some gray area there, right, in terms of Well, can you fault people for quiet quitting and not going above and beyond? Or does the blame if you will fall more on the organization on the company and the employer for not setting clear expectations and then holding up their end of the bargain? So it’s an interesting topic, again, we can go down whatever rabbit hole you want, because it is one that comes up. I would say, in my dealings, it’s not so much me dealing with people who are on the verge of quiet quitting; I’m more dealing with people who are dealing with potential quiet quitters, if you will. But nevertheless, it is a it’s a real problem. Even though again, I think over the last couple weeks, or last month or so, people have put this this new name on things, which doesn’t change the reality that it’s been in place for decades, quite frankly, Jason.
Jason Spiess
How are they know, you’re not the expert in this? I know, but in the stories you’ve seen, or the articles that you’ve read, are they showing up because of money? Are they showing up because of guilt? I guess I’m just it’s so funny that they’d show up and just not not work?
Joe Sinnott
Well, and again, I think that’s where– don’t want to go too far in the weeds because this is a an ever changing topic. Like I said, I don’t know that there’s any clear definition but quiet quitting, as I understand it, is not necessarily showing up and not doing their job. It’s showing up and doing the minimum. So some people are happy, or at least content showing up to get their paycheck. So Jason Yeah, I mean, they are showing up to get their paycheck and their benefits. But they’ve told themselves, “hey, look, you know, I am supposed to work nine to five, I’m going to work nine to five, I’m not checking my email, after hours, I’m not picking up the phone. Even if I know there’s something that could add value to the company, if it’s outside of my job description, I’m not going to do it.” And that’s sort of the quiet part. Right? So they’re there. They might even be, they might even enjoy their job, quite frankly, but they don’t think there’s value in them going above and beyond for themselves. And that’s again, that’s, that’s tricky, because there’s obviously a school of thought, which says, well, great, you know, this 2022, and everybody is all about self care, right, and taking care of yourself and, and making sure you set clear boundaries? So again, you can’t necessarily fault them for that. But of course, the question is, is it short sighted? Is it sustainable? Is that really what’s going to let them you know, continue enjoying a fulfilling life and a fulfilling career? And of course, that’s where certainly I have my opinions on whether or not that’s going to lead to long term success or not. But you know, that’s really the question on the table for the individuals. And then there’s a whole another set of questions on the table for the employers, as far as you know, what can I do about this?
Jason Spiess
One of the things I guess that I see as a parallel as well, as you know, when you, at least that I’ve seen, and probably even from my experience that a couple jobs, too, when you start school, there’s always a thrill of anticipation, and it’s generally positive. No matter what age you are even all the way up to like a senior in high school. Going back to school, it’s fresh, you get to see your new friends or not your new friends, your old friends and meet some new friends. So even if you say you don’t really like school, most people are kind of excited for that first day. And then it wears wears off a little bit. I think a lot of people have jobs like that, where they’re really excited at first, and then after a month or so. It’s just kind of like school now, you know, so, and I say this because I think it’s a challenge both for the employer and the employee. Do you know what I mean by that?
Joe Sinnott
Well, of course, like I said, it’s a it’s a challenge because I think naturally people are gonna fade, their their excitement is going to fade over time. But it’s kind of like, I mean, heck, if you want to bring in the relationship between husband and wife, you can’t just rely on feelings and excitement and emotion; you need to have some substance behind it. What are the what are the shared goals? What are you working towards? If you don’t have that foundation, well then guess what? You can fall in to love and then you can fall out of love just as easily. Same thing with school or a job: you can fall in love with the idea of going to school and learning and meeting new friends. But if it’s just based on feelings and not some ultimate goal, well then again, why wouldn’t that feeling fade eventually? And same thing with a job right? You know, if you don’t have some ultimate goal that you’re working towards, and you’re just relying on, “hey, you know, this is exciting, this feels good. I’m enjoying the people that I work with” as opposed to, “hey, I’m contributing to some bigger purpose.” Again, if you don’t have that bigger purpose, things are going to fade, you’re going to lose that that excitement, that energy. It’s just, it’s human nature, quite frankly, Jason.
Jason Spiess
You know, another thing about the fall, of course, is football that is almost synonymous with with the fall. And football has really taken over the lexicon of America. I mean, when you take a look at the Superbowl, with the halftime shows, and just some of the pageantry they’ve done over the last 10 years, they’ve really catered to the family experience, and in this case, really appealing to the female to bring into the female to sit and watch the game with the male that was by design, and the Super Bowl, just turned it into a big event. And so when I think about sports, I think about football, and I think about some of the changes they’ve done to connect with people that are really outside of their demographic. And I think the foot football has done a terrific thing with that absolutely, to where they’ve almost taken over, you know, Sunday. Remember, the Catholic Church used to have Sunday, to quote, Will Smith, and that one movie I saw. And so, you know, when I look at sports, I look at football from two angles. One is I think there’s a big lesson in how football has connected with a non traditional football audience. And number two, is, I think, so much of coaching now, boy, I mean, so much of coaching is brought into the workplace. And so much of the workplace has been bought and brought into coaching now. Craig ball, the former coach of North Dakota State University, now the coach of Wyoming, he always called this position. He’s the CEO of the football team. So what he used to say, so your thoughts on just the football and the mindset that switches in the fall time? And then also the parallels between the two?
Joe Sinnott
There’s no shortage of parallels between coaching, especially the head coach of anything, right? I mean, any sport–but we’ll stick with football here–and the CEO of an organization, if for no other reason, then that coach sets the tone, right, sets the tenor for how things are going to go, that coach isn’t on the field actually executing the plays. But he’s the one who’s obviously hiring assistant coaches, and, obviously, on the recruiting trail and bringing people into play, but at the end of the day, again, it’s his people, it’s those student athletes, if you’re talking about college football, or certainly the professionals on the sidelines, regardless of their level, heck, even go down to peewee football, they’re the ones on the field that are executing and the CEO is there to up there–or should be there to keep an eye on the big picture, right? Same thing as with a CEO; a CEO is not there getting his or her hands dirty, necessarily. On occasion, of course, he might walk the, you know, the the factory floor or head out on a rig to walk around and see what’s going on on-site from a drilling or completions operation. But at the end of the day, their job is to set the tone, to help monitor the culture, if you will, and to keep people engaged. And so the parallels are very, very strong, Jason. And yeah, again, we could probably talk for hours about those parallels. But you know, just as you think about a coach, flub a football team, you know, when do they lose that team, it’s when that coach stops taking accountability, right? So when that coach starts placing blame on others, same thing with the CEO or any leader with an organization, as soon as that leader of an organization starts placing blame on others and not looking inward again, that’s when he or she loses control, if you will, of his people loses control of the culture. So you know, those are just a couple of the parallels there. But I needless to say, Jason, I completely agree with your your analogy there between football in the workplace.
Jason Spiess
Let’s keep talking a little bit about football. You’re out in the Marcellus I understand Marcellus Utica Appalachian Basin, kind of going more towards the Appalachian Basin. Now I’m starting to see a little bit more in the media and hearing from some of my colleagues out on the east coast, but you’re in the you’re in Pennsylvania, correct?
Joe Sinnott
I am–I am in western Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh.
Jason Spiess
Okay, and so while Steelers they evade named their starter yet. I mean, we’re two days away from the start of the NFL season as Mitchell Trubisky been named the starter; or are they going to go another direction?
Joe Sinnott
Much to the chagrin of many locals. Mitch has been named the starter and actually probably more interesting. Kenny Pickett who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and was a Heisman candidate last year. He has been named the third string quarterback for the Steelers, so, you know there’s some folks up in arms that say, Hey, even if you know Kenny Pickett wasn’t going to be, you know, if currently he isn’t the best player, there’s all those other intangibles. And if you want to, you know, plan for the future, et cetera, et cetera that, you know, he should have, he should have trumped Trubisky in and been named number one. So anyway, long story short they did just announced that and obviously they’ll be kicking off the season here shortly.
Jason Spiess
And that’s that’s an interesting dynamic there because you know when you’re the coach, Mike Tomlin still the coach in Pittsburgh?
Joe Sinnott
He is still here. Yep.
Jason Spiess
So when you’re the head coach, and you’re basically putting a manager in charge your offense, which is the quarterback, that’s a, there’s a lot that goes into it. And a lot, a lot of times, it’s much more than just their physical attributes to because they got to have a certain decision making ability and a communication and chemistry really with with the coach. And so when I think of football, and I think of a lot of the different relationships that some of the stars have had with some of the NFL players, even in the NBA, you can go into Michael Jordan and LeBron James, that quote unquote, kind of coach the teams already. You know, it’s really important to have that supporting staff underneath. And I know this is beating a dead horse. But in football, it’s very easy to see how much of a supporting cast you know, basketball one guy can take over. Baseball is really reliant on the team sport as well. So it’s hockey, but in football Boy, that just to show you how much the quarterback needs those offensive linemen, you know, Dan Marino used to buy them, presidents all I think they’re isotoner gloves, but either way, it was the thought that counts. So let’s talk a little bit about that and chemistry and delegating, because at the end of the day, really what’s happening is the coach is delegating their offense to the quarterback.
Joe Sinnott
Yeah, well, I mean, you mentioned the word chemistry, and obviously, we’re talking about back being back to school, right. And in true chemistry, there are rules, right? There’s, there’s rules of science, you mix x and y, and you get z in certain amounts, you get certain things. Of course, in real life, in sports, and in business chemistry is not quite as, as exact as that right there. There aren’t always formulas necessarily. And that’s where it can be difficult for a CEO or any leader who’s delegating, to figure out, alright, who is the best person to now take charge below him and execute. And I think, you know, that’s where, again, a good CEO, you know, the ultimately the ultimate, the head coach, if you will, where, you know, a good head coach is able to make those tough decisions, and recognize when things aren’t quite working out, or when maybe he or she tried to lean on equations a little bit too much, you know, those metrics that are out there, right, it’s easy in this day and age to lean on all the data and metrics and data science and analysis and all of that, which is all good. You know, it can tell a story can give you valuable information. But are you at the end of the day able to almost trust your gut, right? And, and take that data with a grain of salt and ultimately determine Hey, is there chemistry there? So again, it comes back to even what we said at the outset right, avoiding this black and white sort of approach where you’re gonna go all in on on the numbers and data or you go all in on it doesn’t really matter. We’re just gonna pick you know, the answer is somewhere in between and the best head coaches, the best CEOs are able to sort of balance that. So anyway, that’s that’s sort of my my take on you know, ultimately, what makes for a good head coach or a good CEO. It’s that balance, it’s the ability to not just go down one path one, one playbook, if you will, and you’ll put the blinders on and and you know, set it and forget it if you will.
Jason Spiess
So ya know, the question I two questions, I guess the first one, you know, I thought Heinz Field got renamed and I’ve actually been to Heinz Field down to the Three Rivers Park area. PNC Park. I think it was called back in the day when I was at the baseball diamond, which is real close to the football diamond, but the other part I was going to bring up is Aaron Rodgers. You familiar with Aaron Rodgers?
Joe Sinnott
I am.
Jason Spiess
He’s the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and what their assistant coach said and their play by play guy in the radio London, they’ve always said this that, like 90%, if not 100% of the times that you see Aaron Rodgers miss a receiver like completely, it’s because the receiver ran the wrong route. It’s not Aaron Rodgers. And he was one of those few quarterbacks that you know, Heathrow before the receiver would get there. And so often you do have to rely on your your teammates, you do have to rely on your employees. If you’re in sales, and you close the deal, and your production can’t do it. Well, that’s that’s like the receiver running the wrong route. And then you get intercepted and pretty soon the competition takes it and so first question is Is the just the comparison, I guess of the role players and the team but also, the Heinz Field get renamed? Is my memory right on that? Well, we’ll start with easy answer, and that is yes. Heinz Field was renamed to Accra shore stadium. That was over the summer, so yeah, I don’t know. I think Worchester sauce field would have been better. But anyways, I Beggars can’t be choosers, so Okay, well, good luck to the Steelers. And what was it again?
Joe Sinnott
Acrisure–it is a insurance company out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, which doesn’t have quite the same connection to Pittsburgh that Heinz has
Jason Spiess
Nor the population. About a third of size; nice city, though, right on the lake, right in the lower part of one of those lakes thinking might be Lake Michigan. But anyway, okay, so let’s talk about the rumor. I heard about the big merger acquisition out there. Is there is there some brewing out there?
Joe Sinnott
Well, if we’re talking about the Marcellus, then there is a rumor flying around this week that EQT, which is currently the largest producer of natural gas in the United States, is rumored to be purchasing another company for four to $5 billion, depending on which rumor source you believe. And yeah, so we’ll see what that what that means. EQT had, I think it was a $2.9 billion acquisition a couple months ago–might have been last year. So again, they are you know, the biggest player and certainly, for companies that have assets that are looking to sell, I think a lot of companies are gonna look to that big player to see if they’re willing to continue opening up the purse strings. So again, just a rumor at this point. It was rumored several months ago that this company THQ–it’s a combination of was Tug Hill Operating and then a midstream component as well. You know, there were rumors months ago that they were going to be shopping themselves so again, not a big surprise but as is always the case in oil and gas, anytime there’s some sort of merger and acquisition news people really pick up and they they start playing–well it’s not Monday morning quarterback because again, there’s no deal that’s actually been announced–but obviously everybody likes to start weighing in on whether this makes, sense doesn’t make sense, what it means to the organization, to the region’s and the industry. So waiting for all that to play out if and when it will play out of course.
Jason Spiess
Just so I got my notes right you said EQT, right?
Joe Sinnott
EQT: Edward. Queen. Thomas.
Jason Spiess
Now, Edward Queen Thomas EQT, are they different than Coterra?
Joe Sinnott
They are indeed different
Jason Spiess
So okay, because I thought Coterra was one of the larger natural gas companies. You guys have a couple of big ones out There, huh?
Joe Sinnott
Yea, I mean EQT, which is, again, headquartered here in Pittsburgh, Southwest PA. Most of its activity is in southwest PA, northern West Virginia, which is where this rumored acquisition is focused on. So, it is yeah, it is the number one producer of natural gas in the United States. Coterra, which was formed from the combination of Cabot and Cimarex–was that a year or so ago? That is a different animal, most of their Marcellus assets are in the northeast part of the state. So up in that Susquehanna County part of the world. And then of course, with the merger with Cimarex, they picked up assets in other parts of the country–more oil focused. So again, two very different companies; two different focuses, but both certainly contributing to the production of hydrocarbons here in the United States.
Jason Spiess
Sometimes it’s hard enough to follow the acronyms in today’s world, because everybody seems to be doing acronyms. So I just kind of sometimes I feel kind of naïve and stupid and other times I’m thinking no, Okay, I did have that right. All right. You know, that’s how a lot of people feel.
Joe Sinnott
well EQT is a little confusing because it’s not an acronym; EQT doesn’t even stand for anything. It used to be called Equitable Resources. And the ticker symbol was EQT. And then when they went through a rebranding, back in 2009-ish, they decided to change the name of the company to EQT. So when people ask, well, what does EQT stand for requires a bit of a story. It’s not just Edward Queen Thomas, or whatever it is I used to confirm the company that I was talking about.
Jason Spiess
Joe Sinnott is our guest, he is with Witting Partners. He also does the energy detox podcast. It’s one of our favorite podcasts. And we like to do some cross promotional podcast work from time to time. And let’s talk a little bit about your podcast. So how long have you been doing it? And what is the main focus of it, sir?
Joe Sinnott
Well, podcast started right around St. Patrick’s Day of 2020, which, of course, as I think about when every other podcast in the world started, thanks to the onset of COVID. But it was in the works before that. So two and a half years since its inception, about 70 episodes in and for the most part, with one exception, it took summer break. So along with, you know, along with the school kids, the podcast took a bit of a summer break. And we’ll be kicking back off here to start the fall in a couple of weeks. And its focus is leadership. But not just any leadership–there’s a million leadership podcasts–so its focuses on the energy industry with a particular slant towards oil and gas. So essentially, taking current headlines in oil and gas, current challenges and themes of oil and gas, and connecting them to the leadership challenges and leadership themes, leadership opportunities, that are important for anybody that wants to have a sustainable career here in our industry. So, you know, you can take any number of podcasts or books or blogs on leadership, you know, there’s millions of those, but again, this one is specific to the energy industry and brings in conversations about my background, both from a technical standpoint, and from a business standpoint. And now my role as an executive coach, again, focused on the energy industry and weaves it into what I hope is informative and entertaining conversations–but at a bare minimum conversations that will arm current and future leaders in the energy industry with the tools they need to lead themselves and lead others on the on the figurative football field that is the energy industry.
Jason Spiess 27:42
Of course we’re talking about the energy detox podcast with Joe Sinnott, and it’s gained some major popularity, especially out in the East Coast. He’s becoming a moderator and quite a bit of that Society of Petroleum Engineers and other groups that I’m certain see your face pop up on either you’re hosting a podcast there, you’re doing some moderating roles. So first question is is Does anybody ever get confused by the taint by the name energy detox? Meaning like, somebody’s like, off the grid? Are you trying to get people to detox out of energy? Does anybody ever asked you anything like that?
Joe Sinnott
On occasion, yeah, that requires some explanation. And again, of course, like I said, it started around St. Patrick’s Day, two and a half years ago. So you talk about an energy detox, or any sort of detox. Typically, you would think it’s after, you know, having, you know, 10 or 12 Guinness, but But yes, there are some questions about what exactly it means. But ultimately, Jason, I mean, it’s an easy answer, look, the energy industry along with other industries, but the energy industry in particular has a lot of toxicity surrounding it, both internally and certainly externally. And as a leader in the industry, you need to be able to navigate through that toxicity, remove the toxicity, and focus on the stuff that’s actually valuable and can help you move forward. So, you know, that’s, that’s the quick answer, when people start to question, you know, whether this is a cleanse of some sort, or what the heck The energy energy detox actually is.
Jason Spiess
So as I mentioned, you’re quite active now with a lot of the different groups out in the least on the East Coast that I’ve seen, talk to me about some of those activities that you’ve been finding yourself in with these different organizations and clubs and fraternities, or I don’t know if turned is the right word, but these different organizations and clubs.
Joe Sinnott
Well, one, you mentioned the SPE the Society of Petroleum Engineers, you know, that one has certainly local chapters, like the one here in Pittsburgh that I’m happy to be a member of and happy to support. But also, you know, it’s an international association. So one of those roles that I have that you mentioned, at least that, you know, over the last couple months, is moderating discussions with mostly service providers and some of the new technologies that they’re bringing to the forefront. So talking with them about how these technologies are shaping the industry how the innovations matter for operators and again, for our planet in some cases, and it’s fun, quite frankly, Jason, you know, they’ve reached out because, I’m fortunate to have a background as an engineer in this industry. But now in this independent role, a lot of what I do is ask questions. I mean, quite literally, my job as a coach is to ask people questions, again, just like a coach on the football field, I’m not there, actually, you know, on the field, executing; my job is to help people maximize their full potential by asking questions, getting to the heart of the matter, and, letting them unlock whatever is at their disposal so that they can achieve something. Same thing with these conversations, right? I get to ask questions, and go a couple levels down. And, and also, these are all live shows, too. So you know, bringing questions from the audience, which is, which is a really fun way to contribute again, to the–I don’t know how many 10s of 1000s of members–are in SPE, but it’s a fun way to contribute. And then on the local side–again, SPE’s International that covers a very wide audience–and then locally, again, being able to support our local Pittsburgh chapter, next week, in fact, we’re going to have an event where we’re going to dive into executive coaching. So we’re going to talk about what I do as a coach, how current leaders within the energy industry leverage the coaching that I do–and that others do–to build better teams and stronger teams. And then we’re gonna have some fun integrating those coaching concepts with a happy hour. So actually having people go through and not just network, not just do the normal banter back and forth, which is great and valuable, but also do it with some intentionality. And actually use some of the same coaching tools that I use day in and day out. So again, fun way to help people solidify their career and, again, apply some of the same tools that are out there that others are using, and bring it into their own world.
Jason Spiess
How can people listen to The energy detox podcasts if they want to?
Joe Sinnott
Well, the podcasts can be found on all the major streaming platforms; you can also go to theenergydetox.com, where there’s usually some additional information, the transcripts are there, and also the YouTube videos if you are so inclined to watch the video versions of the detox; so, many ways to check it out. Although of course, if you Google the energy detox, you might have to scroll a little bit because there are a number of cleanses and other things that I think pop up before the energy detox does.
Jason Spiess
Oh, you’re not the guy that you for four pounds of celery juice in the morning? That’s not you? Okay. All right. All right. So let’s talk about your actual main job there. As you know, Witting partners, you’re an executive coach, you’re helping people, you have a background in the industry. And one of the reasons I really enjoy our conversations, because I actually think you’re ahead of the curve, I think the things that you’re trying to do for the industry is, is make changes in positive ways that I don’t necessarily even think they understand. And so you know, talk about how and why your business is growing, what are some of the, you know, successes that people are telling you that you’re bringing, to these energy companies, because you are growing, and you are making people more successful. So take a minute and just brag about, you know, this company that you are involved with Witting partners, and how you guys are improving corporate culture, if you will?
Joe Sinnott
Well, if you’re requiring me to brag Jason, then I’ll go to the perhaps the number one compliment that I hear. And that is that I’m “different.” You know, that might not sound like a compliment. But you know, when people say, “wow, you’re different,” you know, you have a conversation, sometimes it’s the first conversation I have, or, you get into the weeds. And people recognize that this is a different conversation than they may have had with other coaches or with, you know, their manager, or with human resources, pr with support within the organization, or any number of other people that are there to help that have the same positive intentions. But, again, the best compliment that I receive is that I’m different. And again, I relish that; I embrace that, but it’s not different just for the sake of being different. It’s different because I’ve been there; a lot of people that I’m working with, I’ve been in their shoes, I’ve had similar roles, I face those challenges, and now being independent, being a coach not having to, quite frankly, answer to anybody else. No, they’re getting, you know, 100% of me, of my insights, of my background, but again, they’re not getting it in advice form, I’m not coming in and telling them what to do. As I said before, I’m able to ask questions–and again, I like to think good questions–that can unlock the answers that they likely have. But you know, they’re they have doubts, right? They’re not sure or things aren’t clear. So, you know, being able to clarify things for people but again, almost let them clarify it themselves. Instead of me having to jump in and say, Well, this is what you need to do. You need to drink these, again, four gallons of celery juice per day and this is the only way to get ahead in life. I don’t come in and do that. You know, I’m there to listen, I’m there to be patient I’m not there, you know, in my former role, quite frankly, you know, when I was in that corporate role, and obviously you’re dealing with the pressures and demands, I can take time, you know, I can, I can go almost as slow as we need to, while still arriving at whatever the ultimate goal is for that individual I’m working with, which again, is refreshing for a lot of people who are in that rat race, if you will, who are, you know, go go go, which is the nature of our industry. So again, I don’t know that I, myself, am very different. But I think it’s the fact that now I’m able to combine that background, combine my passion for continuing to help people, combine my focus on this particular industry, with professional coaching. And, you know, that is a unique combination that I am proud to do. And quite frankly, you know, that’s why we’re achieving results. That’s why Witting partners is growing. And that’s why I’m excited to continue getting out there and helping people and supporting organizations like SPE in whatever way I can.
Jason Spiess
And as we kind of wrap up a little bit, what department generally calls you from a company as if human resources, is it marketing? Is it the, you know, is it the administration assistant? And how can they get in touch with you? So who, who’s generally the kind of the gatekeeper or the decision maker in your industry? And how can they get in touch with you?
Joe Sinnott
90% of the time, it’s human resources. So they’re the ones typically that whether it was spurred on by something internally, or they’re simply looking for the type of resources that I offer to bring into the organization. They’re the ones who are usually initiating that conversation. On occasion, we’ll get people who are internal, who are leaders, and again, they’re looking for support and they want to make a recommendation to the likes of a human resources. But by and large, HR is the first line of contact there.
Jason Spiess
Well, then how, do they get in touch with you? Website or phone, or does anybody call anymore is everything just over the website?
Joe Sinnott
You know, on occasion, there is a phone call and I love it. You know, it’s amazing. It’s amazing how efficient and effective a phone call can be. And again, we can talk we can have a whole nother conversation about you know, this this miraculous thing called the phone. But yes, there are phone calls, I enjoy phone calls, so feel free to give me a call 412-444-5563. But if you’re like most of the world, though, you can go ahead to wittingpartners.com or certainly connect on LinkedIn, Joe Sinnott or go ahead and Google and–again, scroll past all the various cleanses and other things and fnd yourself a Witting partners or energy detox link and go ahead and click on that.
