The Energy Detox – Details, episodes & analysis

Despite being the butt of endless jokes, the best weather forecasters quietly demonstrate executive presence every day in how they:

1) are willing to make predictions—and be wrong

2) translate mountains of data into clear, actionable guidance

3) take the most default of all default conversation topics (“So… how ’bout the weather?”) and actually engage stakeholders

Because weather is constant—something we check, talk about, and experience every day—these leadership lessons are hard to ignore once you notice them.

Check out the Season 7 kickoff of The Energy Detox, recorded during the January 2026 winter storm that impacted much of the United States.

How can you mirror the mission of the Pittsburgh-based unicorn Gecko Robotics?

How can lessons from its co-founder and CEO, Jake Loosararian, shape how you respond to tough feedback?

How does the unicorn-level independence of Grove City College—Loosararian's alma mater—exemplify conscious leadership?

And how does Dunder Mifflin’s roast of Michael Scott fit into all of this?

To answer these questions — and extend your leadership shelf life — check out Episode 124 of The Energy Detox.

Are you a hub-like leader OR an origin & destination (O&D) leader?

Do people view interactions with you as a disruptive layover OR do they actually want to start and/or end a journey with you?

Are you over-reliant on outside resources to fuel your leadership actions OR do you lead like a self-sufficient, reliable, energy independent microgrid that is always ready to deliver?

To help answer these questions, check out Episode 115 of The Energy Detox, which is inspired by Pittsburgh International Airport's transformation from hub to O&D, its soon-to-arrive new terminal, the development of the Marcellus #NaturalGas resources under PIT by CNX, the differentiated #leadership of Christina Cassotis, and the microgrid operated by Liberty Power Innovations, a Liberty Energy company.

Visit PITleadership.com to learn more.

#ConsciousLeadership

With news that EQT has optimized some of its firm transportation portfolio, this morning's a good time to ask yourself whether the commitments governing your professional and personal life are still providing the same value you'd anticipated when you signed up for them...assuming you even remember signing up in the first place.

The headline: EQT sells portion of its capacity on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (by Paul J. Gough of The Pittsburgh Business Times)

The article: https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2021/10/27/eqt-mountain-valley-pipeline.html

The goal: to (G)row, (P)rotect, and (S)ustain success by pondering these 3 questions throughout your day:

💡 What unnecessary commitments are hindering your ability to flourish?

💡 How much time, energy, and money are you spending to protect old habits?

💡 Are you unwittingly signing up for an unsustainable level of new obligations?

For an expanded conversation on the topic of (figurative) FT agreements and how they produce unsustainable leaders, check out this April 2020 episode of The Energy Detox:

https://www.wittingpartners.com/the-energy-detox/firm-transportation-agreements-and-unsustainability

Using yet another headline pointing to dwindling Cushing storage, this live episode of #TheEnergyDetox will help you properly measure and value your personal energy reserves.

The headline: 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚 (by Stephanie Kelly of Reuters)

The article: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-demand-oil-surges-depleting-tanks-oklahoma-2021-10-27/

The goal: to (𝐆)𝐫𝐨𝐰, (𝐏)𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐒)𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 success by pondering these 3 questions throughout your day:

💡 How might your personal growth be outpacing available resources?

💡 Does the value you command reflect your full potential?

💡 Have you unwittingly become an energy hub for your stakeholders?

#leadership #sustainability

When was the last time you re-stacked your professional building blocks?

Well, regardless of your answer, this live episode of #TheEnergyDetox will use yet another headline about the escalating cost of #energy in Europe to help you revisit the most fundamental elements needed for you and your stakeholders to sustain professional momentum heading into the winter.

The headline: 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬: 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 (Reuters)

The article: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bleak-houses-families-struggle-foot-frances-soaring-energy-bills-2021-10-26/

The goal: to (𝐆)𝐫𝐨𝐰, (𝐏)𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐒)𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 success by pondering these 3 questions throughout your day:

💡 What are the critical building blocks for continued growth?

💡 Who are the people you are tasked with protecting?

💡 How can you mitigate the effects of professional and personal volatility?

#leadership #sustainability

Are you unwittingly choosing propaganda over purpose?

To help you answer that question, this live episode of hashtag#TheEnergyDetox will use some climate news out of China to reframe the way that you are approaching your professional and personal commitments.

The headline: China says it must consider food and energy security when curbing emissions

The article: https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/china-says-must-consider-supply-chain-food-energy-security-when-curbing-2021-10-24/

The takeaway: "China should 'manage the relationship between pollution reduction and carbon reduction and energy security, industrial supply chain security, food security and normal life of the people,' said a cabinet document published by official media Xinhua." (Reuters)

The goal: to (G)row, (P)rotect, and (S)ustain success by pondering these 3 questions throughout your day:

💡 How might your short-term focus be hindering long-term growth?

💡 What are the hidden costs of protecting a flimsy narrative?

💡 What tools are you using to better connect your purpose to your people?

Thanks to the inescapable “energy crisis” headlines flooding newsfeeds, the world’s AWARENESS of energy—or at least awareness of rising energy costs—is greater than it’s been in years.

As is often the case with headlines, however, they can distract you from underlying issues that may be even more problematic—albeit not quite as sexy or attention-grabbing as something labeled with the word “crisis.”

Similarly, many energy industry leaders are suffering from a “Consciousness Crisis” and are unwittingly ignoring issues that are chipping away at their credibility and effectiveness as they and their teams focus on navigating the energy crisis, the supply chain crisis, the labor crisis, and whatever other crises are grabbing their attention.

That being said—and in honor of Energy Awareness Month—this episode of The Energy Detox will raise awareness of the common (yet often hidden) barriers holding leaders like you back from achieving sustained success.

“When life knocks you down, stay there and take a nap…”

…is probably NOT something Tony Robbins or other motivational speakers would say to fire up an audience.

But sometimes you NEED to be told to take a nap…or to lower the bar…or to give up.

Now, one obviously shouldn't give this advice casually.  In fact, suggestions like those should probably come with a “MATURE CONTENT” warning, as they’re inappropriate for many audiences.

That being said, are you sick of the non-stop barrage of conventional leadership posts, quotes, articles, books, webinars, and speakers recycling the same ol’ advice encouraging you to “give it all you’ve got” and “get right back on your feet?"

If so, then listen to this episode of The Energy Detox, where we’ll drill into unconventional leadership and (de-)motivational themes that will help you and your stakeholders withstand the non-stop punches being thrown at today's energy industry.

If you thought the Colonial Pipeline attack was bad, just wait until you see how vulnerable your company’s communication pipeline is to leaks, corrosion, bottlenecks, and other potentially catastrophic threats.

And to help you identify those vulnerabilities, this live episode of The Energy Detox will lay out the 5 most important communications-related questions you and other energy industry leaders need to ask so that you can:

1 - Eliminate corrosive communications—hidden problems that can lead to catastrophe

2 - Avoid dependence on “automated” communication strategies that can open you up to incidents far costlier than the Colonial cyberattack

3 - Re-route and think better on your feet instead of remaining over-reliant on a single (and often outdated) leadership communication pathway that is preventing you from reaching your stakeholders in a timely and effective manner

4 - Anticipate communications bottlenecks that will arise when your existing pipeline network can't handle the volume (or complexity) of the messages you're trying to share

5 - Reduce the odds of your audience declaring a dubious “force majeure incident” that can render your seemingly perfect communications plan even more useless than Colonial’s 5,500 miles of pipe were following the cyberattack