Old Man Morgan

So few people comment on my blogs (which are more like a boring diary than profound statements of wisdom) that I often wonder if folks read them. However, it is nice (and beneficial) to see comments from folks … comments such as Josh clarifying that we saw “Underworld” in the right order … comments such as Courtney’s that advised that the Chorophyll drink (my alfalfa juice) is actually good for me. I appreciate this feedback – it is useful as well as helps me keep going on the blog.

Actually, not a whole lot to talk about. Work yesterday was an incredibly long day starting promptly as 6am and going until almost 8pm. Adding in the commute, there really wasn’t any time for “me” or Decy or Nathasya … in fact, I haven’t even seen Nathasya since Sunday – and even that was only for a few minutes.

I attended a very interesting meeting yesterday. While I can’t (won’t) mention my company’s name – I can say that the information that was conveyed to us is our view of the world’s energy supply and demand outlook through 2030. Folks can find this information in the public domain if they look for it – I believe you will find it if you go to our company’s website. There are some new an interesting trends in the outlook – which is updated annually. If one looks carefully at the information … and they think about the things that our company is doing, then the pieces become much more clear both from an internal (my) perspective as well as an external (others, investors) perspective. Further, it reinforces the fact that we believe there are ample opportunities for growth in our industry … and one of the reasons that the company is looking strongly at how they manage the careers of people like me.

Yes, I am the “Old Man Morgan”. I am no longer the “young, wet behind the ears, whippersnapper with a sharp tongue”. I am a seasoned, trained, and highly capable employee. I can plan, execute, train, mentor, build. I can do many things. The question then becomes – how can the company best use my skills … that also provides me with a rewarding career and keeps me from walking out the door when I turn 55.

I have seen the demographics for our company … and I have seen the demographics for folks with my skill set. We have a huge slug of folks that are 60-65 which will be walking out the door in the next 5 years. Then, because of the severe oil market downturn of the 80s we have very few folks in their mid 40s to 60. I am 52. We do have a lot of young 20 somethings and 30 somethings coming in … but they lack the breath and depth of experience that many of us have. Bottomline is, when the 60-65 year olds leave … and it is happening in droves (but got pushed back a bit due to the 2008-9 market debacle), there will be this huge hole to fill in senior technical, commercial, and project related activities. Plus, SOMEBODY has to train all the new folks coming in and ensure that institutional knowledge is retained and passed to the next generation.

For me, I see the upcoming change in my job classification as an excellent new opportunity. Something that I believe will restore freshness to my career … something that will return me back to how I viewed my future prior to year 2000 (recall it was in 2000 that I was moved from the Business Line into an Accounting type function). Time will tell (of course) regarding how the remaining 3-13 years of my career will unfold. But at least for now, I’m not thinking about the “end game” but again about the “future”.

Ciao ciao. GBU.