I often talk about our self-taught, tribal ways of operating. We are a tribal industry, and the tribalism of our industry makes us equally great and not so great.
What is tribalism? Behavior and attitudes that stem from strong loyalty to one’s group. We belong to the elite tribe of drilling professionals. Our tribe is responsible for discovering the unknown to provide water, natural resources, geotechnical information and installation of critical infrastructure. The greatest aspect of our tribe is our ability to adapt to challenging conditions by applying alternative methods, designing custom tooling or engineering a new solution. The not-so-great aspect of our tribe is when we shift from safe, smart solutions to completing the job by any means necessary.