This week is a very special week for us here at Onward. In the past two years, the oil and gas industry (as well as the whole world) has been turned upside down due to the pandemic. But this week for us here at Onward signifies our 11th year of operation, and most importantly, it signifies our perseverance, teamwork, and resilience.
Over the past couple of weeks there have been some very insightful employee spotlights on our blog pages which can be found here and here. This week we wanted to do one as well but the employee in question is not an employee at all. In fact, the individual we interviewed and gained so much Onward knowledge from is a man whom this day may mean the most to. That man is Autie McVicker, founder and president of Onward Incorporated. In an interview which was planned for 20 minutes but lasted way more than double that, we asked Autie questions ranging from what this Anniversary means to him, to where he sees the company in 20 years’ time.
Autie started his career in oil and gas in 1974 and a lot of the work that he has done over the years and especially with Onward has revolved around trying to give people the opportunity to be the best that they can be. Regarding our 11th Anniversary, Autie said this,
“Our existence is statistically improbable, in the United States and for companies like ours, we look at 65-month lifecycles as being a success, so for us making more than 10 years is fantastic. The nice folks in Onward and in our client base have found use for us and this means that we appear to be able to remain a bit longer as well!”
When Autie first started this consulting company it was all about finding opportunities to provide a better and higher quality service that is fantastic at dealing and working with people. The key for Onward was to bridge the gap between the leadership teams and the functioning personnel on the field for our clients in a way that no other company could. Keeping people first, deeper cheaper, safer smoother, miles and smiles are all words Autie used to describe what his vision and plan for Onward was and 11 years later, he is satisfied with the work and achievements the company made for its clients and people.
What has been Autie’s proudest moment at Onward in the past 11 years?
“I have been asked this before and it is very difficult, if you want to put something on a piece of paper, it’s probably when I was told that our folks helped and consulted a mid-size oil company improve their total recordable incident rate so much that the officer of the company wanted to re check the records he thought we were cheating. Those are great things”
Of course, we all know the Oil and Gas industry and markets can be quite cyclical and are guided by certain metrics and prices. Due to that, Onward of course has faced challenges along the way but Autie has found that a big reason as to why the company is still standing strong is due to its people looking past the cycle and towards opportunity for our clients. That is why Autie’s advice to the whole team is to look at where the company was and where it is right now. All this success can be attributed to “staying with it” and “being resilient”. Another recent major challenge that we and the whole world faced was the pandemic. This pandemic has been especially cruel to Oil and Gas but for Autie and for Onward, it has again shown how adaptable this company and its employees are.
“I am amazed at how we held things together, by utilizing new technologies and adapting to working remotely, we have managed to still hold the same bonds, the same communication, and the same relationships that we had prior to the pandemic and that makes me very proud. Especially of the work that Nina Spencer, Ryan Courtney, and Nathan Lord, have done to ensure we keep it together through this pandemic”
Looking into the future of the company, Autie believes that “we can be what we need to be as long as people are kept first and as long as we keep our integrity.” And this is the best way we can continue to provide an excellent and personalized service to our customers. Speaking with Autie considering this 11th Anniversary was not only a pleasure, but also an insight into the 11 years of the company and something we could not even think to summarize in one blog. There will be more videos and information coming out from that interview so stay tuned on our pages for more but for now, thank you for reading and happy 11th Anniversary Onward Consulting!