Author: mrhensonllc

Sometimes a leader has to take responsibility, even when it may reflect poorly on them.  I learned a few lessons about accountability and responsibility during one of my positions at Chevron. First, a little background.  When I served as General Manager for North America Supply Chain in Chevron’s Global Lubricants organization (2005-2006), I had responsibility […]

Question: Is incident command/emergency response the right place for a servant leader? Early in my Chevron career, I managed a small group that watched over marine (barge) operations in the US West Coast (UCWC).  Part of my role included serving on the worldwide spill response advisory team.  I got the honor of attending a seven-day […]

I recently ran across the following quote from Anne Lamott: “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”  When I read that quote, I was actually in the middle of an extended time of “unplugging” from my normal routine.  My family and I headed to our property in […]

It’s been a while since I published on my blog.  I believe it’s been over three months.  If you followed my posts, you may have been wondering where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing, or if I’ve given up on writing.  Well, as Arnold said in “The Terminator” movie – I’m back! What have I […]

Late last year, I had the honor and privilege of spending three weeks with my then 90-year-old father.  My wife and I purchased a house and some acreage in East Tennessee, and I wanted to show Dad the property.  He lives in north Texas, so I flew to meet him and then drove him the […]

The past few years, there’s been a lot of talk and writing (books, articles, blogs) about the topic of balancing work and life.  What exactly is “work/life balance” and can you actually balance competing demands of a career with your personal life?  I’d like to add my opinion to the mix, starting with a story. […]

According to dictionary.com, the definition of indispensable is: Adjective Absolutely necessary, essential, or requisite Incapable of being disregarded or neglected Noun A person or thing that is indispensable. I have heard it said that the secret to success is to make yourself indispensable at your job, career, or vocation.  As a teenager, I accepted that.  […]

I am a big World War II history buff.  One of my favorite books, “Band of Brothers” by Stephen Ambrose was made into a wonderful HBO series.  If you’ve seen this series, or have read the book, you know who Dick Winters is.  If not, Dick Winters was one of the first officers of Easy […]

“When something bad happens to you, you have a choice to be bitter or better.  There’s only one letter difference between those two words, but a world of difference between the response.”  I don’t remember where I heard this, but was profoundly changed by this approach to dealing with bad outcomes.  I’ve used this concept […]

As a leader, who is a Christian, I strongly believe in divine intervention and divine appointments.   On Monday, May 21, 2018, I was on the receiving end of a divine appointment.   I had just enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my family.  My girls (wife, two daughters, and granddaughter) spent over three days of […]