Cracking the Code: Changing thinking changes the future
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One of the things I like about athletics is lessons can be learned and changes made quickly. Learning from a mistake in business and fixing it may take weeks or months. In sports, we can see results in days, hours or minutes.
On Tuesday evening, our high school soccer team played our longtime rival in Huntington. They were undefeated and ranked No. 1 in AA in the state. We were 3-5-1 entering the game. But in our last five games, we outscored our opponents 14-5 and lost to the No. 1 undefeated AAA team 2-1 in a hard-fought game.
On Tuesday, our rival dominated at the beginning. They are an excellent passing team. For the first 10 minutes, we could not get the ball past midfield. We had difficulty connecting a pass. They won every contested ball. I sensed we were intimidated by their size and undefeated record.
Our defense led by our goalkeeper stayed strong. The longer our opponent failed to score, the more confident we became. We started to connect passes and get some shots at their goal. Just before halftime, our opponent got a rebound off our goalkeeper's save and put it in for a goal.
At halftime, our boys were disappointed but confident. We reminded them of recent wins and success against other ranked teams to fuel their confidence. Coach made some adjustments. Early in the half we took control, getting shots on their goal and soon the tying goal. We stayed aggressive, just missing on shots right at the end of the contest.
A tie with the No. 1-ranked team felt like a win. It built belief in the ability to win moving forward. The difference between the first half and second half was our team's thinking. Believing we could win, they out-hustled our rival and played as a team. The boys let go of old beliefs, changing their future for the better.
This isn't just true in sports. Negative thinking and holding on to past failures destroys opportunity. The West Virginia Energy Office says 92% of West Virginia's natural gas is exported to other states, creating high-wage jobs there. Pennsylvania is exporting 75% of their natural gas, and Ohio only 34%. Ohio and Pennsylvania use natural gas to generate approximately 75% of their electricity. West Virginia uses coal to generate 90% of its electricity. This is changing with new natural gas power generation under construction in West Virginia.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since 2019, West Virginia's manufacturing growth is stagnant, down approximately 3,000 jobs. This will change with projects like Nucor Steel under construction in Mason County. Pennsylvania has lost over 12,000 manufacturing jobs since 2019. As of August, Ohio has added over 13,000 manufacturing jobs since 2019. Cincinnati and Columbus are leading the way. We visit Columbus monthly. It is booming with new buildings and highway construction.
Ohio has taken advantage of their natural gas resources to create high-wage manufacturing jobs rather than export most of its natural gas. Many of the products we imported during the pandemic like paper products and surgical gloves are now manufactured in Ohio. Intel will soon be making microchips, currently being imported. Intel came to Ohio for dependable, economical energy.
We can learn a lesson from the coal industry to change our thinking. For decades West Virginia exported most of its coal to other states and countries, who got the high-wage manufacturing jobs. The coal was owned by out-of-state companies. West Virginians were left with holes in the ground. There are some jobs in power generation and steel. Even these declined. The owner of West Virginia's natural gas is primarily West Virginia landowners who get royalty payments, boosting local economies and adding to tax revenues. The largest natural gas companies in the USA are in the Shale Crescent USA Region. These companies pay state taxes and property taxes to counties.
If more natural gas stayed in West Virginia and the Shale Crescent region, it would create manufacturing jobs and generate electricity for use here. Sending most of our natural gas and power to the Gulf Coast, Virginia and the Carolinas creates high-wage jobs there. These states cannot give big enough incentive packages to offset increased energy and raw material costs manufacturers. Companies expanding to these states will pay increased energy costs for the life of their plants. Historically, each manufacturing job creates three to five indirect jobs in sectors like retail, construction, healthcare, education, restaurant and entertainment.
The Shale Crescent organization tells manufacturing companies in the USA and around the world about the advantages of being in the middle of the largest economy in the world and on top of one-third of the USA's natural gas. The only country producing more natural gas than Shale Crescent USA is Russia.
Several companies are coming to SCUSA for site visits this fall. SCUSA connects these companies to state economic development people in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to work their magic and close the deal using economic incentives. Most of the world is energy poor. There is no other place in the world where a company can be in the center of their customers and on top of the energy and feedstock needed for manufacturing.
The USA is a big country. Foreign companies know where New York City, Disney World, Hollywood and Texas are. They have no idea where our region is or the abundant natural gas here. Manufacturers don't know that, in Virginia or the Carolinas, they will be using SCUSA's natural gas at a much higher price due to transportation costs. The Shale Crescent USA organization creates awareness and has successfully changed the thinking of many companies.
The SCUSA was once the manufacturing center of the USA. It will be again. Ohio shows how to make it happen. West Virginia is making progress. Just like our high school team, everything starts with how we think. Meaningful actions follow. We do not need to repeat the mistakes of the past. Changing our thinking can change thousands of lives for the better.
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Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a master's in environmental engineering and more than 40 years of experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker and author of four books and many published articles.