Case Study
A Bold Shift To Fuel Sustained Economic Growth
At a Glance
In 2017, Howard Energy Partners engaged with Stagen to transform their outlook from a small company built on a meaningful endeavor into a purpose-driven enterprise. The transformation process while working with Stagen revealed opportunities for realignment and an evaluation of the company’s guiding principles. Through Chairman and CEO Mike Howard’s unwavering commitment to clarifying purpose and values, investing in leadership development, and driving cultural transformation, the company is now stronger than ever—achieving higher EBITDA and the organizational capacity to complete $1.1 billion in M&A transactions in 2024.
Discover
The Challenge
As the owner and operator of a critical energy infrastructure platform across Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Mexico, Howard Energy Partner’s culture reflected the typical short-term transactional mindset of the industry. With high-performing assets and strong profitability, there was not an urgency to change—despite the CEO’s aspiration for transformation.
Design
The Intervention
The engagement began with a series of executive team retreats and work sessions to design an initial 52-week program for the top 20 leaders. After establishing a common language and equipping participants with frameworks and tools to enhance execution, the focus shifted to engaging hundreds of employees in clarifying corporate values and defining a shared purpose. In the process, fractures and misalignments between where the company was and the aspirations of what it could be came to light, culminating in the reconfiguration of the management team. Additionally, a new strategy was adopted in the context of an indefinite time horizon for the business.
Deliver
The Results
Howard Energy Partners bridged their original five guiding principles that the company was built upon to their current employee-developed core values, now truly operating as a meaningful endeavor. The team built strong trust and aligned around a new long-term strategic direction rooted in the purpose of delivering positive energy. Before investing in people and organizational development, Howard Energy Partners had its “head down,” focused on working in the business. After the investment, the organization was able to keep its “head up,” focusing on working on the business and planning decades in the future. As a result, EBITDA increased, and the capacity was created to enter an acquisition phase—culminating in $1.1 billion in M&A transactions in 2024.
The Impact
Over a dedicated period of 7 years, Howard Energy Partners institutionalized corporate values, infused their purpose of delivering positive energy into the company’s strategy, and cascaded leadership development to all levels in the organization. As Howard Energy Partners looks towards the future of energy, the company acknowledges and embraces two truths: first, the ability to supply reliable and abundant energy is only attainable today through the use of fossil fuels; and second, the market needs to explore carbon-better solutions to evolve the energy mix and provide for future generations.
Howard Energy’s Purpose
Howard Energy Partners holds a profound sense of duality. While climate change poses a significant challenge, eradicating energy poverty by 2050 represents greater significance to our world than achieving net-zero emissions – and it is achievable with available tools and resources. As a team, Howard Energy Partners accepts the challenge of addressing the complexities ahead with intellectual honesty and completeness. This is their meaningful endeavor.