--- title: Innovation is About People and Culture, Not Tech description: Innovation is About People and Culture, Not Tech image: https://www.allyenergy.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Innovation-p2sbly4n8awp9jets72z2ywvgsxhutwngqys844i2w.jpeg --- - [BUILD WITH US](https://www.allyenergy.com/work-with-us) - [GALLERY](http://ally.photos) [![Company logo](https://www.allyenergy.com/hubfs/MJTW%20Assets/logos/ally-energy-logo-2.svg)](https://www.allyenergy.com/) - [ABOUT](https://www.allyenergy.com/about) - [INSIGHTS](https://www.allyenergy.com/resources) - OUR BUILDS - [Houston Energy & Climate Week](http://www.climateweekhouston.com) - [Energy Workforce of the Future](https://www.energyworkforceofthefuture.com/) - [The GRIT Awards & Best Energy Workplaces](https://www.allyenergy.com/2025-grit-awards-best-energy-workplaces-finalists) - [Energy Capital Markets Day on Wall Street](https://www.allyenergy.com/ally-tcs-worley-new-york-marathon-team) - [THE BEE SUITE™](http://www.thebeesuite.com) - 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[Running](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/tag/running) - [Social Influence](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/tag/social-influence) - [Storytelling & Personal Branding](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/tag/storytelling-personal-branding) - [The Voices Of Energy](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/tag/the-voices-of-energy) - [Uncategorized](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/tag/uncategorized) - [Wellbeing & Self Care](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/tag/wellbeing-self-care) - [Workforce Development](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/tag/workforce-development) Subscribe Select blog topic Career Search Change & Resilience Climate & Sustainability Creativity & Originality Initiative Critical Thinking & Analysis Digital Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Emotional Intelligence Energy Insights Entrepreneurship Intrapreneurship Explore ESG Female Execs of Climate Tech Financial Skills GRIT Giving Back Grit Awards Growth change challenge leadership Inspiration Leadership Marathon Member Insights Negotiation Parenting & Family Problem Solving & Ideation Race in the Workplace Recognition Relationships, Conflict, Power and Office Politics Running Social Influence Storytelling & Personal Branding The Voices Of Energy Uncategorized Wellbeing & Self Care Workforce Development # Innovation is About People and Culture, Not Tech Written by: [Katie Mehnert](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/author/katie-mehnert) - [Share](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allyenergy.com%2Fblog%2Finnovation-is-about-people-and-culture-not-tech) - [Share](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allyenergy.com%2Fblog%2Finnovation-is-about-people-and-culture-not-tech&title=Innovation%20is%20About%20People%20and%20Culture%2C%20Not%20Tech&summary=Innovation+is+About+People+and+Culture%2C+Not+Tech&source=) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/home?status=Innovation+is+About+People+and+Culture%2C+Not+Tech%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allyenergy.com%2Fblog%2Finnovation-is-about-people-and-culture-not-tech) - [Watch](https://vimeo.com/allyenergy) ![](https://www.allyenergy.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Innovation-p2sbly4n8awp9jets72z2ywvgsxhutwngqys844i2w.jpeg) Last week I had the chance to meet with 300+ professionals, executives, and entrepreneurs at the first SPE Energy Dot conference. The panel discussion was geared at looking at a topic near and dear to me: [the workforce of the future.](https://allyenergy.com/op-ed-capitol-hill-hearing-shows-why-energy-sector-needs-diversity/) Innovation was a theme, and while there were plenty of technology companies, corporations, and startups represented, I was pleasantly surprised we kept coming back to two key topics: people and culture. There's talk of innovation and then there's action. ## Innovation is not new to our industry. The wildcatters and risk takers who built Energy 1.0 built something great for the industrial age. But climate change, energy poverty, and supply disruptions, all pose real challenges [as we build Energy 2.0.](https://info.allyenergy.com/culturewall-0) We spoke about what it meant to innovate successfully. For me, it's about creating an **end to end experience** that gives our people the space to take risks and create new breakthroughs. ## Three things you need to drive innovation and energy companies that are making it happen ### Innovation is about people and should be supported from the top Earlier this year, Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO of Baker Hughes GE outlined his vision [for a net zero carbon future by 2050](https://www.bhge.com/news/bhge-commits-reducing-co2-equivalent-emissions-net-zero-2050-and-partnering-customers-advance-low) with an interim target of 50% emission reduction by 2030. BHGE's [LUMEN](https://www.bhge.com/news/bhge-commits-reducing-co2-equivalent-emissions-net-zero-2050-and-partnering-customers-advance-low) is a full-suite of methane monitoring and inspection solutions capable of streaming live data from sensors to a cloud-based software dashboard for real-time results.  [Sak Nayagam,](https://www.linkedin.com/in/saknayagam/) Growth & Strategy Director, Digital says there's a lot digital technology can do to accelerate the low carbon energy transition. Nayagam brings the focus back from technology to people. "It's important we focus on the right ecosystems and partnerships in order to bring the right kind of mindsets, culture, and behaviors to drive optimization." ### Encourage and reward taking risks and failure. [Equinor Innovate is a dedicated channel](https://www.equinor.com/en/how-and-why/innovate.html) to challenge-driven open innovation. The company is connecting with institutions and companies large and small that can help find solutions to concrete business challenges. Challenges are posted on a regular basis and typically run in campaigns for periods between 6 to 12 weeks. The Equinor team includes professionals dedicated to reviewing and exploring potential next steps for working with solvers to develop and implement solutions that drive a low carbon future. ### Put a real focus on customer and employee experience. Our society and customers are demanding bigger and bolder things of our industry as are industry employees. Deep in the heart of Texas, CPS Energy is the nation’s largest municipally owned natural gas and electric company, providing service to 840,000 electric and 352,000 natural gas customers in the Greater San Antonio area. Paula Gold-Williams, the CEO of [CPS Energy](http://cpsenergy.com/) leads the 3,000 member team with the vision she has coined, “***People First***,” where the company seeks to deliver value to its "customers, community, and employees into a new age of energy solutions." C[PS Energy recently hosted a delegation of leaders from Calgary and Dubai](https://newsroom.cpsenergy.com/our-successes-are-generating-interest-from-around-the-world/)to share best practices and regularly puts a focus on innovation, transformation and customer and employee experience. "Understanding  the utility businesses is undergoing a transformation change, we want to be on the leading edge of that transition," said Williams. ### To get a copy of our Energy 2.0 manifesto, [click here.](https://info.allyenergy.com/culturewall-0) ## Related Posts [Energy Insights The London Stock Exchange Snubs Big Oil and Gas Producers Katie Mehnert](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/the-london-stock-exchange-snubs-big-oil-and-gas-producers) [![Marjorie Nogueira on teamwork, bridges, and raising triathletes](https://www.allyenergy.com/hubfs/Copy%20of%20Blog%20Billboard%20Banner%20-%20831%20X%20640%20(2).jpg) Change & Resilience, Climate & Sustainability Marjorie Nogueira on teamwork, bridges, and raising triathletes Josh Levs](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/energy-leader-marjorie-nogueira-on-marathon-teamwork-bridges-and-raising-triathletes) [![ALLY Energy Names Finalists for GRIT Awards & Best Energy Workplaces](https://www.allyenergy.com/hubfs/GRIT%202022/GRIT-Awards-2022_Website-Banner%20(4).jpg) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion ALLY Energy Names Finalists for GRIT Awards & Best Energy Workplaces ![](https://www.allyenergy.com/hubfs/Blog%20Authors/ally_one.jpeg) ALLY](https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/ally-energy-names-finalists-for-grit-awards-best-energy-workplaces) ### Subscribe Here! 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All rights reserved. - [Help](https://www.allyenergy.com/help) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.allyenergy.com/privacy-policy) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Katie Mehnert", "url" : "https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/author/katie-mehnert" }, "dateModified" : "2021-10-10T17:56:33.568Z", "datePublished" : "2019-08-19T00:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Innovation is About People and Culture, Not Tech", "image" : [ "https://www.allyenergy.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Innovation-p2sbly4n8awp9jets72z2ywvgsxhutwngqys844i2w.jpeg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.allyenergy.com/blog/innovation-is-about-people-and-culture-not-tech", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.allyenergy.com/hubfs/MJTW%20Assets/logos/ally-energy-logo-2.svg" }, "name" : "ALLY Energy " } } ```