Podcast Summary: The Ops Experts Club Podcast

Episode 72: SOPs, KPIs, and People Power — Insights from Delta Oil and Gas with Greg Thomas

Date: July 3, 2025
Guests:

• Host: Aaron (A)
• Co-host: Taran (C)
• Guest: Greg Thomas (D, President, Delta Oil and Gas)

Overview

This episode dives into operational excellence in the oil and gas sector—with Delta Oil and Gas President Greg Thomas—as the team explores how standardized processes (SOPs), key performance indicators (KPIs), and a focus on people produce lasting results, even in industries with volatile cycles. Greg shares his path from geology to oil exec, reveals behind-the-scenes stories of people development, and discusses how bringing big-industry practices to a mid-sized company transformed results.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Greg Thomas’s Background and Delta Oil and Gas

• Greg’s Journey:

  • Undergraduate in geology, then MBA in finance.
  • Entered oil and gas almost by accident, worked in natural gas trading before joining the family business (Delta) in 2002; became President in 2008.
  • [04:47] “Never thought I’d be doing this… but it’s worked out really well for me.” — Greg

• Company Structure & Locations:

  • Headquarters in Fort Worth, TX; field office in Breckenridge, TX; geologic office in Boulder, CO.
  • Multi-site structure leads to complex ops but provides flexibility and depth.

2. Operational Staffing and Stability Through Downturns

• Approach to Staff During Industry Fluctuations:

  • Delta Oil and Gas avoids layoffs, even during downturns like COVID.
  • Importance of retaining skilled field workers; focus on a cash cushion to ride out tough cycles.
  • [05:44] “If you let people go, you’re never going to find them again.” — Greg

• Types of Roles:

  • Strong technical and field focus: geologists (including Greg himself), petroleum engineers, skilled operations staff.
  • Field workers’ progression: “A job that doesn’t really require a college degree…but you can make six figures in almost immediately.” — Greg [07:59]

3. Universality of Operations + People Power

• Operations Is Operations:

  • Hosts test their theory that all operations, regardless of industry, have core universals: people, task management, and continuous refinement.
  • Greg confirms: “Yeah, I think it is true.” [07:01]

• Frontline Ops as the Backbone:

  • Most of the 45 employees are field ops.
  • “My field people are the backbone…and they are fantastic.” — Greg [07:59]

4. The Transformation: SOPs and KPIs Arrive

• Before and After:

  • Five years ago, Delta had no SOPs or KPIs.
  • Hiring a COO with big-company experience brought structure:
    • Systematic adoption of SOPs and KPIs led to an efficiency rate of 98%.
    • “Our efficiencies are up to 98% in the oil business—it’s ridiculous. We’re killing it as far as our efficiencies are going.” — Greg [09:14]
  • The COO essentially “worked himself out of a job” by building such a smooth-running system.

• Impact on the Team:

  • SOPs created confidence, clarity, and eliminated ambiguity:
    • “Training was like kind of a gray area…Now they know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing on a day to day basis.” — Greg [10:25]
    • “If it’s in your SOP, man, so we all know.” — Greg [10:57]

5. Role of Leadership: Visionary vs. Integrator

• Recognizing Skillsets:

  • Leaders (visionaries) often struggle when they micromanage or step into areas outside their expertise.
  • Greg and Aaron underscore the power of placing the right operator or integrator alongside a visionary—using EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) language.
    • “Just because you’re the leader…doesn’t mean all things should come back to you.” — Aaron [10:58]
    • “Let me come in and build [the infrastructure] out.” — Aaron, quoting the integrator role [10:58]

• Building KPIs that Matter:

  • Start with the metrics that CEOs/owners worry about most (“the big moving numbers”), then cascade down to refine further KPIs connected to SOPs.
  • “Let’s take those worries out of the room by giving somebody a metric they’re going to have to manage.” — Aaron [13:25]

6. Pay Structures: Bonuses, Ownership, and Retention

• Industry Standard Pay with Performance Bonuses:

  • Annual performance-review bonuses (typically 15%, can go higher for “rock stars,” rarely below 10%), in addition to base pay.
  • [14:52] “It’s hard to get away from that, trying to attract people… I don’t know if it would work so well in this industry.” — Greg, on KPI-based variable pay

• Unique Retention Tactic: Skin in the Game

  • Technical staff allowed to invest in projects they originate (up to 2.5%); team members on the project can invest up to 1%.
  • [17:04] “Your salary pays your bills, your working interest…is what’s going to make you rich.” — Greg
  • This aligns employee longevity with company success, creating big wins over long tenures.

• Retention in Action:

  • Many employees with Delta for 20–40 years; extremely low turnover.
  • “Institutional knowledge you just can’t build overnight.” — Greg [21:19]

7. The Value of Long-Term Employees and Institutional Knowledge

• Supporting Veteran Employees:

  • Accommodating roles for aging staff; offering consulting/part-time opportunities for retirees.
  • “Those guys are the ones who can really do…When you scratch your head and say, where is that? Oh, I’ve got a map in my head, let me show you.” — Greg [21:19]
  • “We will…change their job description and give them…something easier for the old guys to do.” — Greg [20:43]

• The Importance of Culture and Nurturing People:

  • Investing time to coach and develop people repays exponentially.
  • [22:58] “Don’t lose the ROI on your existing people by not spending the time you need to spend with them to culture them the right ways.” — Aaron

8. Memorable Moments and Quotes

• On efficiency:
  • [09:14] Greg: “Our efficiencies are up to 98% in the oil business—it’s ridiculous. We're killing it.”
• On loyalty:
  • [17:57] Greg: “It also retains them because they won't want to go anywhere else, because why would I leave when I'm killing it here?”
• On employee longevity:
  • [20:09] Greg: “I've got one 40 year employee...I've got a couple of 30 year, a lot of 20 years. I don't have much turnover.”
• On visionary missteps:
  • [10:58] Aaron: “They get out of the call and the team feels like, 'I am so confused on what I'm supposed to do with that.'”
• On the myth vs. reality of oil & gas TV:
  • [25:37] Greg: “[TV show] Land...just want to let you guys know, it's not real...just don’t believe it!”

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “If you let people go, you’re never going to find them again.”
  — Greg [05:44]

• “My field people are the backbone...that’s a job you can make six figures in almost immediately.”
  — Greg [07:59]

• “Our efficiencies are up to 98% in the oil business—it’s ridiculous. We’re killing it as far as our efficiencies are going.”
  — Greg [09:14]

• “Now they know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing on a day to day basis, on a month to month basis, on a year to year basis.”
  — Greg [10:25]

• “Just because you’re the leader of an organization doesn’t mean that all things should come back to you, or you should be the one making all decisions.”
  — Aaron [10:58]

• “Your salary is what pays your bills, your working interest…is what’s going to make you rich.”
  — Greg [17:04]

• “Don’t lose the ROI on your existing people by not spending the time you need…to culture them the right ways.”
  — Aaron [22:58]

• “Those guys are the ones that can really do...when you scratch your head and say, ‘Where is that?’, they've got a map in their head.”
  — Greg [21:19]

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [04:47] — Greg’s entry into the industry
• [05:44] — Staffing stability during industry downturns
• [09:14] — Transformation with SOPs/KPIs, massive efficiency gains
• [10:25] — SOPs providing role clarity
• [13:25] — KPI best practices for visionaries
• [14:52] — Industry pay structures and thoughts on performance-based pay
• [17:04] — Employees as project investors, building loyalty
• [20:09] — Employee retention and long tenures
• [21:19] — Value and nurturing of institutional knowledge
• [25:37] — Reality vs. TV show myths about oil & gas

Conclusion

This episode is a masterclass in operations leadership as Greg Thomas reveals how bringing structure, metrics, and human focus have secured Delta Oil and Gas’s long-term stability and growth. The conversation underscores the universal importance of SOPs, the strategic use of KPIs, and—above all—the critical role of people, loyalty, and culture in sustainable business success. Whether you’re in oil & gas or any other industry, these insights are both practical and powerful.