BY GUS MORGAN

In 1991, Brad Olson found himself in New Orleans, interviewing for an offshore operator job with Conoco after receiving high marks on an engineering test.

The four senior production foremen conducting the interview wanted to know: “What do you think about safety and the environment?”

Brad’s answer did not turn out as intended, as his inability to pronounce certain words marred his reply. Once again, his speech disorder had caused him to settle for an imprecise word, much to his dismay.

Although frustrated and embarrassed by his inability to fluently articulate his thoughts, Brad soldiered on, stammering his way through the interview.

When asked why he should be hired over the other candidates, Brad was able to convey a basic message: “I'm a hard worker, and I'm going to be there early.”

After shaking hands, Brad departed, dejected by his performance, convinced he’d blown his chance at the job, another gut punch to his self-image.

“At least it’s over with,” he thought.

That interview still plays on a loop in Brad’s head.

“I wouldn't have hired myself that day.”

Much to Brad’s surprise, when he got home from the interview, Brad found a message on his answering machine. It was a representative from Conoco’s human resources department, asking him to call them on Monday.

“They offered me the job.”

After joining Conoco — which later became ConocoPhillips — he went on to work in offshore operations for 16 years, helping with company projects in places such as China and Algeria.

“They hired a guy who couldn’t talk. They took a chance on me. I was a long shot, someone who nobody would have bet on. With my speech issues, you wouldn’t have hired me for filing papers, much less for being an offshore operator. I’m just so grateful.”

Fast forward to 2024, and Brad is now a Lower 48 HSE/Operations trainer, traveling to different offices and field locations such as the Eagle Ford, Permian and Bakken. He teaches employees how to safely operate field equipment, providing them with foundational compliance training and showing them how to apply learning organization principles. He also teaches them about ​personal and process safety.

In 2023, Brad was part of a ConocoPhillips team that trained over 500 people and hosted over 40 classes.

“My passion for teaching has allowed me to beat this fear of stammering and excel despite my awkwardness. I'm honored to be a part of the Learning & Competencies team. I could not do my job without my co-instructor Chuck Hamilton and learning advisors Josh Hill and Chris Buchanan.”

Brad’s sense of humor, vulnerability and expertise make him a favored instructor.

“Now my job is a full-time stammerer who just enjoys teaching. I like to make complex things super easy to understand. When I teach, I know how they're thinking because I've been in operations all my life.”

While Brad still has his “bad days” trying to communicate orally, he plows through. Such determination does not go unnoticed by his trainees. 

“They can tell from my stammering that I care enough to be vulnerable, to be embarrassed, which I really don't feel now at my age.”

Brad knows what it’s like to be different, to be judged by others based on a disability, in his case, a speech impairment.

“Everyone has some sort of problem. Perhaps they hobble. Maybe they have a scar on their face. Maybe they have some sort of speech issue like me. Maybe they lack self-confidence. Or perhaps they don’t make a good first impression. Don’t overlook them.”

Sometimes, all you need is a chance, Brad said, someone to believe in you.

“Conoco believed in me. And they’ve supported me all these years. It’s been a great honor working for a company who rolled the dice on me. I’m humbled and grateful that ConocoPhillips has allowed me to be a part of this team.”