3. On Curiosity, Learning, and Not Getting Locked In with Tim Galpin
Overview
In this episode, I’m joined by friend Tim Galpin who is currently Senior Lecturer of Strategy & Innovation and Academic Director of the MBA program at Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. He also consults with Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies in the areas of strategy formulation and execution, M&A due diligence and integration, business restructuring, and organizational culture change. Tim has spent the majority of his career both in strategy consulting and in academia as a business professor.
I was interested in talking to Tim about his career trajectory, knowing it hasn’t been one note and that he transitioned to a new phase later in his career having an early vision for what he would do. What shows up as a subtle but important lesson is how we aren’t defined by where we start out or our early successes, or lack thereof. Tim is the first of his family to go to college. He almost failed out after one year, yet today teaches at Oxford, just two generations after one side of his family left the U.K. for the United States. The luck of a professor who mentored him also gave him inspiration for where he could take his career. Tim has an amazing success story, one fueled by the love of learning.
Through the sharing of his own experiences, we learn the importance of being curious, continually learning, and not getting yourself locked in to a lifestyle that limits your flexibility and options.
Thanks for sharing your career story and wisdom with us, Tim!
More about Our Guest
Tim Galpin is a best-selling author, Senior Lecturer of Strategy and Innovation and Academic Director of the MBA program at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Audiences of Tim’s speaking engagements and participants in his courses come away with practical know-how, pragmatic actions, and field-tested tools and frameworks to immediately increase cash flow and transform their organizations.
With over three decades of international professional experience as a management consultant and senior executive, combined with his academic experiences since 2005, Tim Galpin regularly consults to boards and senior management in various industries around the world. Tim helps management to successfully plan and implement complex efforts, including strategy formulation and execution, M&A due diligence and integration, business restructuring, and organizational culture change. His clients have included numerous Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies including: Verizon, Newmont Mining, Harrods, UBS, Bank of America, Woodward, Tampa Electric, Macrovision, and Cargill.
Tim has authored five management books which have been published in five languages. Tim has also authored numerous articles for publications including: Mergers & Acquisitions, Strategy and Leadership, Journal of Business Strategy, The Handbook of Business Strategy, World Journal of Entrepreneurship, and Corporate Governance. Tim Galpin’s latest book is Winning at the Acquisition Game, published by Oxford University Press.
As a recognized expert on strategy formulation and execution, mergers and acquisitions, workforce productivity improvement, organizational transformation, and culture change, Tim is often asked by the business media to provide insights on these topics. He has been featured on CNBC, Reuters Television, National Public Radio, and quoted in various publications throughout the world.
Tim holds a Ph.D. in Organization Development from UCLA and is a former Instructor at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
Topics Covered
We get an overview of Tim's career from starting college to his Ph.D. to the corporate world and ultimately to academia.
Tim mentions the book, “Half Life,” that explains how the first half of a career is about making money and the second half is about making a difference and giving back. That’s been Tim’s approach.
In 2005, Tim switched from consulting to teaching at an opportune time and with intention dialed back his cost of living to accommodate a different lifestyle. He learned and experienced the reality that time and flexibility are currency just like money.
Tim talks about the importance of not getting yourself locked in to a lifestyle so you can set yourself up for more flexibility if you desire it later in life and for your career.
We talk about how for some of us we can be corporate loyalists and work at the same place for 20-30 years, while others of us find later in our careers that priorities change and that boredom sets in with our current work.
He covers P.I.E. (Performance, Image, and Exposure), noting that Performance is usually only 10% of what drives work success. Find your niche, where you can shine, and think about your image and getting exposure.
Other advice: always be curious, ask questions, invest in continual learning, be willing to take a risk, do what you love and the money will follow (noting that what you love might change over time), and the fact that it is never too late to change one’s path. There are always options for new possibilities. But don’t forget, while opportunities will be there, you also have to make your way; you have to do your part to meet those opportunities.
Resources Mentioned
Website: timgalpin.com
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3. On Curiosity, Learning, and Not Getting Locked In with Tim Galpin
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