Contemplating challenges within and beyond his organization, Thomas Doyle took full advantage of the opportunity to enroll in the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School (HBS) in 2012. Below, he explains how the program helped him make the transition from finance to his current role.
I expected AMP to be solely academic, but that wasn't the case. The program gave me many new skills and insights and also reinforced ideas I was already implementing. One big a-ha moment came when I realized why I'd always felt comfortable in negotiations: I'd instinctively focused on value. If both parties in a negotiation understand what is of value to the other, then it's only a matter of discussing whether or not they are prepared to exchange that value. Once they get to the core of that question, negotiations become very easy.
Aside from negotiations, one of the curriculum highlights was economics. When I was in college, I hated economics, but HBS changed my view completely. Strategy was another highlight. When I started my new role, I was glad to be able to draw on one of the books distributed in AMP, The First 90 Days, along with the faculty's discussion about the lifecycle stages a company goes through and how a leader needs to have different skills and use different approaches at each stage. That lesson stayed with me and has been extremely helpful.
When I went back to my job in the life insurance industry, the targets were the same, but I was more sharply focused on how to achieve them. I had a better understanding of the process and the value.
AMP also helped me communicate much more effectively with employees. For example, my immediate task upon returning to work was to wind down part of the business. That was difficult, because we had to dismiss a number of employees. I realized it was very useful to describe what was happening objectively in terms of the company's lifecycle—to be able to say, in a straightforward and credible way, "We're not in a growth phase, we're not in a turnaround phase, we're in a crisis exit phase, and we're winding down. Here's what that means." Overall, AMP helped me complete the process more effectively—and more efficiently.
I took a new position a few years after completing AMP. My search was very structured, in part because AMP had helped me understand my own competencies more clearly. I analyzed what was happening in the market to figure out who might need what I had to offer, what role I might play, and how I could create value. The new position I took was a great fit for me. I developed an M&A segment that allowed the market to more effectively notice our company. We've grown three or fourfold in 24 months. It's been the most successful phase of my career so far.
This new role brings together many pieces of my AMP learning—including the focus on value. If you can't focus on value in an M&A deal, you’ll make a bad deal—and you'll take too long to find out that it’s a bad deal. You need to incorporate that understanding of value into the negotiation and into the due diligence process. As part of that value analysis, you need to understand fully where the company is in its lifecycle.
I now have five different jobs in parallel. In addition to my current role at FWU Group, I'm the CFO/COO for two insurance companies, I'm CEO of a financing company, and I'm on the board of an investment company. I travel like mad, and I work more than I ever worked before. But I'm able to make it work, in part because AMP helped me understand how to focus effectively.
I was already on my way to becoming a general manager, but AMP helped me make that transition more quickly. I am still surprised that I built up a business segment from scratch, and made it a success without initially believing that would be my forte or my strength. I envisioned myself a CFO or COO—not as someone who could build a new business. I thought that would come from marketing, or products, or distribution. I find that shift fascinating because without really knowing how to start a business from the ground up, I used the skills I had learned in AMP, and it worked.
I really enjoyed being with people from many different disciplines and all parts of the globe. HBS does a great job creating groups with the right mix of people. I particularly appreciated the cultural exchanges that took place during the international evenings.
One unexpected part of the learning for me—and something HBS did very well—was to bring people together from different regions and industries and instill in us the importance of networking, staying in contact, and helping one another. I've contacted people in my AMP group when I’ve needed help, and I've also helped others with information and contacts.
Over the years, my AMP group has found multiple ways to maintain and build on our relationships. Every two years, our AMP cohort gets together for a reunion somewhere in the world, including Istanbul, Bangkok, and Scandinavia. We have plans for future reunions in South Africa and Shanghai. The group attending these reunions keeps getting bigger—in part because of social media. People who did not go can see how much fun we’re having, so they want to join us for the next one.
