Career Profile
Curt Girod: "Change is a Way of Life"

Good mentors and good performance are what took Curt Girod, in his 20s, from leading a sales team on the West Coast to the center of transformation of the company that would become Unisys. Girod was tapped by headquarters to become executive assistant to the president of the company, and he was later appointed to lead the integration teams when Burroughs and Sperry merged. In this role, he traveled the world with company chairman and former Secretary of State Michael Blumenthal.

The successful merger became a Harvard Business School case study, and Girod found himself, in his late 20s, lecturing about the case in MBA classrooms at Wharton and other schools, at an age when many of his peers were sitting in the seats. "In those days, that was the biggest merger to date, and it was viewed as fairly successful," said Girod, who is now Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Transformation Services at Unisys. "It was my first experience at Wharton, and there was a lot of curiosity from the students."

But while Girod had on-the-job experiences that many students his age still dreamed of, he had little formal business education. He had majored in Biology and French at the University of Oregon before joining the company in 1978, where he would spend the next 25 years. So he returned to Wharton as a student, becoming one of the youngest members of Wharton's 5-week Advanced Management Program (AMP) in 1988. "This was a terrific experience," he said. "I went directly into sales so I didn't go for an MBA at the time. I had only worked for one company. I had experience in marketing, strategy, operations, and other areas, but only from our company's point of view. I wanted to put some formal underpinning to that experience and learn best practices from other industries."

The AMP experience became part of a commitment to lifelong education that has brought Girod back to Wharton, in Philadelphia and San Francisco, for a series of programs for which he earned a Certificate of Professional Development from Wharton in August 2003.

Good Mentors, Good Education

How does a young manager in San Francisco early in his career attract the attention of business leaders at the East Coast headquarters 3,000 miles away? "At the time, I barely knew where headquarters was," he said. "I was just trying to do my job as well as I could." Girod ended up running the San Francisco branch, which signed some major financial clients and became the branch of the year under his leadership. That took him to headquarters for a corporate excellence award, which led to the offer of the executive assistant position.

Early on, his career was driven forward by good mentors. His first boss, a branch manager in Oregon, "was known for grooming young people," Girod said. "He was one of the better recruiters and trainers. I didn't know much about the company at the time. He sold me on why this was a better choice, and he was very helpful in the first 2 or 3 years. I've been very fortunate to have managers who were good mentors. I worked hard for them, but they were very aggressive in helping and mentoring me. Each had various strengths. You try to learn as much as you can and emulate them."

Girod noted that while some starting employees may look at salary or other benefits, finding a good mentor may be more important. "It depends on what you are after," he said. "If you are after a career, some of these things can be much more important than money."

Continuous Change, Ongoing Education

Girod also has had a commitment to continuous learning. "I'd be surprised if you talk to anyone in our business today who doesn't say the same thing: Intellectual property and people are our product," he said. "Investing in ongoing enhancement of people is a business decision, not a luxury. In this day and age, as fast moving as the economy and business are, continuous learning is absolutely mandatory."

As part of his own commitment to learning, in addition to many courses completed at Unisys University, Girod has gone back to Wharton for several programs. He completed several leadership programs run for the company at Wharton. Then, as the business shifted dramatically from hardware to consulting and other services, Girod returned to Wharton for the Competitive Marketing Strategy program and to Wharton West for Strategic Thinking and Management for Competitive Advantage. "It was a huge transformation, and that was why the subjects I took were critical for us," he said. "Strategic thinking and branding became more important as we looked at how to reposition ourselves in the market after the transformation. I was responsible for running marketing and sales operations for Enterprise Services on a worldwide basis. It is fast moving and very competitive. We wanted to make sure we were aware of current state-of-the-art best learning and practices."

The program at Wharton's San Francisco campus was an unexpected surprise, because there were many more participants from technology companies based in the region. "There were more case studies and interaction with students in companies similar to ours or aligned with our industry," he said.

He looked at a number of schools before deciding to return to Wharton. "Wharton's programs are efficient and effective. There is good continuity, and faculty do leading-edge work. Because of its reputation, the school attracts a good student base that I learn from as well. Half the learning is from the participant base."

While he has appreciated the specific business education he received at Unisys and Wharton, he also values his broad undergraduate experience at the start of his career. "Having a broader education early on is good because you immediately become niched into whatever advanced education and job experience you get into," he said. He continues to draw up on this broader background, and the year he spent in France during his junior year was very helpful in leading a global business and making the transition to assignments abroad.

Willingness To Take Risks

In addition to his commitment to education, the 48-year-old Girod — who recently swam, biked, and ran his way to the finish line of an Ironman Triathalon — also has the confidence and stamina to tackle difficult challenges and a willingness to take risks. When he was offered the position as executive assistant to the president, some colleagues cautioned against it. "Exposure works both ways," he said. "For several predecessors, under that level of scrutiny, it became their last job in the company. I was forewarned at the time. But, at that age, I was used to winning and had a lot of confidence."

More recently, he spent more than 4 years abroad leading businesses in England and Hong Kong, an experience that was energizing for himself and his family, particularly his two sons. "They were lucky to travel abroad in grade school and junior high school, and, as a family, it made us very close," he said.

In a world of continuous change, you need to be willing to transform yourself, he said. And to do that, you can never stop learning. "A commitment to change and transformation is a decision you have to make every day," he said. "Things are not going to slow down, and things are not going to stop changing. Change is a way of life now. This is true for our industry and clients. What is your comfort level with that? If you recognize that change is continuous, how do you adapt to that? Through ongoing education."

    

This month's articles:

  • Thought Leaders
    What can Larry King and Ben Franklin teach us about successful career negotiations?

  • In the Classroom
    What are the challenges facing women in leadership?

  • Career Profile
    Unisys Vice President Curt Girod credits good mentors and continuous education with advancing his career.

  • The Last Word
    Vice Dean Robert Mittelstaedt on how negotiations have become central to work.