Sir John Timpson CBE is one of the UKs most successful family business entrepreneurs. Sir John delivered the opening keynote speech at our 2025 Annual Conference. Afterwards, Sir John spoke to FBUK’s Martin Greig.
For the last 27 years, Sir John Timpson CBE, has not told anyone what to do, at least not in his capacity as Chairman and Director of a family business which has become one of Britain’s largest and most successful.
Not telling people what to do is one of just three rules that all employees of Timpson Group are expected to observe. The other two are: Look the part (wear the uniform, turn up on time) and put the money in the till!
These rules are fundamental to Sir John’s philosophy of upside down management – a philosophy he introduced years ago when he removed the company’s Head Office (the building remains but it is no longer called the Head Office) and the role of managers was transformed in one of supporting and empowering front-line colleagues to deliver outstanding customer service.
“We do things differently at Timpson. We are a retail services businesses which is about people serving people. We have a lot of very good day to day managers and they succeed by looking after colleagues, not by telling them what to do.”
Every Timpson shop displays a notice carrying a message from Sir John:
The colleagues in this shop have my complete authority to do whatever they want to give you an amazing service.
It is a message that conveys a culture of trust in people and values that runs through the heart of Timpson Group – a culture which has been pivotal in creating one of the country’s best-known, and loved, family business.
History
Sir John became a Director of Timpson in 1969. His first role in the business was buying women’s fashion shoes – a “juicy role” as he recalls, not too high up in the business but one he found great fun. “You might think I have not got an ounce of fashion style in me but I worked out how to do it. It was like playing a game, like doing a crossword puzzle every day. And I think I was quite good at it.
“But I am someone who works on instinct and I had not realised how much I do that until someone drew a cartoon of me. Everyone else [in the picture] was sitting looking at budgets and marketing reports while I was just sitting looking into a crystal ball.”
Cartoon characters are very important at Timpsons (more about that below). What isn’t very important however, are budgets and marketing reports. In fact, they do not exist. The family business does not produce budget forecasts, there are no KPIs, they do not advertise or conduct market research and Board meetings last no longer than two hours.
“When I was at Barclays, Board meetings went on for two days with lots of people reporting on decks that went on and on. We just do not do that sort of stuff. I mean, we do not do budgets because I cannot see the point of them.”
Instead, at 82 years of age, Sir John spends his time visiting hundreds of colleagues at Timpson shops up and down the country getting to know them and hearing how things are going where it matters most.
“It is the thing the makes the difference. Our success depends on the people who work in our shops. Everything else we do is really just backing them up – doing the things that makes it as easy as possible for them to deliver the service.”
Culture and Values
To help reward colleagues and create a special culture within the business, Timpson runs a myriad of schemes to say “well done” and “thank you.” From offering personal loans to those in financial trouble, incentives to stop smoking, meals out, football tickets, scratch cards, paying for driving lessons, a free weekly lottery with prizes of up to £1,000 and a programme to make colleagues “Dreams Come True.”
When this particular scheme was launched in 2013, Timpson committed to making one colleague’s dreams come true. Every month it now funds many more including everything from dream holidays to weddings in Las Vegas and several divorces. “They have never been cheap dreams” quips Sir John.
Timpson also employs a Director of Happiness. A “magic angel” in Sir John’s words who, despite her title, spends most of her time supporting colleagues who are in distress.
Understanding this unique culture is key to Timpson’s continuity. Maintaining it is so important that the company no longer hires external candidates into area management teams preferring instead to promote those who already understand what makes the company tick.
“We are still smarting from an appointment we made several years ago” recalls Sir John, “a person from another business who brought new ideas and an old style of management. That person cost us a lot of money and upset many colleagues in the process.”
Positive Personalities
Timpson has also stopped hiring skilled key cutters and shoe repairers preferring to hire people with positive personalities that fit with the culture and values of the business.
Sir John has devised a set of Mr Men cartoon characters for the purpose of interviewing prospective candidates. Rather than grill them on their work history and the detail in their CV, the interviewer simply ticks the box of the Mr Man character most like the person sitting opposite them. “It may not be a process that gains the approval of most HR Directors, but it works for us” says Sir John.
The process has been crucial in enabling Timpson to proactively recruit ex-offenders, something for which Sir John and his son James have, quite rightly, won many plaudits. About 500 colleagues have joined Timpson directly from Prison. Many have been with the business for more than 10 years and several have progressed to important management roles.
Sir John believes that being a family business has helped them to have the courage and vision to employ ex-offenders.
“I met a guy recently who said to me, this is the only job I have ever had. I went to prison at 18 and I came out at 33. My way out was the scheme you were running, and I have been with the business ever since.
“We now have a loyal employee that nobody else would touch, and he is great. He is on the area team and on his way up the ladder. It is all about hiring the right personalities.”
Total Control
Timpson Group is now a 6th generation family business, founded in 1865 or 1869, depending on how you measure it. The company is totally family-owned.
But like with many families, the Timpson family had a bust up. Theirs, in 1973, took place in the Board room and resulted in much of the equity in Timpson being sold to United Drapery Stores. For the following 10 years, Timpson was no longer a family business.
“It was very unpleasant” recalls Sir John. “But it happened. This was the reality of being in business. You thought it was the end of the world but, actually, it did us a lot of good.
“As a result, I managed to get 100% of the equity back and it hastened our decisions to change the business. So, yes it was painful. But it would have been even more painful if my wife had not told me to fight it.”
Perhaps because of what happened in the past or because of his profound love for the business, or both, owning 100% of the equity in Timpson is important to Sir John.
“To remain in charge of a long-standing family business you need to be in control of the equity – and total control means 100%, and despite the unwelcome prospect of inheritance tax I will do whatever I can to ensure that total family control remains for generations to come.”
Several years ago, Sir John made a TV programme about Timpson with the entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones. During the programme Peter Jones asked Sir John “what’s your exit strategy?” “I’m going to die” replied Sir John!
Is that still his plan? “Yes,” he says emphatically. “Absolutely! What else is it going to be? Can you imagine selling this business to someone else who is just going to screw it up?”
This article was first published in the FBUK Magazine. You can read and download the full magazine below.