Tim Northrop
Episode 144

Narrator: Welcome friends to another episode of the Story and Experience podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira, with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, welcome friends to another episode of the Story and Experience podcast. I'm sitting here with a new guest, delighted to be able to have you get to know this guest. I got to hear them recently speak and I thought, wow, that'd be a wonderful episode for us.

So if you're brand new to the podcast, we have a hundred questions. They progressively become more vulnerable closer you get to 100, and they are about stories and experiences of this individual that shaped them into the leader that they are today. So without any hesitation, I jump into the first one. I'll ask you, could you tell us your name and has anybody ever mispronounced it?

Tim Northrop: Yeah, my name is Tim Northrup. No, I'm probably the one who mispronounces it because I usually say Northrup, and so everybody spells it U-P rather than O-P. So I probably mispronounce it more than others.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good that you mess up your own name. That's fantastic.

Tim Northrop: Of course.

Japhet De Oliveira: Tim, this is a great start.

Tim Northrop: Can only go uphill from here.

Japhet De Oliveira: Allegedly. All right, so Tim, what do you do for work?

Tim Northrop: Yeah, I work here at Adventist Health and I'm the system director for risk and insurance. I know, really exciting, but-

Japhet De Oliveira: It's very exciting.

Tim Northrop: Part of a large team here that analyzes and looks for ways to identify a risk and mitigate that. And then I spend a lot of time trying to find the correct insurance coverages to protect us when something does go wrong.

Japhet De Oliveira: So Tim, do you enjoy risks or do you avoid risks in your personal life?

Tim Northrop: It's an interesting thing. As a kid, I am one of four brothers, and two of them were much bigger risk-takers than me, but there was a competition, so I would always try to get to the same level as them. Rock climbing, mountain climbing, doing crazy things on our bicycles.

But I generally think I am less of a risk-taker. And I think what a lot of people don't see is I will do a tremendous amount of internal planning of what I'm going to do. I enjoy things, and so to me, I've gone through the process to help me mitigate that risk and I'll go do something that appears to be risky to others, but to me I'm like, I'm okay because-

Japhet De Oliveira: You planned everything out.

Tim Northrop: I've planned it out.

Japhet De Oliveira: Every eventuality?

Tim Northrop: I try to, but-

Japhet De Oliveira: So, no risks.

Tim Northrop: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: An appearance of risk.

Tim Northrop: An appearance of risk, yeah. But having broken multiple bones and had lots of stitches in my life, clearly I don't identify at all.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow, wow, wow. Okay. From one person who's never broken a bone to, yeah, okay. Hey, that's great. Tell me, how long have you done this role?

Tim Northrop: So I've been with Adventist Health just over a year, but I've been in the insurance and risk management game for about 22 years.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really? Okay.

Tim Northrop: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. So what did you do previously?

Tim Northrop: So I worked for an organization called Adventist Risk Management, which is the department or the organization within the Seventh-day Adventist Church. And manages the church's risk and manages insurance companies that they own around the world. So I worked there for about 21 years.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Tim Northrop: I started out... It's a strange thing, you won't find a lot of people who went to school to be in risk and insurance.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, I was going to ask you that next question, you preempted it. Yeah.

Tim Northrop: Yeah. So my degree from Southwestern Adventist University is a business management degree, so as blah as you can get.

Japhet De Oliveira: So how did you end up in a career managing risk and insurance?

Tim Northrop: Yeah, so I-

Japhet De Oliveira: And I presume you love it?

Tim Northrop: I do. I'm very passionate about it and it just tickles the need I have to do in-depth analysis, and I enjoy the advisory role of it. I think any organization you're part of, there are people who are tasked with the direction of the company, trying to find opportunities, and I enjoy the role of advising them and helping them understand the risk. Both negative and the risks that are positive, and saying, "Hey, we can do this. It's just let's try and identify what we're going to do and identify the risks that are associated with it."

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great.

Tim Northrop: But how did I get started in it?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, how did you get started?

Tim Northrop: So very young, I think 21 or so, moved from Texas to Silver Spring, Maryland. My wife and I were just married about a year and she was a teacher and got a job teaching at one of our Adventist schools there. Neither one of us have ever been there, didn't have any family there. So maybe there's a risk-taker in us. And I worked as a teenager and through college in more of the trades and did that. It was great hours while I was in college.

So leave with a degree, but really no office experience. And so I did... I don't think it's an exaggeration to say hundreds of interviews and it was like, "Yeah, you're a nice guy. We think you can work hard, but you've never worked in an office, so I don't know." I'm like, "Yeah, but I worked in 110 degrees in Texas heat, I can do this." But the church network is strong and a church member there was the HR manager for Adventist Risk and she goes, "Hey, we have a temporary job position open, would you want it?" I'm like, "Hey, rice and beans are getting lonely over here. You bet. I'll take it."

So just started out doing that and grew in the organization through... I kind of joke, I get bored about every two and a half years and need to move to a different job. But just worked myself through and at one point the board asked me to be the president and CEO of the organization.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's amazing.

Tim Northrop: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's amazing. What a journey.

Tim Northrop: Yeah, a lot of fun.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Well, I'm glad to hear, and I'm glad you're working with Adventist Health now and helping us with this risk and insurance. We should all come to you for tips. Hey, are you an early riser or late night owl?

Tim Northrop: I am now definitely an early riser.

Japhet De Oliveira: And what's early for you?

Tim Northrop: Probably 04:30, 04:45. And I say riser, I like to get up and go and read things, or I waste time too watching some YouTube videos, it's not all studious stuff. But it's not get up and go and do a bunch of exercise or anything, I'll admit that. But get up early. I like to read things that are related to work, I like to read very random things. I just learn something new that day.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good, that's good. And when you woke up this morning, 04:00, 04:35, first thought that went through your mind this morning?

Tim Northrop: I left yesterday with working for our friends down at Damron doing an insurance review on pollution liability. And the first thing that hit in my head was, I got to finish that up and here's something I need to remember to look at on the policy. But then I went over and checked emails, personal emails, and watched a few YouTube videos. So it wasn't a super productive meeting, but that first thought, I think that was what it was.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's fair enough. That's fair enough. Hey Tim, where were you born?

Tim Northrop: I was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really? Okay. And did you grow up there?

Tim Northrop: So, interesting story, no, I did not. I'm adopted, so I was there, I understand, for about nine months and two or three days, two or three days out of the womb. So yeah, I'm adopted and at that point my parents lived in Colorado, so spent about four years in Colorado and then we actually moved real close to here and I was here until I was about 16. Then I've been to Texas, Maryland, and back here.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, there you go, there you go.

Tim Northrop: Full circle.

Japhet De Oliveira: So when you were a child growing up, what did you imagine you were going to grow up to be? Risk and insurance or?

Tim Northrop: Yeah, no. My father is a electrical engineer by trade and I suspect, like a lot of boys, my dad was my hero, and I got to spend a tremendous amount of time... He morphed into a plant engineer and he was running all the plant services around a large campus. And grew up on caterpillars and backhoes, and learning how to deal with high voltage wiring, and all of those things. And so I have that natural thing.

I remember I would always take things apart, I'd take a toaster apart and my dad would be like, "All right, now you got to learn to put it back together." And I was like, "Well, that's the hard part." But I have to admit, he was so good at that and I was like, "No, I need to do something different." And so I joke, I went to university and I got a business management degree because I didn't know what I wanted to be.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fair enough.

Tim Northrop: And so I guess life has turned to what life is. But no, risk and insurance was not even an option, I'd never heard of it really.

Japhet De Oliveira: So I've got to ask because people don't know this, but how tall are you?

Tim Northrop: I think I'm 6'2, other people maybe think 6'1.

Japhet De Oliveira: You played basketball, or sports, or?

Tim Northrop: I thought I was really good at basketball as a kid-

Japhet De Oliveira: And then?

Tim Northrop: But then I got to college where there was a lot bigger people, and realized I'm going to look for something a little different.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, that was a bonus question. It's not on the list here. Hey, personality wise, if people were to describe you as an introvert or an extrovert, would you agree?

Tim Northrop: If they describe me as an introvert, I would agree. And it's something I've learned as, introverts get energy from being alone and being quiet. Extroverts get energy from being around. And so it's not... I will throw people, I think, in a weird way, because I will tell them I'm introverted, but I value being friendly to people. I value saying hello to people in the hallway at work and things. But my go-to spot where I'm going to get re-energized is sitting quietly by myself.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good.

Tim Northrop: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: I like that. I like that. All right, let me ask you a question about leadership. Are you a backseat driver? Because I know you have an amazing team.

Tim Northrop: Yes. Yeah, I think through your career, through your life, you develop and change as you see the results of your leadership style, whether that was informed or uninformed at the time. But I'm the oldest of four boys, like I said, so I think there was leadership growing up that I had to show. And I will share this, I tell people, I'm like, especially two of my brothers are about two and a half years younger than me, they're twins. I'm tall and thin. They are short and built like blocks. And I would always say, we would settle and figure out things through violence, as children do. Until they got much stronger than me. Then I learned that, hey, we're going to use words and things.

But I generally think I have strong opinions and in leadership you have to be careful to not put those strong feelings out and crush the creativity in the room. And that's probably something I've learned and it's still something I have to be careful to govern. But yeah, I tend to want to be in charge, I tend to want to know how it's all going. I tell people, my personality is probably... I don't mean this as black and white as it sounds, but I don't trust you until you prove that I can trust you. But when I do trust you-

Japhet De Oliveira: You're there.

Tim Northrop: I'll turn you loose. So it's an interesting dynamic. I think as I mature professionally, I put more value on trying to create an atmosphere where... So I have 20 years of experience, but someone else also does as well. And if I don't take the time to listen to them, boy, I've thrown a lot of stuff out the door.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Tim Northrop: But I think people can be intimidated because if you're going to present ideas to me, I'm going to challenge you. If you show weakness in your defense of that idea, I get really, really hopped up. So it's like... And I have to be careful with that too. It's like, not everybody is a debater, not everybody is an argumentative type person.

I told my team here at Adventist Health early on, I said, "I'm very comfortable with there being uncomfortableness in the room," and that's a different level. And I said, "So my permission to you as a team is, tell me you're uncomfortable and I've pushed you too far. Then it's back on me to be respectful of that." But I said, "I'm okay with us being a little uncomfortable as we talk through where we're headed as a team."

Japhet De Oliveira: That's pretty good.

Tim Northrop: But yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good. Well, the floor is open, Tim, so you get to pick now where you want to go. Which number?

Tim Northrop: Yeah, I think this gets into how open do I want to be? But obviously I feel like starting with one would just look like I'm a chicken.

Japhet De Oliveira: We'll start with 11.

Tim Northrop: Start with 11, okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Because I've asked you the first 10.

Tim Northrop: Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah, I guess you did tell me that.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, no, that's good.

Tim Northrop: Let's start with number 13.

Japhet De Oliveira: 13, all right. Walk us through the ideal end of your day.

Tim Northrop: Oh wow.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Tim Northrop: Well, I guess that's an interesting question. Wow, it sounds so simple, but it doesn't. I think the end of my day here, I get to work about 7, and I schedule to leave 4, 4:30. So I definitely enjoy getting into my car and I drive about 20 minutes home. And so I think it starts there. And it's a weird thing, my wife and I have developed a pattern where, right now she's on summer break from teaching, call and talk on the way home.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's nice.

Tim Northrop: And that seems to be very healthy for us because we get to home space where introverted Tim comes out. And so I think it's a... I enjoy cooking, so a lot of times I'll cook a meal and just... We don't have children, so I sit on my couch, she sits on hers and enjoy just some Netflix or something. And then, sounds crazy but a lot of nights I update my budget to make sure that the family's in, that type of thing.

Japhet De Oliveira: Most nights. Interesting.

Tim Northrop: Yeah, it's a very OCD thing, but-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's actually good.

Tim Northrop: And then just go to sleep.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, fair enough. That's nice. That's nice. All right, that was 13. Where next?

Tim Northrop: All right. Man, you don't know how badly... I think I'll do 15. I promise I won't go to every two forever.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's okay. All right, what is the one thing that you misplace all the time?

Tim Northrop: Wow.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Tim Northrop: That is a really tough one. I don't misplace a lot of things honestly. I usually remember, I don't have little children running around moving things for me. I've recently, as I've now gotten over the age of 40 something, have needed to start wearing some reading glasses. And so I think I've probably bought 10 pair of those from the old dollar store and somehow I still managed to misplace those.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Have you ever found them on top of your head?

Tim Northrop: I have not done that yet.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay.

Tim Northrop: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: Or on your shirt, hanging?

Tim Northrop: I did find them in my back pocket as I sat on them one time. But no, it's-

Japhet De Oliveira: It's good it's a dollar.

Tim Northrop: Yeah, exactly. That's why I go to the dollar.

Japhet De Oliveira: Fair enough. All right, where next? That was 15.

Tim Northrop: Let's go to 21.

Japhet De Oliveira: 21. All right. Oh, share the best compliment you've ever received.

Tim Northrop: Wow. I am wired and I've always had a lot of value in work and that, so when I receive a compliment in that environment, it has a lot of meaning to me. And I don't know, I'm not recalling an exacting one, but I have received feedback from clients or here at Adventist Health. I actually got one this morning from somebody and it was an appreciation for the work and the analysis I had done. And I enjoy that, because I try to be as good as I can be at my job, when someone recognizes the output was there.

And I think that's all encompassed in... I'm part of Adventist Health and if I can produce something that helps somebody else-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, why not?

Tim Northrop: From my area of expertise, let's do it.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Tim Northrop: So yeah, I think any compliment that's received in the area of that. Obviously value compliments from my spouse, but yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. It's good. That's great. All right, super. Where next?

Tim Northrop: Let's do 22.

Japhet De Oliveira: 22. All right. If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be?

Tim Northrop: Wow.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Tim Northrop: Well for those of you who aren't based here in the Roseville Basin as it were, it's been triple digits I think for, can we say three weeks? I don't think that's an exaggeration, but somewhere in that range. And it's not just 100, it's 109, 110. So at this very moment I would like to be somewhere in the mountains where it's probably a nice, balmy 75.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Tim Northrop: But yeah I, in general, don't enjoy the beach. So-

Japhet De Oliveira: Mountains are your place.

Tim Northrop: Mountains are me.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. All right, good. Do you climb mountains with grappling ropes and hook stuff? Or you hike them?

Tim Northrop: Just hiking. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Tim Northrop: I like my two feet on the ground.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. All right. All right. Where next?

Tim Northrop: I forgot which one that was. Let's try 27.

Japhet De Oliveira: 27. All right. Bring us into your kitchen. You're preparing a special meal, what is it?

Tim Northrop: Wow. Yeah, I think if it's for me, I enjoy lasagna. And it's an interesting journey I've had over the last... Wow, it's probably been 10 years now, but got diagnosed with pre-diabetes back in 2017 and that's bit of a start to somebody-

Japhet De Oliveira: Wake up call.

Tim Northrop: Yeah. I mean I'm relatively thin, I was a little heavier then, but it was like, wow. So I love lasagna. I will enjoy cooking that, but I've tried to substitute some of the noodles, which are high in starch and carbs and things. You do a zucchini or something. It's good, but it isn't the same. So yeah, I think if I can really do it, it'll be sit-down and make that classic meat, red sauce.

Japhet De Oliveira: Bring it home, bring it home.

Tim Northrop: Just lots of goodness in there. But yeah, like I said earlier, I love... Or I don't know if I love, but I enjoy cooking. It's an artistic journey for me. I don't enjoy baking, because to me it's too scientific at that moment in my life, and it's like... So I'll do a lot of different things and just see what comes out the other side.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Tim Northrop: Sometimes it works, sometimes it's a lonely meal.

Japhet De Oliveira: Not again.

Tim Northrop: Yep.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Where next, sir?

Tim Northrop: So if we go way up the chart, are we allowed to come back down?

Japhet De Oliveira: You can come back down, yeah.

Tim Northrop: Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: You can drop down.

Tim Northrop: All right, so let's go up to a 50 and see what that looks like.

Japhet De Oliveira: 50 it is then. Share about who's influenced you professionally.

Tim Northrop: Wow. I would say in my younger years, my father. He was a very hard worker and like I said, where we were, I got to go to work with him a lot of days. And so he said something to me as a kid and he was in leadership, but he goes, "Tim, nothing is below me. If I have a moment, and a break in my time as a leader, and doing paperwork or whatever it might be, I'll get in the ditch with the guys and throw a shovel around with them." I think that's important, is yeah, as you get into leadership and things, don't forget that showing up with the people you're leading and showing them that you're part of it is important.

As I got farther on in my profession, there was a lady, and she's passed away since, but her name was Pat Adams and she worked there at Adventist Risk Management, and really taught me and laid the groundwork and the foundation for insurance. At that point in my life... I think now I'm a fairly good negotiator, at that point I really wasn't. I was a little shy. And I remember she and I got on the train, and I'll paint a picture of Pat too. She was probably... I'm 22 years old, 6'1 or 6'2, 140 pounds. And Pat's probably 5'1, just an older lady, but had done... And so we get on the Amtrak from Maryland up to New York, and she takes me into Manhattan, my first time to Manhattan. It's skyscrapers, it's da, da, da, da. And we go up to the home office of an insurance carrier and we go, and she's known these people for years, says hello, da, da, da. We go into this boardroom, I mean it's one of those tables that when you're sitting at the other end, you're yelling at each other type thing.

So we get on each side of the table and it's like her and I on one side, and two or three of the insurance people on the other side. And she starts in with them. It's not unprofessional, but I mean she's not taking no for an answer. And this goes on for about 20 minutes and I'm just sitting there, eyes just... I probably looked scared to death, I don't even really know. And she finally looks at me and goes, "Tim, do you have anything to add?"

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh wow, okay.

Tim Northrop: And I was like, "No, I think this has been well done." And we got back on the train and we were riding back and she goes, "Don't ever let that happen again. You be prepared." She goes, "Even if you're just going to support something that I said earlier, you need to be a voice in the room." And I said, "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll work on it." I said, "I have to be honest, I felt so bad for those people. I wanted to crawl under the table and help them." And this five-foot woman looked at me and says, "No, you will never do that, you are on my side." So it was like-

Japhet De Oliveira: Negotiate.

Tim Northrop: Yeah, it was like-

Japhet De Oliveira: So is your middle name now Negotiator?

Tim Northrop: I think so. And then the next person was a gentleman who worked at the church and he had been general counsel, and he came in as president of Adventist Risk in a hard time for us. And again, just a consummate professional. And he instilled in me, which was very attractive to my personality, this idea of every cent matters. And I take it seriously here, we have Adventist in our name, but at the church, I think it's okay to say you feel a little more elevated toward your stewardship of things.

I mean things, it comes from tithes and offerings. And he told me, he goes, "Tim, I work half-time. 12 hours, six days a week." And I was like, "Wow, Bob, I'm not sure I can match that." But he just presented this person who took his job seriously, wanted to make sure that he was accountable for his stewardship of church assets as it was. And the one thing he said to me is, "Tim, do your work to always be the most prepared in the room."

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good counsel.

Tim Northrop: It is. So I think a lot of leadership puts a lot of time into planning big strategies and things, and those are important. But if you're going to go into a meeting, the organization you work for is paying you to be the expert. Take some time, take some hours and read, and become an expert in what you're going to be in there.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's good.

Tim Northrop: But yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good wisdom. All right, where next?

Tim Northrop: Oh, that wasn't too personal, but I'm scared to go on up a little higher. Let's try 55.

Japhet De Oliveira: 55. All right. Share about something that frightens you.

Tim Northrop: Wow. I definitely have a bit of a fear of public speaking, believe it or not.

Japhet De Oliveira: I do not, but I believe you because you said it.

Tim Northrop: I have overcome that to a high degree. But I think what's probably the thing that scares me the most now is heights. I've never been great with them. It's very strange, the older I've gotten, the more I'm just like, I don't like this. This is not-

Japhet De Oliveira: So, no ladders for you?

Tim Northrop: I don't enjoy being on ladders anymore. It's very strange to me, and so yeah, I've not invested enough time. I invested time to try and overcome my fear of public speaking. I don't know how you overcome fear of heights. Do you just go up and-

Japhet De Oliveira: Go up really high somewhere and walk?

Tim Northrop: Yeah. And just stick your head over the edge and look. Yeah, I think-

Japhet De Oliveira: We do not recommend that officially.

Tim Northrop: Yes, no. That's a bad management of your risk.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, exactly. Hey, that's good. All right. All right. We have time for two more.

Tim Northrop: Wow. It's gone by quickly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Isn't it incredible?

Tim Northrop: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Tim Northrop: Well...

Japhet De Oliveira: Where do you want to go?

Tim Northrop: Let's put one way up there. Let's go for it, 85.

Japhet De Oliveira: 85.

Tim Northrop: See what that looks like.

Japhet De Oliveira: I love this. All right, 85. Describe a role model you aspire to be like.

Tim Northrop: Wow. Yeah, I feel like I've used my dad as quite a role model and I don't think it'd be unfair to say that's a lot of what he has there.

Japhet De Oliveira: Is your dad still with you?

Tim Northrop: He is.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. Do you get to see him often?

Tim Northrop: Yeah. That was one of the advantages of moving back here is they live just outside of Reno, Nevada. So two or three hour drive, so we get to see them a little bit more.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Tim Northrop: Yeah. Again, I think it's a combination of a lot of people in my life. I don't know if there's a single person that represents, but I think if I... I put a high value on your honesty and integrity. I think when you leave this world, you want to be remembered for being honest and having integrity. I value people who have a really high work ethic, and that's not that you work 25 hours a day. You can't do that, I guess, but as it came out it sounded all right.

But it's that idea of work hard, and invest, and be part of where you're at. And then I think the other thing is, it was again replicated by my father and a lot of the friends I had of, I value people who spend time with their family. Whether that's your kids, there's nothing greater than I have remembering of my mom and dad-

Japhet De Oliveira: Isn't it great?

Tim Northrop: Being there.

Japhet De Oliveira: That presence in your life.

Tim Northrop: Yeah. I joke, I'm like, "Y'all chose me, you went out and adopted me, you better take care of me." And they did a great job. And then again it's like, treat your spouse. You got married for a reason. Hopefully it was the right reason. So I hope that paints a picture of just someone, there's a lot of people in my life that represent those attributes.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really beautiful. Good. All right, last one, sir.

Tim Northrop: Wow.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow. Yeah.

Tim Northrop: Let's go back down to... Let's drop down to 40... Have we done 48?

Japhet De Oliveira: 48.

Tim Northrop: I don't think that's...

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh no, we haven't.

Tim Northrop: Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Tell us about your best personality trait.

Tim Northrop: Wow.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, Tim.

Tim Northrop: That's a tough one. I think I enjoy... It's a hard one, but I'm a problem solver. And so if you come to me with a problem, my go-to place is to solve that problem probably for you, I hope I do it with you. So that's my language to show people I care for them. If I can do something physically for you, with you, fix something at your house, do this type of thing-

Japhet De Oliveira: You like to do that.

Tim Northrop: I like to do those things. You're not going to get me to engage in 45 minutes conversation about how your life is going. I just don't have it in me probably. So I think that's something that I put value on, and I think that's who I am and I try not to run from that.

Japhet De Oliveira: Is there a shadow to that side of being a problem solver?

Tim Northrop: Yes, because I probably don't take... People oftentimes start a conversation telling you what they think is bothering them. But they've not quite peeled the onion back in their own emotions or their own problem. And so I may not take the time to listen to the story. And really it is... It's not that my lawnmower is broken, it's... I don't know-

Japhet De Oliveira: I need to see somebody and talk to them.

Tim Northrop: Yeah. And so I may keep relationships a little bit superficial because to me, I've heard a problem, I'm already solving the problem, and you're still over there, in my opinion, rambling. And I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're going to go solve the problem. Why are you still talking?" So I think that's the downside to that kind of personality, is-

Japhet De Oliveira: We're not to diminish the great side of it as well.

Tim Northrop: No, no, no. It is part of-

Japhet De Oliveira: We appreciate you solving problems, and I have some that you can come and solve for me. And I'll ramble a little.

Tim Northrop: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey Tim, it has been a pleasure to be able to speak to you. Thank you-

Tim Northrop: Likewise.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, thank you for sharing stories of your life and I just want to encourage people to do the same thing. Sit down with someone. There's so much that people need to know about you, which is really... We only scratched it and that's actually part of the great thing. We learn so much about people, and it changes us. It transforms us. And so you've had a rather epic career and interesting life. Yeah. But thank you again for sharing. God bless you, and we'll connect with everybody else soon on another episode.

Tim Northrop: Thank you.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for the Story and Experience podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story and Experience podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health through the office of Culture.