After serving as an officer in the British infantry for 17 years, Ollie Ormiston (Oxford, ‘19) attended The University of Oxford in search of developing hard skills of business to compliment his soft skills from the military. In this interview, he shared how he was able to augment his military experience with business acumen, and his advice for fellow Veterans who are looking to transition to civilian careers.
MBASchooled: What did you do prior to business school and why did you choose to go to business school?
Prior to business school I was an officer in the British infantry for 17 years. This included 5 operational tours (three of Afghanistan, one Iraq, and one in Cyprus with the UN), as well as countless exercises and training advisory roles around the world. My final role was as an Armoured Infantry Company Commander, leading c120 soldiers and officers.
Business school was an easy decision. I needed something more intellectually challenging than the Army, and I was cognisant that although there are lots of great roles out there that people can go straight into from the Army I didn’t want to be pigeon-holed. I saw an MBA as the opportunity to differentiate myself and learn how to apply the soft skills that one develops in the military to the hard skills of business.
MBASchooled: How did your experience in the military help you while in business school?
I’m slightly older than most students, which may have helped, but generally I drew three lessons from my time in service. Firstly, a rigorous focus on the outcome (which for me was getting to a top strategy consulting firm ); secondly, a recognition of the importance of thinking through secondary and tertiary implications of every decision (the “So what”); and third, the importance of relationships. People, organisations, teams, are all made up of people, and ultimately if you work hard to understand them and their motivations then not only is it easier to get to whatever outcome you want, but also it’s more enjoyable.
MBASChooled: What did you end up recruiting for during your first year, and how did you decide on that industry or function?
As I began to leave the Army I sketched out a 2×2 matrix of “Enjoyment” and “Ability” – I knew I wanted to work in an industry that demanded the skills that I enjoyed and felt like I was (relatively) good at. This meant things like complex problem solving in potentially ambiguous environments, leadership, teamwork etc, which pointed towards strategy consulting. I toyed with the idea of going into finance, but I quickly realised that I was so far behind in terms of the hard skills needed that this wasn’t going to be an option for me. I was only on a one-year course, and knowing that this was a tight timeline I went straight into recruiting for consulting, which also meant starting to do case practice early on.
MBASchooled: Outside of the classroom, what was your favorite activity, or experience that you got involved with, and why?
I coached my college rugby team to Cuppers victory! I played for 30+ years but am too old and broken to get on the pitch, but being able to give something back to the game, as well as get involved in the off-field activities provided a nice way to break out from the (occasionally intense) MBA bubble.
MBASchooled:How did you leverage your past experience to identify the right future career opportunity?
I had my 2×2, but this was enhanced by the military network which is very well-established in London. Generally if you get in touch with someone who was in the Army for an informational interview about their new job they are willing to help and give some of their time. Strategy consulting has a few ex-military, but not as many as you’d think, so I was very grateful when people who I’d never met were willing to give me their time.
MBASchooled: What skills or experiences did you get in business school that you previously didn’t have?
I had the opportunity to develop some hard skills and pivot my soft skills, as well as get exposed to – for, frankly, the first time – some people with very different outlooks to me. At the moment the military is not particularly diverse (although it is working to change that), so my MBA was critical in exposing me to that. This enabled me to pivot the soft skills, but it reassured me that the principles of leadership that I subscribe to and have developed in the Army are indeed principles because they are universal.
The hard skills were what I really wanted to work on, because that’s where I felt that the biggest delta was for me; corporate finance, accounting, valuation, financial modelling etc were all things that I focused on. I also had the opportunity to apply the planning skills that I had developed to business problems. Like leadership, those principles didn’t change.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for other veterans/ex-military students who are currently in business school?
- Leverage the military network (school alumni and otherwise).
- Embrace your brand – you will always be known as the ex-military person, and this is generally a good thing.
- Recognise that the military way of doing things is not the only way of doing things – but don’t be shy to use it if it fits.
- Get out of the comfort zone and try new things – that’s what you’re paying for; business school is very different to military life.
- Try not to get angry when people are late to things! I never really got over this