In The Business of Healthy Masculinity Reclaiming our agency with Tim Sutton
Hi there,
Welcome to a new Monday. Sending you much energy and impact for the week ahead.
I’m super excited to introduce you to my next guest, Tim Sutton, who is a brilliant example of healthy masculinity in action as part of episode #18 of In The Business of Healthy Masculinity:
Tim Sutton is a strategic instigator with commercial grounding and a mischievous grin. He helps mavericks and rule-breakers build companies that win without selling their souls. Tim’s the kind of guy who can spot the BS in a business model before you finish explaining it—and then sketch a better one on a napkin before your coffee even cools.
He’s launched products, brands, and companies; sold enterprise tech to AT&T; led retail innovation at Blockbuster (before it was vintage); and advised Fortune 100 execs on how to play smarter, not safer. His approach isn’t about chasing unicorns—it’s about building real enterprises that treat people like people and ethics like strategy.
These days, Tim works with purpose-driven rebels who are rewriting the rules of business. He arms them with frameworks that make ethical decisions look like unfair advantages, lights fires under tired teams, and builds tech tools that simplify the complex. If you’re trying to build something principled, powerful, and just a little subversive—Tim’s the guy you want in your corner.
He lives in San Diego with his wife Kimberly (a badass author and leadership entrepreneur), their son, and more big ideas than he has time to chase. When he’s not behind a keyboard or a camera, he’s training for the next marathon.
Today’s episode is all about reclaiming our agency, at least that’s what I took away from the conversation:
Thank you to Anna deNardin for her amazing artistic support.
You can find out more about Tim and his work at his LinkedIn.
As well as in this substack, you can also find this conversation on the following platforms:
* Apple
* Spotify
* YouTube
I am SUPER excited to learn what you take away, what you may challenge, and anything else.
Exercising new muscles
“I’m writing a screenplay right now. So I’m exercising new muscles and doing things that I’ve never done before. Writing a screenplay for a prestige horror series.” - Tim Sutton
I genuinely had no idea that Tim was working on this screenplay, and I loved that feeling of being jolted by surprise! Tim’s curiosity and passion to seek out new experiences is super inspiring.
When did you last consciously seek a new experience?
A memorable time that I remember experiencing a similar jolt was when I was speaking at Cornell Thomas’s Positivity Summit (if you are US-based especially, his next event is on Fri 15th May 2026, I‘ll be there too - sign up HERE), and his wife Melissa and I were struggling to get my slides to work.
Unbeknownst to me, Cornell had looked at Melissa and said “don’t make it work, he’s good,” and what followed was 30 minutes of pure flow and story telling around Change Is An Inside Job. It was honestly the best talk I have ever given, and I appreciate Cornell for seeing that potential in me. In case curious, you can see some highlights below:
Do you have an example of a skill, talent, or experience that has had you leaning into discomfort and possibility? Do share in the comments below.
Artistically pursuing outcomes
“That’s a really difficult jump to make, you know, because it feels a little bit irresponsible. It feels a little bit frivolous. It feels a little bit, you know, again, counter to those things, those messages you might have heard growing up.” - Tim Sutton
What I find super interesting is Tim’s use of ‘feeling.’ Coming from a similar generation, I was educated not to feel, not to explore those feelings, just ignore them and stuff them down.
Who gets to decide what is and is not ‘responsible’?
It reminds me of the old-age discussions around ‘professionalism.’ Who gets to decide what is and is not accepted as ‘professional.’
Narratives and conditioning are SO deep, yet too rarely do we create the space to reflect and interrogate our own narratives, let alone the narratives and patterns that we take on as ‘normal.’
Yet as Tim shares during this conversation the power imbalance seems to be shifting away from just corporations dictating, to each of us re-designing what ‘loyalty’ looks and feels like.
So many layers, so much opportunity. I just love how curious Tim is and wonder what you take away from this clip and wider conversation?
Positive agency as an antidote to corporate capture
“I would say that what I’ve seen is the pendulum has swung much more towards corporate environments that are based on capture, like cut and capture, than they are on building a great culture.” - Tim Sutton
This is a view that I have witnessed first hand, and in real-time. Multinational corporations are seen as innocent generators of growth and wealth, however what underpins them are interconnected supply chains of harm, whether consciously understood or otherwise.
Watching the tens of thousands of layoffs over the past 12 months, even though companies are still making often sizeable profits, really reinforces Tim’s point for me. It is important to note the wider context that Tim is not anti-capitalist, he just doesn’t see these spaces as the best use of his time.
Are there better, healthier ways to work, create, and even be? I feel so. What are you thinking and what are your thoughts?
Tim’s super-objective
“I don’t want to see the big corporations who are just for profit win. I want to work with the small entrepreneurs and rebels inside of organizations, to give them a path to do things that are outrageous.” - Tim Sutton
“To give them a path to do things that are outrageous.”
What a gorgeous statement and what is even more fun is hearing Tim talk about his own #superobjective which was clarified by the amazing tool that he and his wife Kimberly co-created as part of her work on #BraveLeadership.
I clarified my own super objective via the Now Be Brave website as:
“Create honest spaces where people drop their masks and face reality together without fear”
This substack and the podcast is literally an embodiment of the above.
What could you clarify for yourself today by working through the super objective tool today?
Check it out at https://nowbebrave.com/ and help Kimberly and Tim democratise brave.
Until next time
We hope that you join us in this exploration, and please do feed back and share with your networks if you are getting value.
Finally, if any of the above questions have ignited curiosity within you,I am here if you are looking for a 1-1 Thinking Partner that can be in your corner by voice note, virtually, and in-person, I have found 5 x 60 minutes calls + unlimited voice note communication to work the best.
If you are ready to embrace the journey towards a healthier relationship with yourself and those around you, and the goodness that brings, at home and at work, drop me a line at garry.turner@radicality.co.uk.
Episode #19 of the podcast will be published next Mon 23rd Feb 2026 with Constellations, Systems, and Eldership guide Zena Me:
Here is a clip to whet your appetite in advance:
I am always interested in your reflections, challenges, and anything else that piques your curiosity with these updates.
Until next time, take care and have as good a week ahead as possible,
Garry Turner
garry.turner@radicality.co.uk
+44 7928 979358
Get full access to In The Business of Healthy Masculinity at inbusinessofhealthymasculinity.substack.com/subscribe