Profile

Professional summary

A strategic and tactical advisor, Tom Cox is a leadership and management consultant with expertise in planning, process improvement & implementation, delivering operational efficiency and turning around businesses. In over 25 years of his career, Tom has rendered his services to varied industries such as Information Technology, Retail, Banking & Finance, Education, Telecommunication and Healthcare. Currently the Managing Consultant at Cox Business Consulting Inc, Tom is also the CEO of GrowthMaps – a start-up that helps organizations achieve faster growth.

Tom has held executive level positions and has been an Advisory Board Member for a number of organizations. A Member of the Board of Governors for the City Club of Portland, he has been

Engagement overview

See my website for details of my coaching and training packages.

Clients

• IBM Global Services
• Intel
• ODOT – Oregon Department of Transportation
• OLCC – Oregon Liquor Control Commission
• OHSU – Oregon Health Sciences University
• Oracle Corporation
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Regence Blue Cross
• SCIF – State Compensation Insurance Fund (State of California)
• Standard Insurance
• Tektronix

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Areas of expertise
Key clients
  • IBM
  • Intel
Insights

Question: Ensuring merit-based entry into family business

Wow, you have a lot going on here. What you're proposing is, creating a new culture (or changing the existing one).

In the limited space here, let me suggest some steps. Implementing those steps is NOT trivial, so don't take my brevity the wrong way.

Step 1, get written agreement from the elder family members on the PRINCIPLES to be followed -- i.e. merit based selection; roles assigned ba... Read more

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Question: Getting away from Cost Vs. Quality mindset in customer service department

Rick and Patrick have covered the ground ably. Standardizing has value and has limits -- are CSRs being reduced to robots?

Service calls may spring from engineering flaws -- are the calls being analyzed and are products fixed as a result?

Are you tracking lifetime value of a customer? That number can radically change the senior team's thinking about the entire customer experience.

(Also... Read more

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Question: How can we brand ourselves as a responsible, community-based business?

There is a HUGE gap between what people tell you on surveys, and what they do.

Often, they don't realize it themselves.

Sony asked groups of consumers what color Walkman they thought Sony should make. People said "red" and "pink" and lots of bright colors.

At the end of the session, Sony offered the agreed cash payment, plus a surprise bonus -- a free Walkman in any color they wanted. 90%... Read more

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Question: How can an intermediary structure a service guarantee?

This is a GREAT idea.

Have a look at how other intermediaries reduce risk for their buyers. Visa and Mastercard both protect buyers from sellers who act in bad faith. Google Marketplace recently added a similar feature. EBay and PayPal have buyer protection systems.

Closer to your business model are eLance and ODesk. Both are marketplaces for services. They too provide various ways (esc... Read more

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Question: How does one develop an ability to "see the big-picture"?

Mark and Barry give some excellent advice. Let me add something in a different direction.

You're trying to develop a skill, a way of thinking and seeing.

The most effective way to do that seems to be, to do it for a focused period of time -- every few days. Like learning a foreign language or a musical instrument, you're trying to build new brain circuits. For that you need attention and repe... Read more

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Question: What is a good ownership vesting model for a startup where the founding partners do not contribute equally?

Mike makes good points. A competent outsider can steer the conversation, allowing all parties to focus on participating and thinking about their concerns.

Other points:

1. Prepare all participants similarly with some "principles" that all can agree on. Example: "We want to respect both labor input and intellectual input." Write these up on a wall or white board.

2. Prepare all particip... Read more

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Question: To start an online marketplace, should my priority be on supply side (providers) or demand side (customers) for early adopters?

I concur with Bruce -- you start by cross-listing and cross-selling existing instructors. Find really good ones, and ask them if they'd be willing for you to list them as instructors for you also -- and if so, under what conditions and restrictions.

Once you have the product, even a product you obtain from outside and then re-sell, you can shop for buyers.

You've correctly identified a ve... Read more

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Testimonials

I learned more about my business from Tom in two hours than I learned on my own in the last ten years.

Frank DeSantis

Tom's coaching was instrumental in tripling my revenues in three months. While distractions pop up literally every day, Tom has helped me keep focused on the daily tasks critical to my company's success.

Erik J. Hopkins, Owner Empower Digital Solutions

Tom, thank you for meeting with me yesterday. I was really impressed by your ability to assess my business needs and deliver such helpful, personalized suggestions within minutes of our first meeting. I learned so much and am excited to pursue your ideas.

Christina Cooke, Business Owner

I have been a supervisor for about a year and a half and I focus on results but struggle to create the connections and build relationships.



Prior to your lecture, I was ready to move away from a leadership path but now, I want to give myself the opportunity to improve an do better in my current role.

Edith C.

Always be grateful for the people in your life. I'm super grateful for my coach, Thomas Cox. His belief in me and his willingness to stand behind me and push me to be the person I was meant to be is amazing. He is one of the most caring, yet structured and efficient coaches I've ever met. He sees my weaknesses and finds solutions on how I can overcome them.

Cathey Armillas, Co-author The Unbreakable Rules of Marketing

Sitting down with Tom was like being struck with a lightening bolt of great ideas – he is sharp, powerful and full of energy and truly helped me skyrocket my planning to the next level! An hour with Tom receives my highest recommendation.

Dave Rose

I simply wanted to extend a personal thank you and straight out say, "you rocked!", as a speaker during our We localize Business Conference in Portland on Monday. Your two cents on human nature and communication spoke mountains, valleys, and oceans to me. I was engaged 100%.

Carolina Haro

I highly recommend Tom Cox. He has a solid grasp of systems strategy, and his understanding that success comes from focusing and repairing the inner workings of a business can only be dramatically helpful. I've known Tom for a while now and although I rarely offer testimonials, confidently recommend his consulting services.

Sam Carpenter