From Clients
John Baxter worked closely with me developing both tactical and strategic operating plans while I was president of Fisher Hamilton Scientific and the DentalEZ Group. Johns insight and guidance was essential to the success of the programs we initiated. I truly value his energy, thoughtfulness, experience and input. and endorse John wholeheartedly.
Carl E. Bretko, Principal
CEB Associates, LLC
John has a unique ability to get people to talk, enabling him to gather information through interviews which may not be available in any other way. He can then take this information to form "why didn't I see that" advice for his clients. His work was very helpful to two different firms with which I was associated. I saw another firm ignore his advice . . . with an expensive and none-so-successful entrance into a commodity market. I heartily recommend John and Compass Associates.
David Withee, President
Withee Works, LLC
From Students
“Here are some things I benefited from your Course {in Strategic Management]:
The ‘Proactive Curve (i.e., proactive approach to Strategy, which I still use here regularly!)
How to think creatively, strategically, and tactically about complex problems
How to work/collaborate in teams while under time pressure
Perfecting public speaking/presentation skills.
If I could best describe your methodology – it was giving the students ‘tools’ to problem-solve for any given scenario.My general evaluation about your course: It required relentless effort and a great time commitment to maintain a higher standard of poutput for projects and presentations in a ‘shark tank’ environment. It enabled me to refine my skills and expertise in critical thinking, analytics and teamwork. The course required that each group member be over-prepared to answer any question and hold themselves accountable for their research.”
Air Force Officer Candidate in the Reserves
“I appreciated the timely feedback that Professor Baxter provided in class and on homework. The comments and questions really helped stretch us and think of other possibilities that we hadn’t considered. I really felt that he was cheering me on throughout the course to engage my learnings and capitalize on them.” 2019
“I really liked tying in outside examples and making the content relevant to our world. When I can connect the dots and make it relatable to my real world experience, that is when I truly learn the objectives of the class. I really liked the supplemental text Let My People go Surfing [by Yvon Chouinard] as a way to reinforce the ideas and concepts that we were learning in both texts.” 2018
“Professor Baxter teaches a very interactive course that pushes us to think outside the box and exhaust all possibilities about marketing strategies and the company we chose to align with the semester-long project. The textbook was perfect to utilize, follow, and incorporate for the final project and homework. Alexander Chernev, Strategic Marketing Management, Theory and Practice, 9th Ed] Professor Baxter gave me tools to expand my perception of the marketing field and appreciate all the information I have taken away from the course. I found the information provided useful in advancing to the next stage of my career. Baxter listened and gave valuable information back to me in a quick time frame. He is one of the best Professors I have had to date.” 2019
“I can directly apply what I learned to my job and am hoping to only gain more profitability for my company because of this course. I like that you put people on the spot and don’t expect a right or wrong answer, but do expect us to make an effort answering your question and talking it through. I thought the final paper was reasonable in difficulty and it ended up being a good experience that helped me understand both Marketing and my company better.” 2020
“Hi Professor Baxter: I just wanted to send a quick email and thank you for hosting my final class at Aquinas for my Masters degree – and giving me words of encouragement for a topic that I was doubtful about. It was very rewarding for me to know that I could make something out of an Industry in which I knew Nothing, and along the way it helped me learn about how I can improve on my future endeavors as a masters graduate professional. I highly enjoyed your guidance and will likely be keeping in contact for future advice. Thank you again for your help and time.” 2020
“The Final Project, while time sensitive, might be the first real material that I have made in my college career. I would have no hesitation showing it to an executive in the Industry it is based on. Whether this is because of my own increasing maturity or the brilliance of John’s course, I may never know, but saying it is because of both is not that bad.”
“ … The lectures were interesting and I learned more valuable information during this ½ semester than I have in many previous semester-long classes, thanks to the Professor’s obvious knowledge of the subject and his clear desire for us to learn as much as possible. This was an excellent class with an excellent Professor and I genuinely think I’m better off as a business student than I would’ve been otherwise.”
“Baxter is one of those Professors who brings valuable real-world experience to the classroom. He is the type of Professor who I expect that I will look fondly back upon in 20 or 30 years as one who taught me not only the course material, but provided me with valuable insights into the world. His teaching style is not perfect, but he is far more invested in his students than the vast majority of Professors at Mendoza. His investment changes this class from just a 1.5 credit [course] that I want to get out of the way to something that I will remember for the rest of my life. If you are reading this John, thank you.”
“ … John’s class taught me some of the [most] valuable information I have ever learned in Mendoza – knowledge that I have used in relationships, in interviews, and in professional practice.”
“John came off a little intimidating the first few days of class. However, his intentionality and seriousness made me take the class very seriously and motiveated me to work very hard. As the class progressed, he became more jovial and conversational with us. I very much think there is little to be desired in his teaching style. He is an excellent professor.”
University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business Students, 2015