{"id":21727,"date":"2016-12-08T06:03:46","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T14:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=21727"},"modified":"2016-12-08T06:03:46","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T14:03:46","slug":"difference-maker-spotlight-lmi-solutions-terry-dixon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2016\/12\/difference-maker-spotlight-lmi-solutions-terry-dixon\/","title":{"rendered":"Difference Maker Spotlight: LMI Solutions\u2019 Terry Dixon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Terry

Terry Dixon of LMI Solutions<\/p><\/div>\n

As a graduate of Michigan State University, LMI\u2019s Terry Dixon cites Spartan athletics, golf, and not least, his great family, for providing the most joy in his life.<\/p>\n

Dixon entered the office products industry in March of 2000 with no prior industry experience. He was hired as the VP of sales for Column Office Equipment which had just been acquired by Global Imaging. He remained at Global Imaging for 16 years, rising to VP of sales and marketing. It was there that he developed his keen understanding of the dealer community and the best practices that could ensure their continued success.<\/p>\n

Today, as president of LMI Solutions, Dixon says his \u201cbest days\u201d are spent working with employees and clients, helping develop them, teaching MPS best practices, and coaching employees to reach places they thought unimaginable. \u201cThe team with the best people still wins,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Asked what it felt like to be named an ENX Magazine Difference Maker by his peers, Dixon says that it is amazing and humbling, particularly as he started as a small dealer with no industry experience.<\/p>\n

Dixon cites Frank Gaspari, current FlexPrint CEO and former Column Office Technology CEO, as his greatest mentor. \u201cHe hired me, and really taught me the formula for success,\u201d he says. \u201cI have added to it, but the fundamentals are sound. It is amazing how many companies just lose touch with the fundamentals – \u201cBrilliance in the Basics!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

On a similar note, Dixon recalls that the best advice he ever received was from a college professor at MSU. \u201c\u2019If you want to create a world-class customer service organization, you have to create an environment in which \u201cthe answer is YES — what is the question?\u2019\u201d he recites. \u201cIt has become a culture in my organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since moving to LMI Solutions earlier this year, Dixon has been very busy helping implement these cultural underpinnings. He says that the biggest accomplishment in 2016 was the tripling of the sales force. \u201cWe hired some really great people,\u201d he says. \u201cOur coverage of the market, which was our biggest limitation, is so improved. In 2017, the goal is to leverage the investment, develop the skills of this larger staff, and make it fun every day. We also want to help all our clients grow their MPS business \u2013 to break down the self-created barriers to growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Questioned about the state of the office products technology industry, Dixon replies with his customary optimism and enthusiasm. \u201cThe industry is still amazing,\u201d he says. \u201cReports of our demise are greatly over stated!\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds: \u201cThat being said, the most successful companies are open to change. They think differently and challenge their organizations. The biggest opportunity is our own internal expectations. Our expectations for growth should be much higher. We can\u2019t be afraid of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dixon says that the best thing about his job, and throughout his career, has been the incredible people he has met and worked with. \u201cI have had the opportunity to change people\u2019s lives,\u201d he says. \u201cThis may sound silly, but I tell people all the time in the copier business: This can be life changing, and in many cases, it has turned out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a graduate of Michigan State University, LMI\u2019s Terry Dixon cites Spartan athletics, golf, and not least, his great family, for providing the most joy in his life. Dixon entered the office products industry in March of 2000 with no prior industry experience. He was hired as the VP of sales for Column Office Equipment which had just been acquired by Global Imaging. He remained at Global Imaging for 16 years, rising to VP of sales and marketing. It was there that he developed his keen understanding of the dealer community and the best practices that could ensure their continued success. Today, as president of LMI Solutions, Dixon says his \u201cbest days\u201d are spent working with employees and clients, helping develop them, teaching MPS best practices, and coaching employees to reach places they thought unimaginable. \u201cThe team with the best people still wins,\u201d he says. Asked what it felt like to be named an ENX Magazine Difference Maker by his peers, Dixon says that it is amazing and humbling, particularly as he started as a small dealer with no industry experience. Dixon cites Frank Gaspari, current FlexPrint CEO and former Column Office Technology CEO, as his greatest mentor. \u201cHe hired me, and really taught me the formula for success,\u201d he says. \u201cI have added to it, but the fundamentals are sound. It is amazing how many companies just lose touch with the fundamentals – \u201cBrilliance in the Basics!\u2019\u201d On a similar note, Dixon recalls that the best advice he ever received was from a college professor at MSU. \u201c\u2019If you want to create a world-class customer service organization, you have to create an environment in which \u201cthe answer is YES — what is the question?\u2019\u201d he recites. \u201cIt has become a culture in my organizations.\u201d Since moving to LMI Solutions earlier this year, Dixon has been very busy helping implement these cultural underpinnings. He says that the biggest accomplishment in 2016 was the tripling of the sales force. \u201cWe hired some really great people,\u201d he says. \u201cOur coverage of the market, which was our biggest limitation, is so improved. In 2017, the goal is to leverage the investment, develop the skills of this larger staff, and make it fun every day. We also want to help all our clients grow their MPS business \u2013 to break down the self-created barriers to growth.\u201d Questioned about the state of the office products technology industry, Dixon replies with his customary optimism and enthusiasm. \u201cThe industry is still amazing,\u201d he says. \u201cReports of our demise are greatly over stated!\u201d He adds: \u201cThat being said, the most successful companies are open to change. They think differently and challenge their organizations. The biggest opportunity is our own internal expectations. Our expectations for growth should be much higher. We can\u2019t be afraid of that.\u201d Dixon says that the best thing about his job, and throughout his career, has been the incredible people he has met and worked with. \u201cI have had the opportunity to change people\u2019s lives,\u201d he says. \u201cThis may sound silly, but I tell people all the time in the copier business: This can be life changing, and in many cases, it has turned out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":17919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,1650,1638],"tags":[406],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21727"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21728,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21727\/revisions\/21728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}