Meet Warren Cook | Co-Founder and HR Advisor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Warren Cook and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Warren, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Integrity. With a passion for supporting the success of my clients by serving them with integrity and an unwavering work ethic I create a symbiotic relationship in which my contributions to our clients add significant value and contribute to their continued success which ultimately leads to greater success for our firm.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
As Co-Founder, President and Chief of HR Advisory Services for TAHR Services Inc, I have dedicated our firm to serving the small business community. The depth and breadth of my subject matter expertise in human resource leadership, business ownership and management, project management and formal training in Industrial & Organizational Psychology positions me effectively to provide a myriad of HR and Business Advisory solutions to the small business community. My experience spans the private and public sector across industries from judicial branch of state government to global fortune 50 in pharmaceutical, insurance, telecommunication, legal and financial service industries to the small business community serving clients in almost every industry from construction, manufacturing, professional services, higher education, physicians/surgical practices and mental health providers.

I credit a significant portion of my success to the symbiotic relationships I develop with my clients, becoming a trusted advisor guiding the client to continued success through effective risk management strategies for their employment practices. I listen to their challenges, understand their goals and dreams, and them develop and provide customized solutions that align with their culture, core values and business goals. I truly advise clients on the risks and options to accomplish what they wish rather than tell them what they can’t do.

My unique life and professional experience coupled with academic accomplishments enables me to offer much more than simply human resource consulting services as a product or commodity. Rather, my approach delivers practical solutions that achieve risk mitigation while enhancing workforce performance, engagement, inclusion, and much more that drives increased revenue and profitability.

My journey was challenging. By the age of 25 I was a single father of three children, and working to build a career in large pharmaceutical companies while obtaining degrees and building a network of mentors and relationships that provide the experience and security I needed as a parent. My work ethic often disrupted the organizations I worked for and I made several job changes as a result of disagreeing with the ethical behaviors of the management and leadership practices of the companies I worked for.

Always putting my children first, climbing a corporate ladder was never in the cards, and completing my three degrees to earn the roles I desired and the warranted compensation for the contributions I delivered was not easy. All completed online and mostly in the evenings, I earned a BS in HR Management, an MBA in Project Management, and a MS in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Due to a less than desirable career path and resume, I often needed to run my own business and consult from scratch out of my home to feed the family. In retrospect, all of these changes and my journey culminated into an extremely robust and comprehensive set of skills, competencies, and experience that were valued by large and small organizations alike.

After my appointment by the Chief Judge of Family Court in the State of Delaware and being a public servant leading HR for this court statewide for four years, I authored my first book – Applicant Interview Preparation: Practical Coaching for Today in 2016. This coincided with extensive national speaking engagements with SHRM, NAPFA, and other organizations and conferences. I served on the Board of Directors for DE SHRM, and after meeting my best friend and wife Jennifer Cook (and bringing 5 children together like the brady bunch), we launched SymbianceHR consulting firm which was very successful from 2016 to 2020. Leveraging my book and experience I also began providing Interview Preparation workshops, webinars, training and solutions to job seekers, including free services to any military service man or woman. Then the world came to a halt due to the Covid pandemic.

This is when my life changed again drastically and shockingly to my family, friends, and professional network. In November 2020 we purchased off grid land in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, and for the next 2.5 years I lived in a 28′ camper challenged with things like having no water, septic, or electricity but having the opportunity to enjoy a mountain view, hike, camp, and start my life on a ranch gardening and raising livestock. Took almost 6 months to get septic, almost a year to get a well and water supply, took almost a year for the solar sets, and it wasn’t until 2023 due to supply chain and Covid related delays we were able to build our dream log cabin home.

The journey continued in Colorado to find a way to use my skills to serve the small business community, which now included small rural communities with challenged eco systems, not to mention gaining the credibility and trustworthiness in the frontier lands to earn the opportunity to do business in the area. This took some time, however once I contributed to local chambers of commerce, joined Good Business Colorado, aligned with various non-profits and local programs to help local students and businesses, I earned the opportunity to launch in August 2023 TAHR Services Inc, with the goal to continue my passion in serving the small business community in the capacity of HR and Business Advisor with customized solutions to support their success.

We look to engage clients who care about their workforce, value long term symbiotic relationships with expert advisors, have strong values and are mission driven, and wish to enhance the risk management of their employment practices.

In January of 2024 my wife Jennifer and I also founded TAHR Community Resources Inc. a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing training and advisory services to the small business community through grants and funding that allow these needed services to be provided at no cost to the client.

My success has been promulgated over the years through successful delivery of my solutions to small business owners in support of their goals which results in referrals and leads to new client acquisition. I have built a career out of helping people, and using my experience to support the success of the small business community is rewarding and provides me tremendous personal satisfaction.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I reside off grid in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, and this was intentional to be far from any city or large town. Therefore, when friends visit they are looking to enjoy the solitude of my ranch, enjoy time with the chickens, quail, guinea, pigs, and dogs. My guests then enjoy views of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, and from our deck the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

When here, we avoid the main “tourist” spots and will hike places like Cherry Creek Lake Trail or Major Creek, camp out at the mountain lake and fish for trout while enjoying amazing views of the stars and Milky Way. We take our guests around the valley to see Elk, Mule Deer, Big Horn Sheep, and Antelope (which happen to walk all over our ranch daily).

Our guests generally enjoy staying at the ranch grilling food we raised and processed right here ourselves and vegetables we grew in our greenhouse.

Friends and loved ones visit us to “get away” from city life and busy lives and get to slow things down, relax, and just enjoy nature all around them.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Without the consistent love, support, patience, and guidance of my best friend and wife, Jennifer Cook, my ability to pursue my personal and professional goals would be limited. My good friend, mentor, and strategic referral partner Dennis D. D’Andrea has been a consistent grounding voice reminding me of my accountability for my decisions and always providing honest, critical feedback that allows me to remain humble, focused, and realistic in my efforts to achieve established goals. Dr. Martin Kessel, who was there for me in my teenage years when I was abandoned by my father, mentored and guided me with dedicated care and love to remain true to my moral and ethical values in everything I do, always working diligently to help others using all my skills, experience, and abilities.

Website: https://www.tahrservices.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wcook

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095285353768

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TAHRServicesInc