The Company We Keep

WITH THE LEAD story of this issue, writer Chris Burslem presents a guide to creating a company culture, one that best represents your values and goals.

He shares bits of advice from noted business experts and from leading pet professionals, both retailers and manufacturers.

The story got me thinking about PETS+ and our company culture.

As you may know, we are part of the SmartWork Media brand, which publishes seven trade magazines across a variety of industries. I value my SWM colleagues, many of whom are listed to the right, and especially appreciate PETS+ Publisher Desiree Lynch and Advertising Sales Representative Peter Sienkiewicz. You will find the three of us attached at the hip during trade shows, working hard and having fun as we speed walk through the aisles.

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These people, though, are only part of the PETS+ company culture.

Our Brain Squad includes more than 800 pet retailers and service providers. These generous readers share their insight and advice on the pages of this magazine and at petsplusmag.com. Our 2,200-strong PETS+ Facebook Community does the same on that platform. And last but not least, our valued advertisers entrust us with their message and continue to help us grow.

In the lead story, Burslem presents business professor Boris Groysberg’s eight types of company cultures. While I’d argue that PETS+ falls into several, this one stands out to me as the best representation of what we all have created:

“Caring work environments are warm and collaborative, with a focus on relationships and mutual trust.”

And for that, I thank each and every one of you. You are an integral part of PETS+ and our values and goals.