Dear Friends,
We are into stick season now, and while we in Vermont missed the big freak snowstorm that hit those south of us hard, it is only a matter of time before we have snow here in the North Country. As soon as the apple trees lose their leaves, I am going to prune the big apple tree by our office that we planted when we first moved here in 1999. I haven’t quite gotten apple growing down yet, even though I have been trying for a few decades, but we did get a pie, some applesauce and some cider from the trees at home.
Small Dog Electronics is a socially responsible business. We measure our success by the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. Often as I interview new employees, I ask them what they think being a socially responsible business means. To me, I go back to the four years of Latin in high school and tear apart the word “incorporate.” When a business incorporates, it literally means that it creates a “body” in society. Without getting too much into the politics of the recent Supreme Court decision, I definitely do not think that a “body” has the same rights as a citizen in terms of voting and participation, but I do think that a business has a greater responsibility than any individual.
This is because a business has such a greater footprint than any one person. We build buildings, we create waste, we use energy resources, we have an enormous impact upon people whether they are our employees, customers or vendors, and with that greater footprint comes a greater responsibility to the community wherein we reside. We take this responsibility very seriously and teach our employees about it every day—it is a part of the DNA of Small Dog Electronics. Whether you are a customer, a vendor or an employee, I want to leave the intersection of our lives with both of us better for the interaction.
