Appletree is joining the blog world! As an innovator in the marketing arena for our industry I am embarrassed that we are so late to the blog party. In our research we have found there are a multitude of reasons to actively participate in the blogosphere, not the least of which is communication with stakeholders. Customers, employees and key vendors are all engaged in research and interaction with related companies.

I am excited that our employees will have a venue to make more of a connection with me and our company in general, and that is the primary driver for me becoming an active blogger. Business today has changed dramatically, and valuing employees as true stakeholders in the company is central to our philosophy. We even design new office spaces around front line employees first. They get the best views, the best space and the most ergonomic workstations.

As a CEO this progression to employee centric thinking is very rewarding. While it costs more to provide employees a first class experience, the service they deliver to our customers makes it well worth it. There are topics in just about every executive meeting about how to make the front line employee experience better. Our number one job as a company is to service our employees, so that they in turn service our customers. It is a real shift in thinking but one that is completely worth it.

Please stay tuned for future thoughts about our company and our industry in general.