Vets Have Values: Honesty and transparency are virtues that are insisted upon in the military. Truthfulness, character and the highest levels of integrity are instilled into military members during their service.
Vets Build Winning Teams: Military members are taught how to build well-trained teams. Team building is what the military is all about, and veteran business leaders are experienced in finding, attracting, nurturing and motivating talent– and in building winning teams.
Vets Know How to Listen: Veterans were taught how to listen. They learned how to effectively communicate to their leaders, their subordinates, across the team and to others that they support. Veteran-led businesses know how to listen– and how to communicate with their business partners and their employees.
Vets Work Well Under Pressure: Members of the military are taught to thrive in high-pressure situations; the military demands that it be done right the first time, every time until the mission objectives are fully met. Clients find that veteran-owned businesses understand the need for “we need it yesterday!” and they understand how to do it right the first time, every time. They were trained to do this at an early age!
Vets Know How to Work: Members of the military know-how to work and enjoy seeing the results of their labors. They know how to work hard for months or years on end— sometimes for little reward other than the satisfaction of a job well done. Veteran-led businesses perform at the same high levels of hard work and achievement.
Vets are Loyal: The military teaches loyalty & fidelity to others and keeping commitments. Veteran-led companies are known to be loyal to their customers, their business partners and their employees. This is why most veteran-led businesses have such a high retention rate of clients and employees.
Vets are Transparent: Veterans were taught to be transparent in all they do– because other members of their team depend on them. They don’t try to hide things and they will tell you what they can do, and what they can’t do. Veteran-led companies are the same way– their transparency and candor in their business dealings are refreshing.
Vets Are Planners: The military teaches planning and workflow processes. Veteran-led companies understand the importance of setting up processes, setting achievable milestones and hitting goals. They like to put these same planning skills to work for clients.
Vets Get Results: Vets are taught to accomplish the mission while taking care of the team. Veteran-led companies know how to set achievable goals, how to focus and how to ensure their business partners achieve. No excuses; they make it happen.
Vets Practice Leadership: While most businesses practice “management” of their people, Dogwood practices “leadership”. We seek to instill each of these skill sets listed above into our team through 1) setting high examples of excellence for our team to follow and 2) by finding and developing people that share these same values & skills. We are taking what we have learned about building high-performance teams and putting it to good use for our clients.
The Proof is in the numbers: We believe that these important skill sets and daily practices at Dogwood are why we have such a high retention rating of clients, business partners, and associates. We don’t just talk the talk– we walk the walk.
In May 2022, the US Department of Veterans Affairs formally awarded us our official “seal”, certifying Dogwood Logistics LLC as an Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, a process in which they evaluated not only our military service, but most other aspects of our business, our financial strength and our operational readiness to perform. We and our team promise to continue to use what we learned from the military long ago and put it to work for YOU.
Cordially,
Paul Maynard, Managing Director (Retired US Air Force)
Ross Statham, Executive Vice President. ( Former US Army)