Review
"This book doesn’t rely on outdated theories about pack leadership with ‘alpha dogs’ attempting to achieve world domination. From Wags to Riches beautifully illustrates what modern behavioral science tells us: the most effective leaders (dog or human) don’t force their will on others—they find out what motivates their followers and help them make good choices."
—Victoria Stilwell, world-renowned dog trainer and host of Animal Planet’s "It’s Me or the Dog"
"Bob Vetere has been a professional champion of a surprisingly resilient sector of our economy: pets. We may scrimp on ourselves, but we'll always find a way to afford the best food for Fido. Now, with From Wags to Riches, he explains how business success flows from our understanding—and adopting—some of the same traits animals use to win our devotion. A fun read for alpha CEOs as well as bystanders at the corporate dog run!"
—Michael Schaffer, author of One Nation Under Dog
“In this fun read, Robert Vetere brilliantly develops this metaphor between dog-human relationships and solid, collaborative business practices by offering examples from his own fascinating experiences as a successful businessman. Even if you’re not a business executive or MBA student, From Wags to Riches offers lessons on business (and life) that everyone should know.”
—Dr. Alan Beck, Director, Center of the Human Animal Bond, Purdue Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University
“I am a dog lover for over 58 years and have been a business entrepreneur for the past 30 years. How Bob has ‘connected the dots’ between the similarities of dogs, people, relationships and business is just phenomenal. Every MBA student, every executive looking to move ahead and maybe any manger struggling with responsibility, along with anyone who loves dogs and business, needs to read this book.
Every chapter is absolutely illuminating and intuitive. At the end of the day, From Wags to Riches was like eating comfort food…made me feel warm and cozy. We all can learn a lot from this well-written and entertaining book.”
—Thomas A. Cook, Managing Director and CEO, American River International, LTD
About the Author
Robert Vetere is President of the American Pet Products Association (APPA), the largest trade organization for pet products in the world. At APPA, Vetere works with Dr. Marty Becker of ABC’s "Good Morning America" and Dr. Alan Beck at Purdue University to explore the human-animal bond. He also volunteers at Green Chimneys, a farm that teaches leadership skills to children with emotional, social and learning disabilities.
Over the past two decades, he has led management training seminars using the insights in this book. Among the Fortune 500 companies he has counseled are Union Carbide, First Brands, Walmart, Clorox, Lehman Bros, Merck, Oil-Dri, Mars, Nestles, Bear Stearns, PetSmart, and Proctor & Gamble. Bob has been interviewed by BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s, Entrepreneur magazine, "World News Tonight," CBS News, CNN, The New York Times magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, and The Chicago Tribune.
Before joining APPA, Vetere served as senior vice president, administration, general counsel and secretary at Oil-Dri Corporation of America, a publicly traded $175 million international manufacture of agricultural, industrial and pet products.
Valerie Andrews has spent more than 25 years chronicling social innovation. Her work has appeared in major magazines, on PBS television and the web. She recently coauthored The Business of Changing Lives: How One Company Took the Information Superhighway to the Inner City with Allan Weis, one of the founders of the Internet, and has edited several bestselling business books. Her articles about creativity, peak performance and changes in the American workplace have appeared in People, New York, Vogue, Esquire and on the Internet. She has also appeared as a commentator on public television and is the author of A Passion for this Earth, essays on our connection to the natural world. Her first book, The Psychic Power of Running, was published by Rawson Associates.
