As brand consultants we work with clients large and small to enhance and build their brands.
First we work with you to understand your brand, and
only then do we recommend appropriate solutions.
New ways for
you to…brand new!
December 19th marks the anniversary of the death of our founder and namesake, C.E. “Scoop” Cooley. There are only a handful of current Cooley employees who ever met Scoop, but those of us who were fortunate enough to work for him directly have many stories about Scoop- some fond, and some not !
Scoop began his career working for George Eastman’s Kodak Newspaper, The Kodakery, in the early 20's. Eventually, he joined the business forms company, The Gilman Fanfold Company. To no one’s surprise who knew Scoop, he became the manager of the Rochester Office, and one of the entire company’s leading salesmen. In 1945, Gilman was merged with their parent company and Scoop, ever the entrepreneur, left and started the Cooley Company. The rest is history.
Scoop was instrumental in starting the National Business Forms Association, and was one of the first Presidents of that organization. Among his many accomplishments was the establishment of Cooley as one of the very first employee- owned companies, as a way to pass ownership to them after his retirement.
Scoop was also one of the first business owners to fight for their rights under the restraint of trade provisions of the Sherman Anti-Trust act. He did so when the major manufacturers tried to keep the independent distributors out of the business forms market in the late 40’s.
But to those of us who knew him, Scoop was completely different. He signed the checks, and his vision gave hundreds of employees an opportunity to make their own destiny. He was a task master, and even more so after a liquid lunch at the Brighton. Altho small in stature, “Mr. Cooley wants to talk to you in his office” could strike terror in even the largest of salesmen.
Scoop had a plaque on his desk that clearly identified his perfect salesman. It read
“Our Company Prefers Married Salesmen- Because They Already Know How To Take Orders”.
That was his hiring profile for years- salesmen were to be just that- men, married, sole income earner for the family ( gave them extra motivation), college educated at top- notch universities ( knew the value of hard work), and experienced in sales. Clearly old school, Scoop turned his people loose and expected them to provide a profitable return on his investment.
With Scoop’s passing in 1984, ownership of Cooley passed to the employees, and a new era was born, and the company continues today as Cooley Group, Inc. Many changes have occurred (we now have a sales staff that’s nearly 50-50 men and women), but one constant remains- Scoop Cooley’s insistence on excellence. Now, over 65 years later, we have evolved into a diverse and dynamic company- without sacrificing the independent vision imbued by our founding father.
So here’s to you, Clarence! Thank you from all of us for the opportunities we have. It couldn’t have been done without you.
( * ) denotes required field.