Courtney Cotrupe of Partners + Napier

Tools of the Trade is an AgencySpy feature to help highlight the many tools that help make advertising and marketing folks successful. The tools can be anything that helps people perform at their top form, from a favorite drafting table to the best software program to a lucky pen, a vintage typewriter or a pair of headphones.

Next up is Courtney Cotrupe, CEO at Rochester, New York-based agency Partners + Napier.

What is one tool you use all the time at work, and how does it inspire your work?

Handwritten notes are one tool that keep me grounded and focused on the people in our business. They’re a way that I show people I’m thankful for them, or I’m thinking of them. 

They give me an opportunity to take a moment, pause, and reflect on the person I’m writing to. And since they’re less disposable than emails and texts, I think people enjoy them more. 

Words matter, especially in our business. Gratitude also matters. Handwriting notes for big and little moments helps me stay connected to my teammates and clients as people. It helps foster the relationships that make great work possible.

Why is it your favorite?

I think about a handwritten note like a mini moment for celebration, for comfort, or for reflection – for myself while I’m writing one, and for the recipient when they feel that surprise and delight moment of receiving something thoughtful and tactile. The fact that a note can be saved or pinned up or brought home or used as a bookmark is one of my favorite things about writing and sending (and receiving!) them. It’s not just something that you read when you’re in work mode and instantly forget about when you move to the next thing. 

How did you acquire your tool or hear about it for the first time?

My parents always wrote notes. My father used to leave notes on the counter for me to grab on my way to school, and to this day my mother mails me a birthday card every year even though she lives down the street. The little moments reading their messages felt – and still feel – so special. They instilled this natural inclination to write a note whenever I feel a surge of gratitude or feel like someone needs to be recognized, valued or supported – for things both big and small.

How does it help you be successful?

I recently read “Unreasonable Hospitality” by Will Guidara and am a firm believer that this concept of exceptional hospitality and personalization in any industry leads to better results. Especially in a creative and service industry where our people and our relationships are truly everything – writing a personal note is a basic, small practice that sets the tone for how I think about all of the much bigger ways we support our people and partnerships.