Difference Maker Spotlight: Cannon IV’s Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones of Cannon IV

Jerry Jones of Cannon IV

Cannon IV, one of the country’s leading dealerships, was started 42 years ago by Jerry Jones’s father. In those early days the business consisted solely of selling carbon paper and typewriter ribbons out of the family garage in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jones joined the business at the same time and he reflects on the unbelievable evolution of the company. “I almost think of carbon ribbons as something out of the Stone Age,” he muses. “Now we’re into digital printing, technology in business and managed print services is our focal point.”

The “IV” in Cannon IV refers to the four brothers in the business. Family values and culture is important to the Jones family and they extend that to the staff and their customers. Cannon IV’s tagline is an acronym known as FIT. It stands for family, integrity and trust. Jones’ fundamental belief is that you can’t lead or be led unless there is an element of trust there.

“We have high levels of respect; high levels of trust and integrity and that carries over to the customer,” he says. “People believe in that. Customers get a good glimpse of it and know that they can depend on you. They know that they’re dealing with honest law-abiding citizens who they can put their faith and trust in.”

How does Jones describe the feeling of being recognized by his peers as an ENX magazine Difference Maker? “It is an honor any time your peer group thinks you are doing something noteworthy because there are so many outstanding people in the industry,” he says. Jones credits Doug Johnson of LMI and Brian Stevenson of TriMega who have been great friends, role models, and mentors for several years. “Both are extremely bright and innovative,” he adds. “They fit perfectly into the Cannon IV culture.”

Jones says that today Cannon IV is focused on driving business efficiencies, cost-cutting measures, and implementing innovative sales training with the help of Stevenson and Johnson. “The people in genuine MPS are always trying to figure out better ways to collect data to respond better to the customer,” he explains. “It’s something that Doug has been very passionate about. The industry has been doing things like CPP, but now we are discussing how to switch that to a seat-based option.”

“I think all of us are just trying to figure out how to reduce the touches,” he adds. “I think that we have to be better listeners. We’re giving the customer too much information. They want to know about the abnormalities and it’s our job to show them the abnormalities. We have to be able to go to the customer and say that we can manage this much better. We have a tendency in the industry to want to give everybody everything and I don’t think people want that anymore.”

Reflecting further on the industry, Jones says that he’s surprised that a dominant OEM hasn’t emerged to fully embrace MPS. “They all have it and they all do it, but none of them really want to offer a great deal to their channel partners,” he says. “It’s hard to get information from something that people are saying is a driving force in the industry. I’m surprised they haven’t taken a more proactive role. We tend to get the best information and the best products from people outside the industry.”

It’s not surprising that Cannon IV was voted the best place to work for two years in Indiana (2014, 2016). Jones recalls that in 2008, at the outset of the recent recession, the business was hit hard because people simply weren’t looking to replace hardware. “I was faced with a very difficult decision of having to do major layoffs,” he says. “But instead I did the math and I found out what we needed to reduce the expense. I went to all of our employees and asked them to take a fairly significant pay reduction – at least 10 to 12 percent – while the Jones family took even more of a reduction. I explained that when things improved I’d not only pay them back, I’d pay them back with interest. In about nine months we paid everybody back with interest.  Since that happened people say that this is the company they want to retire from.”

Asked what he thinks is the best thing about his job, Jones replies that it is the opportunity to teach and mentor. And then he adds: “And I have the privilege to work in a family business with my three brothers and a son.”

About the Author
Todd Turner is a contributing editor of ENX magazine. Todd has a background in marketing and a nearly 20-year history in the imaging industry. He can be reached at todd@enxmag.com