Song of the day: Brave by Idina Menzel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVDfHBxGPOs
Since Jodi was laid-off earlier this year, she has really been the driving force behind Charmoné. We have some new product and design ideas and new sources, and Jodi has been leading the charge on all of these fronts while I’m keeping a full time job. A few blog posts ago, Jodi commented on some of my finer attributes and now I’d like to comment on some of hers. For those of us who know Jodi, we know it has been a difficult year for her on a number of fronts, but I am amazed at the way she faces any situation and deals with it and clears it out of her path. There are things with our business that make me want to hide under the covers and not answer the phone, but Jodi marches on, full steam ahead. Thank God one of us is like that!
It struck me that Jodi and I started our relationship as co-workers. In the “working for the man” world, there are those rare people who put their heads down, do great work and never “insist upon themselves.” Jodi is one of those people. I respected her work and her lack of drama and neediness. In a world of drama queens in Silicon Valley, she was a real standout.
From there we became friends and four years ago we started this venture. Over that time, my respect for Jodi professionally and personally has deepened considerably (and it was pretty high to start). She makes me a better creative thinker and when we work together on design and the more “creative” aspects of Charmoné, we have a blast. It doesn’t feel like work at all and I treasure that creative space. When you work on developing something that is nascent and new and full of possibilities, you need to be open and optimistic and never shut down an idea. Neither of us says “no” and I love that about working with Jodi. We both consider all of the crazy possibilities before we rein in our ideas.
We’re a dynamic duo if ever there was one. She’s the Beavis to my Butthead, the C3PO to my R2D2, and we consider ourselves to be as funny as Lucy and Ethel. She’s like the younger sister I never had. My kids adore her and so do I.
Even though the road has had some bumps, I respect that Jodi faces the future with optimism and a constant spirit of adventure. She is brave and I feel honored to be traveling this path with her.
Today is Jodi’s birthday and I wanted to thank her for taking this crazy ride with me, and I know that this year will be an incredible one for an amazing person like her.
Happy
Birthday!
LC
PS:
She’s the smart one.
