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In fact, Emily and Jean both have that hard to define “ZING!†that makes them a joy to work with. This starts with a strong sense of self-confidence and an understanding of their abilities that allows them to speak knowledgeably and with authority even when they are working with people who have far more experience. I like working with people who have the guts to speak up, because what they have to say is usually something important. I want to hear it.
[caption id="attachment_3354" align="alignleft" width="132" caption="Jean Boen"]
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It's more than just self-confidence, though. “ZING!†also encompasses a good bit of self-depreciating humor and a willingness to admit when you're wrong. I have found that having the ability to laugh at your own mistakes is critically important if you want people to share their opinions with you. And, one reason that Juxtapose is doing such a good job with our store redesign is that Emily and Jean are constantly seeking the opinions of each other, of our employees and, frankly, most anyone they can lasso into their world of possibilities.
There is a final and essential ingredient of “ZING!†That is talent. And, Jean and Emily have it in spades. Like any good business partnership their abilities are very complimentary.
[caption id="attachment_3379" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Emily Fielitz"]
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Jean is constantly looking for new ideas and finding ways to improve how things work. She likes to create marketing experiments and then test them. She has that unique ability of being able to draw together a bunch of seemingly unrelated facts, such as how aisles are laid out, the way displays are arranged, and, most important, how well our customers like what we've done. Then, she draws all the information together and uses it to build an overall plan. Her ability to identify patterns and systems means she can understand the possibilities.
Emily is the bubbly one. She is never in one place for very long, flitting from thing to thing in a way that constantly keeps me on my toes. She is warm, enthusiastic and full of imagination. When the world is saying, “Turn clockwise,†she will be that lone creative spark plug who insists that going counter clockwise will result in something amazing. Interestingly enough, it usually does!
[caption id="attachment_3357" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Half of Juxtapose (Emily Fielitz) directing changes to our display of woodstoves"]
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In an email to me, Jean said, “Emily and I do have two very different approaches to each project we tackle. I think we work well together because we understand the importance of not always agreeing. We respect the different backgrounds and training that we've had individually which when combined, create a well-rounded end result. Hence the name of our business...Juxtapose: To place together, side by side, especially for contrast or comparison.â€
Emily and Jean took a chance on starting their business, Juxtapose, at a time when their target audience, retail stores, is reeling from the double whammy of a tough economy and impossible credit. Despite the economy, though, they succeeded in convincing me (a guy who is known for being a conservative tightwad) to hire them. And, based on their work, I'm confident they will be very, very successful.
Galen Lehman, President, Lehman's
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PS – Want to see their work? Please stop down and visit our store. They completely remodeled our woodstove display. We think you'll enjoy browsing there, home to North America's largest display of woodstoves.
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