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A Purposeful Redemption Arc – the Renee Bradley Story

If you’ve been listening to Stories from the River, you’ve heard the name Renee Bradley many times.

Highly admired by her fellow Memory Makers, Renee joins us for this episode of the podcast to discuss her life and career at Broad River. Renee shares her memories of the difficulties the team had in 2015 with the original STORIS transition, as well as being involved in the first big remodel of the Pineville store.

Episode Resources:
Purpose 8:28 – https://www.purpose828.com

Leadership Summit YouTube clip of Joey Reiman speaking to BRR – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmABICtQLsk

Leadership Summit YouTube clip of Inky Johnson speaking to BRR – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNAGlW6uObg

“The Power of Moments” book by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – https://www.amazon.com/Power-Moments-Certain-Experiences-Extraordinary/dp/1501147765

“Everybody Matters” book by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia – https://www.barrywehmiller.com/outreach/book

“The Invisible Leader” book by Zach Mercurio – https://www.zachmercurio.com/books/

_______

We hope you enjoy this episode, and subscribe to our podcast for a new story each week.

Visit storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes.

Stories from the River Podcast explores the personal journeys of Broad River Retail’s very own Memory Makers. Whether it’s interviews or standalone narratives, Stories from the River will bring you closer to what it’s like to thrive inside the company. This show will share personal experiences from stores, distribution centers, call centers, and corporate campuses, giving listeners a front row seat to what it’s really like to be a Memory Maker furnishing life’s best memories every day.

This show is brought to you by Broad River Retail. Visit www.BroadRiverRetail.com.

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FULL TRANSCRIPTION

Charlie:

June 2015. It’s been a nightmare start of the year. And you’ve now found yourself on a mini ad hoc committee to plan this bold reset, 100-day challenge. Renee, what’s going through your mind this time? 

Renee:

Let’s go do this. We just prove we can overcome anything. We came out tired but energized and enthusiastic. But then I realized I’m sitting at a table with important people and my voice is going to be heard. Very nervous, like a little bit of imposter syndrome, but ready. Ready to make it. Ready to do it. 

Intro

Welcome to Stories from the River, a podcast brought to you by Broad River Retail, where we’ll explore the personal journeys of our Memory Makers and share real stories from across the organization. And now for your host, President, and CEO at the River, Charlie Malouf. 

Charlie:

Hey, guys. Welcome to Stories from the River with Renee Bradley. Renee is our Regional Manager of the North Stars. Renee, you ready? 

Renee:

Yeah. 

Charlie:

We’re so excited to have you on here and to hear your story. 

Renee:

Thank you. 

Charlie:

You’ve been with us now for a little bit over eight years? 

Renee:

Yes, sir. 

Charlie:

Love it. Okay. Well, Renee, I love to kind of go into your background before you join the River. Tell us a little bit about you, your background, and your career prior to coming to the River? 

Renee:

Absolutely. I started out in education, working in special education, and got a little part-time job when my husband became ill and wasn’t working. And started at Black Lion, which is just like a little local business with little boutiques and some furniture. 

And I was drawn to the furniture and making it look good. And from there, a couple of the vendors that worked there kind of brought me on as a visual, merchandiser. And I knew Value City was opening in Charlotte, and I thought, I’m just going to go see what it’s about. And I was with Value City for nine years. 

Charlie:

Wow. 

Renee:

Yeah. And then I grew from sales into management with them. And then for family reasons, I traveled around the country with them. I had to come back home, and I went to Rooms To Go. And I was with Rooms To Go when you guys recruited me, Todd Jones, and Tim Dentzer. And I’ve been here for eight and a half years. 

Charlie:

Wow. Okay. And you’ve had quite the career arc? With us too, I mean, you talked about that with your previous employers. So tell us about like the different,  what did you start as an and what and how did you, take us through your career progression? 

Renee:

Absolutely. I started as a General Manager in training in our Pineville location. And a few months I became the General Manager out of training Pineville. And from there I went to Mooresville as a General Manager, and then I became an Area Manager and a District Manager and now a Regional Manager of the North Region. 

Charlie:

Were you a first-ever Area Manager? 

Renee:

I was. And I was your first-ever General Manager in training. 

Charlie:

Yeah, what a great title, GMAT. 

Renee:

Yeah. 

Charlie:

Oh, gosh. We got to come up with some better titles. Well, you’ve done a great job. I mean, eight and a half years, you’ve just continued to kind of grow and assume more. And I want to kind of get into more of that today. 

Renee:

Absolutely. 

Charlie:

But go back to your first day. I tend to believe that most people remember their first day at a new company. We try to make it really memorable, as you know. Do you remember your first day at Broad River, or maybe even what do you remember about that day? 

Renee:

My first day was Retail Boot Camp at the Hilton behind the Pineville store. And Burton Oxford was the leader and it was intense. It was a two-day Boot Camp, and I didn’t know what to expect. I’d never been to a Boot Camp of any kind. 

I learned how to write a very specific and detailed and perfect worksheet when we were writing worksheets and learned about our sales process. It was a great way to come in it was like intense training. I was immersed with all of our sales associates and leaders, so it was a great first day. Nervous, but I learned a lot in the very first two days. 

Charlie:

Boot Camp with Burton, love that. 

Renee:

Boot Camp with Burton. 

Charlie:

And so, what else do you remember about your first week?

Renee:

I spent a day at our corporate office on Selwyn, and the morning was I kind of visited with each Executive our department had, to kind of meet and greet and learn what each department did. And then went to lunch with Nancy Hendrickson and would spend the rest of the day with her. And we just hit it off. 

Nancy’s just a phenomenal person, and now such a dear friend. But we talked and talked and talked, and we were watching the lights go off in all the other offices and people stopping by to say bye. And it was like 6:45 and we were still there talking about the company. 

And you appeared in the doorway. I didn’t know who you were, so Nancy introduced you. And you were so kind. You stood there for about 30, 40 minutes and told me about your journey to Broad River. Your vision for the company. stories was coming in. Everybody was so excited about that. 

And when you laughed, I said to Nancy “I can’t believe like one of the owners of the company, like doesn’t know me, and stood here and explained his vision to me”. It was like I was starstruck. 

Charlie:

Well, I don’t know about that. But Nancy and I, we both get criticized as being talkers, so …

Renee:

Me too. 

Charlie:

We love good conversation, love, good talking. Okay so you talked about you mentioned the store’s conversion in 2015. And so we’ve talked, you know, in previous, I mean we talked about the June 2015 when we broken all of our bones and that was partially what the wheels came off the I guess came off during the store’s conversion and the misery that ensued during the first half of 2015. I like to say that we broke all of our bones. 

I mean you could put a lot of different descriptions here, we nearly died, but it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us. And we’ve grown so much stronger, more resilient from that experience. And you and I had talked about this in the past, but why did you remain with the company in 2015? 

Renee:

People joke that who had time to look for another job but that’s just a joke. The truth is you and Jonathan Ishii took such ownership and had such transparency, once we realized what was happening. 

And that just equaled loyalty to me like you, you owned it. You empathized with what we were going through. We had lots of meetings where both of you said, what do you need? How do we triage this? What can we do quickly to make it the best that it could be? And I just remember standing back and thinking, what company does that like? What President and CEO or CEOO you at the time stand in front of us and says “We know what you know. We know what’s happening. We own it, we made mistakes, but we’re going to fix it.” 

And to me, that just strengthened my loyalty to you and to the company. I remember Pam DeLuca was the Assistant Manager with me. And we worked no lie, we counted 37 straight days because we felt such a set, not because anybody asked us to let me say that, but we felt such a sense of responsibility to our team and making sure that they survived and to you guys. 

Like, I can only imagine the hours that you all were putting in and we thought, we’re right here, we’re right in it with you. You know, we never thought the ship would go down. We just knew we were going to stand tall as it rose up, so. 

Charlie:

Well, I’m so glad you made the decision not to leave, or look around, or that you were too busy to find to take another interview. Whatever the joke may be, –  

Renee:

I kind of like it, it was a struggle, but I love problem-solving, and I just took that first half of the year on as an opportunity to solve problems. We literally put up whiteboards in the office and called them our tree boards and followed through to give the best guest service we could. But it was kind of like it was a puzzle and it taught me, you know, we could overcome any adversity that was thrown our way. 

Charlie:

Well, I’d like to think that we could have been smart enough to have avoided that Titanic colossal failure, but we did have to own it. But we got through that. But then you weren’t done with adversity. 

Renee:

No. 

Charlie:

Now then, let’s call it the Pineville remodel.  So we go through the stores conversion and begin to turn things around. And unfortunately, you know, we threw another chance at leadership adversity your way. 

We had a major renovation project in our Flagship store in Pineville, that you learned firsthand was quite painful to endure during that time. I don’t know why we picked the most complex project. And the number one store is our first major remodel. We probably should have done that inverted and done like some smaller ones, first figured it out, but we didn’t.  

We certainly learned a heck of a lot since that time. But this one was quite painful. And so what, how did you. how did the experience in 2017 test you, shape you and mold you in what was a really, really painful, poorly executed remodel in Pineville? 

Renee:

Well, I think you pick Pineville, because like go big or go home. Like, why not? Yeah, definitely that was a year of blood, sweat, and tears. But again, it was just a sense of like failing forward. Like mistakes are going to happen. We got better, we got better from 2015. So when this was happening in 2017 I thought we got this, it’s going to be okay.  

Safety first because we were doing this major renovation, and while this door was open and there was lots of equipment and chemicals and no signage on the front of the building.

I mean we were setting up outdoor tables outside and flagging people in, but it was fun. We just made it fun. We figured out ways to get around, literally get around the building in and around the construction. But it was hard, but we did it. You just put your head down and go to work, right? 

Charlie:

I think that was liberal use of the word find thereby Renee Bradley. Oh, you’re too kind. You’re too kind. 

Renee:

You know what? It’s, you’ve got to trust your company and you have to trust the decisions that are made. And you have to know that mistakes are going to happen because we’re human and just believe that it’s going to be okay at the end. 

It was a hard year because personally I had the construction going in Pineville, and I feel really passionate about my job and my people and my team and the company. So I wanted to keep us safe in all aspects of safety, like protect our assets and protect our inventory, and protect everybody’s income. And at the same time, my sister-in-law was in her final stages of cancer. So, when I say blood, sweat, and tears, I mean it. 

Charlie:

I remember those conversations and I know that I was personally very tough. So, I want to make it, maybe switched a little bit more positive. I call this section your redemption Arc. 

Renee:

Yeah. 

Charlie:

So then you move from Pineville to Mooresville, in 2018. And we’ve had Kelly Jones on the podcast, and she shared about how special 2018 was. And something changed or clicked for you that year. 

It was like your own personal bold reset, your own redemption arc you know like I said earlier. But so take us through that year and the milestones, the memories, the events, your mindset, and what the ultimate resulting achievement was? 

Renee:

Yeah absolutely. 2018 was just like a year of magic. It’s like everything just collecting came together. We finished the renovation. My first grandchild was born, my sister-in-law passed away. But Broad River, like you guys just, you kept me going right, and that you were my family. And it was hard leaving Pineville, hard leaving my team that I’d been with for almost four years. 

But I made a promise to myself and to my sister-in-law that I was going to walk and walk into this new store and make it my own. And what I found, what it had been, is such a successful store the year before. And I knew that to win, I had to do it big, right? I had a big win. 

So I noticed that right away, that it was a group of people that were extremely talented but weren’t working together and didn’t really have a culture of family and trust. It was just individuals working for themselves. And so that was uncomfortable for me because I’m a big culture person. I want us all to get along and be a family.

So I started a book club, that we could really kind of get to know each other. And that was a huge success, a huge success. They kind of pushed back at first, but then they were in they were we were on ten, we were on fire with book club. 

We ended up, Kelly won REM of the year. I won GM of the year. We changed store designations from silver to gold, which means we increased our annual revenue from, I think, 7.4 to over 9 million, so that was super exciting. That was our theme the whole year, going for gold. 

Charlie:

Didn’t you do that on the last day of the year? 

Renee:

We did that on the last day of the year. 

Charlie:

Yeah, that so cool. 

Renee:

It was down to the wire. 

Charlie:

You had it mapped out meticulously all the way down to you were cool, calm, and collected “No, I know we got it last day of the year. We got it, it’s how I planned it.” 

Renee:

Yep, yep, yep. It was just a magical year. We had eight HFCs Sales Associates, and seven out of those eight wrote $1,000,000 or more. The only reason Ryan Sharp did not do it is he came mid-year. 

Charlie:

Wow. 

Renee:

But another highlight that year was Lisa Griffin she’d been with the company for 15 years at the time and had never been $1,000,000 writer, and she wrote $1,000,000. I remember sitting down with her and saying “Why, why aren’t you a $1,000,000 writer? And she said, “I don’t know.”  And I said “You’re going to be this year. Here’s the plan.” And she executed and wow. 

Charlie:

What a testament to leadership. To pull together the individual, stars and make them a team and a family. Some business lessons right there. So I want to go to the Leadership Summit that we had in 2018. 

Renee:

Yeah.  

Charlie:

And I’m gonna come back and I want to talk a little bit about Orange Crush – 

Renee:

Sure. 

Charlie:

But I want to talk about the Leadership Summit. We brought in Joey Reiman and Inky Johnson for our annual Leadership Summit in Fort Mill in late August of that year. And we also unveiled our organizational purpose statement “Furnishing Life’s Best Memories”. What do you remember about that summit? 

Renee:

That was a day of awakening for me. That was a pivotal change in who I am today, happened during that summit. I just remember being blown away by both of them. Joey was just kind of explaining the science and psychology behind the purpose. 

Then Inky Johnson had this huge life experience that changed his trajectory of and his plan. And I thought I don’t know what my purpose is. I don’t know how to find it, but at the same time of being, I was I felt a little bit of panic. I also was so excited and thought this is the door that needed to be opened for me. Like this has been coming my whole life, and I was just blown away by both of them. 

And then when you unveiled our purpose statement, I just remember crying like it was just so perfect and so meaningful and simple but packed with meaning. And I thought, okay, I’m in, I’m all in. 

Charlie:

Love that. 

Renee:

Then you asked if people wanted to volunteer to be on the committee, and I couldn’t raise my hand quick enough. 

Charlie:

Yeah. So, the PAC. So part of the process for Joey Reiman is step forward to activate it, be it, do it, say it, activate it. And so we said we don’t want it just to be words on a page. We want it to be we’re going to start a purpose, activate committee to indoctrinate it and implement it and install it and activate it for the next year-plus in our organization. 

So we met as a PAC and you served on the PAC for the next sixteen months. And so, we even adopted your idea of a book club for the PAC, which we got together we did readings every week and talked about what those meant to us. And it was instrumental for our, in my opinion, for our group learnings. So what can you tell us about the experience of serving on the PAC? 

Renee:

Wow, truly one of the best experiences of my life so far. It was so special to me because we were a diverse group that came together. Some of us I knew, some of us I had not met before or, or briefly. But what I quickly learned was we talked about activating purpose in the company and how do we do that. 

And it really ended up being kind of a personal journey for each of us and realizing that we had to kind of figure out our own purpose and what purpose meant. And before we could really activated in the company. 

And I took, I was so honored and humbled to sit on that committee and learn and transform who I was and, and then to know that I was going to be able to infuse some of that into our community, into my family, into my friends. It was just an incredible experience. 

Charlie:

Really, really cool. So, Renee, you may be the inventor of these, but what a purpose bombs? 

Renee:

I cannot take credit for it. The first purpose bomb was Christian Adams. I don’t know that we called it a purpose bomb. I think I came up with the name. 

Charlie:

Okay. 

Renee:

But a purpose bomb is when you just have an impromptu surprise celebration for somebody to show your gratitude for what they do for you, or what they mean to you. And they don’t see it coming, it’s loud, it’s noisy, but it’s like an impromptu party just to say thank you. 

Charlie:

Okay, love it. And those came out of the Purpose Activation Committee. And so, we had these things called Orange Crush. We did Orange Crush one I think in 2017, Orange Crush two in 2018, and then Orange Crush three in our year of PURPOSE, the Memory Maker tour. 

And with Purpose Full Spaces, Purpose Service Projects. And then you were still kind of you are an Area Manager but you were also running Mooresville. But talk to us about O.C. three at the lake, which is the identity for Mooresville- 

Renee:

Yes. 

Charlie:

-That you guys came up with, and in what way, tell us about O.C. three at the lake?  

Renee:

With it being all about purpose that year and furnishing life’s best memories. I had some ideas, but I wanted the team to feel it, like this couldn’t just be a show. It needed to be something that we really felt, true memories, true purpose behind it. 

So, we came up with the theme of a “Walk Down Memory Lane”, and each of us that worked at the lake that year. I love arts and crafts, but we made like , used science boards and we took ourselves down memory lane for our journey through Broad River or what home furnishings meant to you. 

Some of us hadn’t been there very long. I remember we had a gentleman that had only been there for a few weeks, so his journey at Broad River was very short. But we just showed how home furnishings are, how this industry has been a platform for us. And the memories that we’ve made here are. So it was so cool. It was very emotional. I mean, people got really into it and some of the boards were really emotional. 

Charlie:

I think I was tearing up. Did we have someone on face time, who was like like watching? Was it Dawn?

Renee:

It was Dawn. Yeah, yeah. She couldn’t be there. And yeah, it was just incredible. And then when we talked about Purpose Full Spaces, I came up with an idea, and then several people were instrumental in helping. 

But I thought, you know, Ashley Homestore can take you through your whole life from your very first place in college all the way to your forever home.

So we put a big timeline up on the wall and it was super special because it showed, it showed us and the community what we can do, what we do, and why it matters but we had models that showed college stage –

Charlie:

I remember that. 

Renee:

-First home, getting married, first baby, final home. And I was able to use my daughter son in law and grandson as the models and they were actually going through that process. So it was really, really cool. 

Charlie:

Very cool, very. So intentional. And then and then we had this purpose on that Purpose828 and the PAC helped produce that. So so tell us about what’s Purpose828?

Renee:

Oh, probably my best day ever at Broad River. 

Charlie:

Really? 

Renee:

Yeah. I think it’s my favorite day ever at Broad River. It was a long day. It took a lot of work, but oh my gosh, I loved every single second of it. I wish it could have gone on forever. We had incredible speakers. It was just we had, Zach Mercurio, Nicholas Pierce, Justin Jones, those two.

Charlie:

Yeah. It was Jennine and Dr. V.

Renee:

Yeah. It was just incredible. It’s just one after another and just sitting there soaking it all in. But then being on the panel in front of the group, as you know, answering questions. And I just that whole that day was just surreal. Like, I can’t believe I’m here. Like, I can’t believe I get to do this.

Charlie:

It’s one of those like the on one hand, probably the most special day that’s definitely, definitely out there. OK, so then we went to New York City as a PAC for a Purpose2030 with Imperative, hosted by Imperative. What’s Purpose2030? 

Renee:

Aaron Hurst and his team at Imperative did tons of research and found out that only 30% of people are really satisfied or fulfilled at work. And they wanted to flip that by 2030. So I think 66% would be fulfilled at work. 

Charlie:

Yeah. 

Renee:

And they’re doing great work and – 

Charlie:

That’s the moonshot goal. 

Renee:

Yes. 

Charlie:

That’s the Purpose2030 moonshot goal, which is just articulated. 

Renee:

Yes. So, so many speakers there, so many notes that I still go back and read today, but just such a great experience to travel to New York City. Feel the energy, be in this Summit where they’re just talking about making work better for everybody and how to do that. So it was awesome. 

Charlie:

They’ve really been a thought leader in the space and then he wrote the book The Purpose Economy. But what are some of your favorite books, speakers, or lessons that you recall from our readings and our learnings during your time serving on the PAC? Because there was a lot. We were fully immersive at the time. 

Renee:

Yes, we were. The Power of Moments, and Everybody Matters. Power of Moments by the Heath brothers, Chip, and Dan Heath. Well, I don’t I don’t how to put it into words. It taught me that the littlest moment, just passing somebody and smiling can change their day and moments happen one right after the other. So if you mess that one up, you get to, you know, do it all over again. 

And that’s when I really really realized my purpose while reading that book, that it’s the ripple effect and what each time you interact with somebody, if you intentionally make it a special moment or a memorable moment, even just with a smile that can go on forever. 

So that book and it also showed, you know, they talked about the red phone at a hotel out in California that is rated in the top three because they have an old-fashioned red phone at the pool. 

Charlie:

The popsicle phone? 

Renee:

Yeah.

Charlie:

You can call and order the popsicle. So it just showed that it’s simple. And then Everybody Matters by Bob Chapman. That’s like, that’s it. That’s how I read that book. Over and over again. And that’s kind of how you’re modeling Broad River. And he says it, everybody is someone’s precious child and that’s so true.

Charlie: 

We highly recommend it, and Zach Mercurio had recommended that book to me. 

Renee:

Yes, he did. His book was phenomenal, The Invisible Leader. Another good one. Yeah. So many good ones. 

Charlie:

I hear the phrase Bring back the PAC, all the time. I don’t even know, do you know what that means? 

Renee:

I think we miss each other. I think we miss that personal growth and being able to you know, always be the student together. So, yeah, we would love that. 

Charlie:

Got it. Maybe we need to do that. 

Renee:

Yeah. 

Charlie:

So multi-unit leadership in scale scaling your impact. Following your tremendous success in Mooresville as the GM, you know, we talked about you being promoted to the Area Manager, then the next year to the District Manager, then the following year to Regional Manager. So your span of influence and impact has certainly grown as well as your oversight each year, or for the past few years. How have you grown as a leader in each of these roles? 

Renee:

I think  I’ve become more consistent in messaging and my language and actually just my mood, you know. I realize that I’m contagious. So I’m always thinking of the time, what do I want to spread. I think that I’ve learned to always be the student. Being a leader is truly just being a student. I’ve learned to listen more and truly listen and not just be listening to respond, but listen to learn, and then remembering to celebrate all the small wins because it’s so important to everybody. 

Charlie:

Yeah. There’s power in small wins. We learned about that and the science behind that during our readings in PAC. 

Renee:

Yes. 

Charlie:

How have you been able to scale your impact? 

Renee:

That’s hard. It’s hard to realize that you’re like kind of out of the weeds, so to speak. And so you don’t have as much control over a smaller group that you’re with every day, all day. So what I’ve learned, and I think what’s helped me be successful is I empower others. 

You’ve got to trust your people. You’ve got to empower them. You’ve got to delegate and just make sure that you have clarity so that we’re all on the same page. But empowering others is vital. 

Charlie:

So, how important has organization and time management been to your success as you’ve grown and scaled your leadership impact? 

Renee:

So important. I am an organized person. A funny fact about me is my hobby is cleaning and organizing. Give me a label gun in some bins and I am a happy girl. So, I’ve had to learn how to kind of bring that to work. 

I’m a note-taker. I love handwritten lists. I’m old-fashioned that way, but I certainly have started using a digital calendar and forming habits that I look at it before I go to bed at night and I look at it again in the morning, so I don’t miss anything. 

I also journal a lot, so I have a journal page for each day that tells me who I need, what I need for the day or who needs me, or what they need, and kind of prioritize that along with my calendar. 

Charlie:

That’s great. That’s are great lessons there. So you’ve worked for some amazing leaders tell us, maybe pull out some of the impacts of some of the leaders who you’ve had? 

Renee:

Whoo, that’s a, I’ve had so many good ones. Well, you, Jonathan Ishii, and Manny. You guys have shown me such grace and patience over the years. I couldn’t ask for better leaders. You model and message everything that I want to be. So, starts there, starts at the top. 

Christian Adams. Still, a leader for me, even though he’s not with Broad River anymore. Such a great mentor to me. He’s taught me that it’s okay to be authentic. People’s perceptions of me is is their perception. And I don’t need to strive to be who they want me to be, that it’s okay to be me. 

He also has taught me that less is more. You know, if you say yes to something, then you’re saying no to something else. And I don’t have a heaping plate. Keep it, you know, keep it as small as possible. And he’s also taught me that everybody is special in their own way and acceptance it builds trust. And so he’s been an incredible leader. 

Will Luke. Will and I, we were together in 2018. So he gave me the autonomy to really put some ideas that were out of the box in place and he let me be a leader and he taught me to be fact-based and not emotion-based a lot of times. So great learnings from him. 

And then there’s Stacey McCormick, like where do you even begin with Stacey? I could get emotional here. Stacey has pushed me the most. He’s made me the most uncomfortable. He’s probably made me the angriest at times. But, my growth in the last two years under him has just been tremendous. He’s taught me about trust and that it starts with me trusting others before they can trust me. 

He’s taught me how that when you think you have clarity, you don’t and how you validate that. And he’s taught me the need for practice and practice. He’s taught me the need to always be the student and ask instead of tell. I mean, he’s just and he’s made me a better, better in sales, if nothing else. So, an incredible leader. 

And then Carl is fairly new. But the impact of Carl, this is what I say, Carl is like running downhill fast. So you’re like having fun at top speed, but you’re terrified you’re going to trip and fall. But he has really taught me to be more data-driven, and that’s an area that I really needed to improve in. 

Charlie: 

I love that. Running downhill fast. Okay, let’s flip it. 

Renee:

Yeah. 

Charlie:

So, favorite success story. So so you’ve had great leaders, but you’ve also been a great leader to others. So you’ve had the opportunity to lead, mentor, guide, and direct and then direct fellow Memory Maker to see them grow prosper, thrive. Can you share some of your personal, your favorite personal growth and development stories? 

Renee:

Yeah. Let’s start with Frank Gastelum, a $2 million writer last year, he and Leah Hayes. And I hired Frank and I remember saying to him in the interview “I’m going to hire you, but I’m worried because you’re so nice. I’m just worried that you’re going to be able to sustain sales here and make the income that you want. “

And look at him now at $2 million writer. And Frank was just he taught me about being the student, although he had a tremendous skill set coming in. He really sat back quietly, took it all in, and took little pieces from everybody and made it his own. So, as much as I like to tease him that I took credit for hiring him, I probably learned more from him than he did from me, but, that’s a super, super great story for him. 

Lisa Griffin, I already mentioned, became $1,000,000 writer after 15 years. We set a simple plan for her. She didn’t have to work more hours. She actually worked less hours than she’d been working and had the biggest year yet. 

Dawn Gotti. She’s no longer with Broad River, but Dawn and I had great success together. She followed me from Pineville to Mooresville, which was a tremendous amount of responsibility to know that she was following me and I needed to make sure she was successful. But I also feel like I’ve impacted her life. She’s living her best life right now at the beach, doing what she wanted to do. And I really feel like I helped her get there. But she’s such a close friend and has been such a support for me. 

Chris Barrier, we started it together. We were in the same training class. I think we started two days apart and we kind of bumped heads to begin with. We did not enjoy each other’s company during our two-week training, but I was so curious to watch his success because I thought, I don’t know if this guy is going to make it. He’s really rough around the edges, and I don’t know. 

So, I was watching him and he became $1,000,000 writer. And I had a Sales Manager opening in Pineville, and I called him and said, you know, I don’t know, but we talked about it. I knew that he had expressed interest through other leaders and look at him today he is my Area Manager today. 

Charlie: 

He’s really grown and developed. 

Renee:

Yeah. 

Charlie: 

And I’m sure, and he points to you a lot and for that impact, Okay, thrive. Our word of the year this year THRIVE. What does it mean for you to thrive? 

Renee:

I think just being happy and healthy and growing and learning, that’s thriving for me. To laugh a lot mostly at myself, it is important to have good humor. But what thriving for me this year when I really embrace the word, it’s kind of just letting go and letting the future unfold and just enjoying the ride.

Charlie: 

Okay, and who do you think is thriving today because of you and your leadership? 

Renee:

That’s hard to say that I am responsible for somebody thriving. But I would have to say Chris Barrier. 

Charlie: 

Okay, I would agree. And what advice would you offer to someone else to help him or her thrive this year? 

Renee: 

Invest in yourself. You’re worth it. 

Charlie: 

Absolutely. So what have been some of your other favorite memories other than Purpose 828 here at the River? 

Renee:

Purpose bombs. I love a good-purpose bomb. I love planning them. We talked a lot about them. I love that book club grew from my team in Mooresville to our region to our company… now I probably will get emotional. I won the Memory Maker Award in 2019 the first time it came out. And I like never I just never saw that coming. That was such a shock that my peers saw me that way.

Charlie: 

Yeah. Memory Maker of the year, the most prestigious award we have in our company. And you won the first one, so yeah. 

Renee:

Yeah. Yeah, yeah it was incredible. I won GM of the year like we talked about in 2018. Coming out of Orange Crush in 2018, I earned a seat on the RPC, which was a huge goal of mine. 

Charlie: 

Retail performance council. 

Renee:

Yes. Yeah, sorry about that. 

Charlie: 

No, you’re good. Those are some great memories and I know you love a great purpose bomb. And so, I know you can latch on to a great quote. Do you have a favorite quote or quotes that inspire or guide you? 

Renee:

Yeah, my grandmother taught me this quote a long time ago and it’s kind of how I live my life. It’s by Anne Frank, and it’s “No one has ever become poor by giving.” And my grandmother always said, no matter what you have, how much or how little you give it away, you give what you can away. You help others, never be selfish always be generous. So that’s a big one for me.

Also, love Simon Sinek and he says “Dream big. Start small. But most of all, just start. And taking that first step can sometimes be scary, but you got to do it. 

Charlie: 

Don’t despise a day of small beginnings. 

Renee:

Exactly. 

Charlie: 

And that’s a powerful one. Well, I know how impactful your grandmother was because we’ve had many conversations. 

Renee:

Yes. 

Charlie:

And I know she was just a really special, special lady. 

Renee:

Yes. 

Charlie:

It’s a good segue way onto giving, though, to community outreach, something I know you have a passion for. So so how important is our community outreach program to you and why? 

Renee:

Oh, wow. I never worked for a company that really had community outreach. Actually, it was kind of frowned upon if you asked about it. So, at first, I just couldn’t believe that we had it. It makes you feel like what we’re doing matters. And it’s bigger than us, right? It’s bigger than just the task in front of you, or it’s bigger than just selling furniture to a guest. 

It’s just bigger than that. And the more we do and the more productive we are and the better our performance is, allows us to do more community outreach. So it really it’s part I think it’s part of our identity as Broad River, and now it’s part of my identity. 

Charlie: 

So, I even think that I like to say that our purpose statement just take off the period after memories and add for others, or for other people. 

Renee:

Exactly. 

Charlie: 

Because it’s supposed to be outward-focused. And so let’s talk about a couple of the partners that we have. Why is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital such an important partner to you?

Renee:

You know, I’m a parent and now a grandparent. I cannot imagine what those families go through. I think it’s an incredible just an incredible nonprofit that allows families at the scariest, saddest point of their life, hope and care without any worry. 

So being a part of that is just an honor. And I don’t even know how to put it into words just knowing that we can support them in any way is so important. And I think for a company, it builds pride you know, it makes us proud that we can do that.

Charlie: 

I think a lot of empathy, I mean, the ability to put yourself in someone else’s situation. I think this world needs a whole lot more of that and a lot more leadership. I think that’s what people respond to your level of empathetic, nourishing leadership. 

Renee:

Thank you. 

Charlie: 

So we also love to help kids in need with who need a mattress. And so, what is beds for kids in our Hope Dream program? Why are they so important to you? 

Renee:

I mentioned before that I worked in education and I work kind of in an inner-city school with kids that had, you know, less fortunate home lives. So I know the importance of having a bad of having space you know, their space to study or do homework or just rest. I know that there are so many children out there I saw firsthand that don’t have that. 

So knowing that we provide that for children and families is just incredible. Again, it’s something that we do every day that is far bigger than us and just an incredible service. 

Charlie: 

Have you gone out on deliveries with beds for kids?

Renee:

I actually have not been on a delivery, but I have worked in the warehouse.

Charlie: 

Do you and do you serve a volunteer often with these organizations, with our fellow Memory Makers?

Renee:

I do.  I have my team of GM’s and RM’s  and we’ve even Sales Managers, we get together monthly and every month during our Rx meeting, which is our retail experience meetings – a play on Rx for the prescription for good health. 

We do an arts and crafts project where we’re either making cards, or painting little rocks or doing something that I bring to Saint Jude’s so that we can share that with the children and families there. During COVID, we had to get really creative with what we could bring, but we didn’t stop. 

Charlie: 

Yeah. 

Renee:

We also make sandwiches every single month for the Christian Men’s Ministry. We had Kathy Izard as a guest speaker on one of our Purpose series. She started this organization for these men, so we make sandwiches and lunch bags for them each month. 

Charlie: 

That’s awesome. I knew you’re doing something regularly with our fellow Memory Makers. You and I need to go on a beds for kids’ delivery together. I’ve been on a few of them and they’re really special. 

Renee:

Yeah. I love that. 

Charlie: 

Okay. COVID and the pandemic at retail. What was it like in the early days of the pandemic? 

Renee:

It was you know, it was really scary, but it was also fun. It was …people always said, I wish this time was over. And I remember I think I said to you at one point, I kind of like what came out of it. I mean, I thought we became more united I loved that everybody got to do what they thought was best for them and their family. 

If they wanted a furlough, it wasn’t a question they were able to furlough. If they wanted to stay at work, they could. And those of us that, I chose to stay at work and I knew that it was important for me to support the company for the health of the company for the health of my team, and for the health of our guests. And we had fun with it. 

We were safe. We followed all protocols but we became those of us that stayed at work became really united. And then as our Memory Makers started to come back, it was just like a reunion. So it was good to see everybody back. So I have no regrets. It was a scary time, but it taught me to pivot and be more adaptable and do it quickly by the day. 

Charlie: 

I think we all learned that. So you talked about Stacy McCormick’s impact, leadership impact on you for the last couple of years. What have you achieved over the last two years during the pandemic that you’re really proud of or that year or that you’ll look back on fondly? 

Renee:

That I led through that. To me, that was a lot of adversity, and I didn’t give in to fear, and that I feel like I was a steady rock for my team. I think that I kept everybody as calm and safe as possible. 

Charlie: 

Well, we couldn’t be more appreciative of everyone who helped steady the ship and stay the course and help us turn this thing around or keep it going during the pandemic and eternally grateful for our front-line retail heroes for sure. 

Renee:

Thank you. 

Charlie: 

Self-discovery. Since you’ve been a Memory Maker here at the River, what is something that you’ve learned about yourself? Or about what you’ve been able to accomplish that has surprised even you? 

Renee:

I am getting, I’m not going to say I’m good at it yet, but I’m getting better at business acumen from a data perspective. I think I said to Jonathan Ishii in my interview “Hey, if you’re looking for somebody that is good with numbers, I’m not your girl. “ And I’m getting better at that, so I wouldn’t have to say that again. 

Charlie: 

All right. Great. That’s awesome. Well, did you expect to achieve this level of success, with Broad River? 

Renee:

Oh, never, never. Wasn’t even on my radar, wasn’t even on my radar. And all of the leaders that I mentioned before have played such a heavy hand in pushing me because I don’t know that I would have ever taken any of these steps on my own. 

I’ll tell you a special moment relative to this. When I was transferring from Pineville to Mooresville, it was a really hard time for me. My sister-in-law just passed away. I didn’t want to leave my team I felt safe there. And I was in my comfort zone. And I remember you coming into the store in December, and I was going to be leaving at the end of the year. And you said, are you ready to go to Mooresville? And I just kind of shook my head and was sad and scared. 

And you said, It’s going to be okay. This is going to be really good for you. I know it. And I went home that night and I really thought about that. And that was a pivotal moment for me where I realized sometimes people can see the best for you before you can see it yourself. And if you trust that person, go for it. Just go in headfirst and look what happened. 

Charlie: 

You made me a smart man with that prediction. You made me a real smart man with that prediction. You know, everyone has a superpower. What do you think is your superpower? 

Renee:

Helping. 

Charlie: 

Helping. Yeah, I agree. 

Renee:

Yeah, I think. 

Charlie: 

Company change and growth. So what was your actual first day? I can’t do the math quickly as it is 2014? 

Renee:

October 2013. 

Charlie: 

October 2013. So, Q4 2013. So you’ve had a front-row seat for over eight years, nearly nine years at Broad River Retail. Since you’ve joined us, how have you seen the company grow, adapt and change? 

Renee:

Well, I think when I came on we had 12 stores and we’re 31 stores. That’s, that’s big growth. We’ve added a Memory Maker Experience Department, which is just, I knew when I got here day one that we were people-centric, but bringing on Heather Greenwood and developing that department, I mean amazing, amazing. 

Developing our purpose. You said earlier, I knew it was always here. I always felt it. I didn’t know what, I didn’t know what to call it. So, identifying our purpose and activating it in the company has just been amazing to watch. Just adding moving to a new Distribution Center, adding more distribution centers, and still having that feeling of a small family company. Like as much as we’ve grown, I don’t feel like we’ve lost the connections. 

Charlie: 

Yeah. Which is not always easy to do. So what has remained constant over the last eight-plus years? 

Renee:

The fact that we’re people-centric, that it’s people first. We’ve never lost that. 

Charlie: 

Yeah, love that. Okay let’s get to know you a little bit better. 

Renee:

Okay. 

Charlie: 

But in just three quick words. So you’re at the end of your illustrious career and you’re looking back, you’re playing with your grandkids, you’re drinking lemonade or sweet tea, whatever your drink of choice is, and you just relax and you’re talking about the good old days and reflecting on your best memories. And people are going to remember you and talk about you and describe you. And if they had three words to describe you, what do you want those three words to be? 

Renee:

Hmm. I think caring, honest and generous. 

Charlie: 

Love it. Those are great. So I feel like I know you a little bit better now. Caring, honest and generous. 

Renee:

Yeah. 

Charlie: 

Okay. Unsung heroes. I know that always takes a village to achieve phenomenal success like you’ve had. And who are some of your unsung heroes, colleagues that help you or have helped you in your world? 

Renee:

Yeah, I think my unsung heroes are at home and at work. My children, they keep me honest, man. They keep me humble. They let me know when I’m screwing up. And they love to do that. 

My grandchildren, they keep me young. My husband, that’s the true unsung hero. My team calls him Saint Mark, because he’s such a good guy. He’s so supportive, and he’s behind the scenes keeping me afloat. But my team, I mean, I just am blessed with an amazing team. They indulge me. They always have my back. I’m just, I’m blessed. 

Charlie: 

Awesome. You talked about some of the advice you’re in sayings that your grandmothers shared with you. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? 

Renee:

My sister-in-law: Never stop reading, Renee. Never stop reading and learning. 

Charlie: 

Love it. 

Renee:

And she’s right. 

Charlie: 

And so what advice would you give a new hire starting on the sales floor today? 

Renee:

Trust the process. Trust the process. 

Charlie: 

Simple. It’s there for a reason. And what do what do you believe? What do you look for? What are the critical qualities or characteristics that most contribute to success on the sales floor? 

Renee:

Trusting the process and consistently following the process that’s so important. Smile. Listen first and then validate their needs or their wants. 

Charlie: 

Okay. And if you could go back to October 2013 to your first day, what would you tell your younger self about what life is going to be like at the River? 

Renee:

Is going to be fast and furious. So get ready. Put your running shoes on. Your life is about to change. 

Charlie: 

Wow. And, culture. What is your favorite thing about the culture, our culture here at the River? And in your opinion, what is it that makes it special? 

Renee:

That everybody matters. We talked about that book, but we’re living that book. Everybody here really matters from the top down and there’s so much compassion and empathy and the transparency that you guys provide, you know, through town halls and our Rx meetings is just tremendous. It really forms a united front, you know, one company, one mission. It doesn’t matter what role you play. 

Charlie: 

That’s a good phrase. A united front. Perceptions and misperceptions, what is one thing about Broad River that you think would surprise others from the outside looking in? 

Renee:

It’s true. What you see is true. I know people, you know, follow us on social media. And lots of times in interviews, people say, well, it’s easy to put that into words, you know, upfront. And I always say, I promise you it’s true. Let me give you some examples. 

And those are really proud moments when I can talk about how we got through COVID, or what we’ve done for a Memory Maker in need, or how we’ve celebrated wins. Yeah, it’s all real. 

Charlie:

That’s true, to be able to say that. What is something about you that would surprise your fellow Memory Makers? 

Renee:

That’s a hard one. I grew up always wanting to be a criminal defense attorney or a detective, so I’m all about true crime. 

Charlie:

Oh gosh. Oh, boy. Don’t do something that might get you in trouble there, around Renee, she will sniff it out. If you could change one thing about the company today with the wave of your magic wand, what would it be? 

Renee:

I think I would give us even more avenues for personal growth. You know, more book clubs or just what the PAC did for us, you know, get to know each other and or just more opportunity for personal growth, to get together as a group. 

Charlie:

Yeah, I think that’s a great idea. 

Renee:

Cross-departmental, you know, not just me and my team in retail, but company-wide. 

Charlie:

And not so sure maybe not so much a one-shot shotgun, but consistent. 

Renee:

Yeah. 

Charlie:

Planned out. It’s a good one. Okay, so let’s say that I’m the one who gets to retire and I’m giving you the keys. You’ve done such a great job and this is your next role. I’m giving you the keys to the company and you’re the new president and CEO of Broad River Retail. And today’s your first day in your new role. What would be your first order of business? 

Renee:

You and Manny on speed dial. And I think, I think the first thing that I would look at is our PTO program. We have a great program, but I would like to add to it and I would like for us to be able to share or donate PTO. So, if you have PTO and you’re willing to give it to somebody who needs somebody out sick or somebody has had a death in the family or to cover somebody, I would like, to increase our PTO program. 

Charlie:

Someone who’s all about caring and giving, of course, would come up with that idea. Of course. All right, last question. To someone who is not a Memory Maker and is thinking about joining us or coming to the River, what advice would you give to that person? 

Renee:

I would say to this, I say to them the same thing I would say to my younger self, like, it’s going to be fast, furious, and fun. Get ready and be a student. Always be a student because no matter how long you’re here, you’re going to learn something every single day. 

Charlie:

Well, that was a lot of fun. Thanks so much again for being here. Is there anything else that you want to say that we didn’t get to today? 

Renee: 

Yes, I completely forgot. Being at Broad River is generational for my family. My daughter Samantha Bloom works here. She’s been here five years now. That’s how much I love it here, I brought my child, but her growth has just been tremendous and I’m super proud of her. 

Charlie:

And she’s grown within the company now. She’s an Associate Director. 

Renee: 

Yes, she is. 

Charlie:

Let get her on the podcast. 

Renee:

Yes. 

Charlie:

It’ll be a generational podcast. 

Renee:

Yes. 

Charlie:

That’s awesome. And then maybe one day I can bring Drew or Luke on and they can. We’ll figure out something for them to do. 

Renee: 

Absolutely. I love it. 

Charlie:

Thanks again, Renee. 

Renee: 

Just thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. Thank you for the opportunity to grow. I just thank you for everything that the last eight and a half years have given me. 

Charlie:

We’ve been a tremendous leader. I can’t wait to see what’s next. We got to do some of these ideas, like the book club and some of the other ones that you’ve got brewing there. And thanks for taking that. I know maybe you were a little bit hesitant about coming on to the podcast, but you did a great job, and thanks for joining us and for sharing your story. I know it will be impactful to so many people. That is Renee Bradley, Stories from the River. 

Hey, we dropped new episodes every Wednesday and wherever you’re listening today or watching today. So we’re on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Google, or any other podcast player. And we look forward to bringing you fresh, new content from our Memory Makers here at the River.

Thanks for joining. 

Welcome to Stories from the River, a podcast brought to you by Broad River Retail, where we’ll explore the personal journeys of our Memory Makers and share real stories from across the organization. And now for your host, president and CEO at the River, Charlie Malouf.

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