In this exciting episode of Stories From the River (that was recorded on Friday, February 2nd, following a companywide Annual Kickoff Town Hall), host Charlie Malouf and Chief Operating Officer Manny Rodrigues announce the much anticipated Word of the Year at Broad RIver Retail!
The 2024 Word of the Year is - CONNECT
The episode takes the audience through a retrospective look at Broad River Retail's previous words of the year beginning in 2015 and unpacks how each word represented pivotal moments and intentions for the company, such as the word "Impact" in 2017, then "Premier" in 2018 following the launch of their Vision Statement, and "Purpose" in 2019 on the heels of the introduction of their Purpose Statement. Their Year of Purpose in 2019 was also part of the "Be it. Do it. Say it." framework that they gleaned from Joey Reiman's book, "The Story of Purpose," and they put that word into action through their Purpose Activation Committee (the PAC).
Then Charlie and Manny discuss the opening of a second distribution center which underpinned the choice of "United" in 2020, a word of the year that proved to be prophetic and resonated profoundly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They discussed how the Company continued the legacy of United in 2021 with two words of the year, Forward Together. And then how the Company not just survived but thrived during the pandemic, and how that led to the word being Thrive for 2022.
They share insights into the process and collaboration that goes into a Word of the Year selection and how important it is to try to capture the zeitgeist of the country and the Company. For 2024, they shared the sentiments around artificial intelligence (AI); the surgeon general's latest warning on the epidemic of loneliness and isolation in the United States; the divisiveness that can occur in the country during an election year; and the Company's sales process. After synthesizing all of these sentiments, including the Company's upcoming goals and plans for 2024, and after much debate and discussion amongst the leadership team, they landed on a word that is softer, more human, and a word that captures the spirit of what they think the Company and the country need right now. More Connection.
Additional Resources:
Joey Reiman discusses The Story of Purpose at Broad River Retail (August 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmABICtQLsk
2021 Word of the Year article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/2021-word-year-charlie-malouf/
Kip Tindell: How He Created An Employee-First Culture At The Container Store (Forbes article): https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2014/10/07/kip-tindell-how-he-created-an-employee-first-culture-at-the-container-store/
---
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wiUvahEEqeg
We hope you enjoy this episode and subscribe to our podcast for a new story each week.
Visit https://www.storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes.
