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How Regenerative Performance Can Transform Work: Insights from Dr. James Hewitt’s GLS Talk

Release Date: 09/09/2025

Changing the Question You Ask Yourself: Career Advice with Ewa Szmigiel

Stories from the River

Welcome back to Stories from the River! Today we continue the Lake Norman Grand Reopening Celebration series, focusing on the newest transformation to Ashley 7.0 in Mooresville, North Carolina. Charlie Malouf, Broad River's CEO and show host, sits down with a Home Furnishings Expert and Million Dollar Memory Maker, Ewa Szmigiel. Szmigiel shares her journey from Poland to North Carolina, describing the challenges she faced transitioning to life in the United States and how she discovered her passion for working with people in the furniture industry. She talks about her progression through...

Behind the Remodel: Nathan Jeter on Mooresville's Makeover & Operation 120

Stories from the River

Welcome back to Stories from the River! We are continuing our recap series from the Grand Reopening Celebration of our latest Ashley Store 7.0 transformation in Mooresville, North Carolina. In today's episode, CEO Charlie Malouf sits down with Mooresville General Manager Nathan Jeter to discuss the remodel experience and results from the reimagined Lake Norman store, The Lake. The Mooresville Ashley store has been around for over 17 years, and its success was never questionned. Nathan Jeter and his winning team have stood out in the Company. However, this fall, the team at The Lake welcomed a...

Relive the Mooresville Grand Re-Opening: Speeches & Ribbon Cutting

Stories from the River

On October 7, the Mooresville store (also known as The Lake) reopened its brand new doors, with a bang and a ribbon cutting! On today's episode of Stories from the River, we bring you the energy and atmosphere from right before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Broad River leaders attended and spoke at the event, honoring the current and past leadership of the store. Today, we are joined by Tony Barr, Corporate Chaplain of America, who leads us into the event with prayer and gratitude. Charlie Malouf, Broad River's CEO, takes the stage next, reminiscing on the store's history, acknowledging...

Broad River's Sleep Summit: Sales Success and Personal Growth

Stories from the River

In this episode of Stories from the River, we revisit the semi-annual Fall Sleep Summit, an event Broad River holds at the Charlotte Motor Speedway to help Home Furnishings Consultants level up their sleep sales game. Today you will hear from six Memory Makers as they recap their experience at the 2025 Sleep Summit. Christian Sonander and Domaniek Greene from the Boulevard Believe Jose Gonzalez from the Albemarle Aces Ken Wilcox from the Special Forces Kensley Phillips from the Flagship Enterprise Nasir Park from the Raleighwood Legends They discuss why this event is...

Lessons from Bamboo: Charlie Malouf Shares Broad River's Enduring Philosophy

Stories from the River

In today's episode of Stories from The River, Josh Hatchell, Broad River's Senior Retail Experience Manager, continues his conversation with Charlie Malouf, Broad River's CEO, in part two of Retail Operations "Get To Know You" session held on September 18th at Broad River's Fort Mill, South Carolina, campus. This conversation dives into Charlie's personal leadership approach, the future of Broad River, and the strategies he uses to stay connected with the Memory Makers across the stores. As Broad River is about to take root in a completely new part of the country, the audience members...

Getting to Know Charlie Malouf: Early Jobs, Failures, & Laying Foundation for Broad River's Culture

Stories from the River

In today's episode of Stories from the River, the host becomes the guest. That's right, Broad River's CEO and Stories from the River's host becomes the main conversation topic, as Josh Hatchell, Broad River's Senior Retail Experience Manager, along with a room full of Retail Opertions Memory Makers, ask meaningful and insightful questions into Charlie's past, present, and Broad River's future. This episode was recorded on September 18, 2025, from Broad River's Fort Mill, South Carolina, campus, during a session with Retail Ops called "Get To Know You" with a leader from Broad River...

Meet the Pioneers: Broad River's Key Retail Presentations During the Purpose 8:28 Experience

Stories from the River

Welcome to the 4th and final episode from our "Pioneering the Path - a Purpose 8:28 Experience" series. In this episode of Stories from the River, we bring you a special, behind-the-scenes look into what the "Pioneering the Path - a Purpose 8:28 Experience" really felt and looked like for our retail leaders. These key excerpts from the day's sessions give a rare insight into an even deeper level of this immersive retail leadership development day and into Broad River's culture. Tune in today to hear Bradley Sullivan's discuss how to enroll your team, get their full support and share in...

Culture You Can Feel: Inside the Purpose 8:28 Experience

Stories from the River

In this episode of Stories from the River, we sit down with three inspiring Broad River Retail General Managers at the end of an impactful day from the Fort Mill, SC, campus where Broad River held its "Pioneering the Path - a Purpose 8:28 Experience" full learning and development day for all of its retail leaders on August 28, 2025. We sit down with Sonya De La Cruz of Hickory; Brett Cary of Asheville; and Seth Logue of Gastonia to explore what makes the company’s culture so unique and impactful. Through their personal stories and leadership experiences, they reveal how Broad River’s...

Empowerment, Ownership, and Collaboration: Kristen Hadeed’s Framework for Modern Leaders

Stories from the River

Welcome to part two of our conversation with Kristen Hadeed on Stories from the River. Host Charlie Malouf continues his conversation with Kristen Hadeed, author of Permission to Screw Up, diving into resilience, ownership, and courageous leadership. Kristen shares why it’s okay to have a short “pity party” after setbacks—but emphasizes the importance of moving forward and learning from mistakes. She introduces practical tools like the “resilience resume,” where human-centered leaders reflect on lessons learned from their own screw-ups in weekly meetings, creating a safe...

Reflecting on Pioneering the Path Opening Keynote w/ Kristen Hadeed, pt 1

Stories from the River

In this episode of Stories from the River, host and CEO Charlie Malouf welcomes keynote speaker and author Kristen Hadeed, fresh off her impactful talk at Broad River Retail’s “Pioneering the Path - a Purpose 8:28 Experience” leadership event. Kristen opens up about her unexpected journey—accidentally launching the cleaning company Student Maid at just 19, navigating major failures, and discovering her passion for human-centered leadership. What began as a student side-hustle quickly became a laboratory for learning, where she uncovered how trust, communication, and belief in people...

More Episodes

In this sixth episode of the 2025 Global Leadership Summit Recap Series on Stories from the River, CEO Charlie Malouf is joined by Will Luke, Senior Director of Project Management, to recap insights from Dr. James Hewitt's Global Leadership Summit keynote on regenerative performance.

Dr. Hewitt, a former world-class cyclist turned human performance scientist, shared his journey from relentless “go, go, go” living to understanding the necessity of pausing and reflecting, especially after surviving cancer. The discussion introduces the concept of “cognitive gears,” a metaphor for the varying levels of mental focus and energy: low (rest and simple tasks), middle (emails and meetings), and high (deep, priority-driven work). Most workers get caught in the “middle gear” — a cycle of distractions and meetings — which can lead to burnout and inefficiency.

Charlie and Will explore Dr. Hewitt’s practical strategies, like batching emails, rethinking meeting culture, leveraging AI for smarter workflows, and recognizing the value of rest and breaks, not just as luxuries, but as critical tools for sustainability and peak performance. They emphasize aligning work with one’s natural circadian rhythms and highlight the power of quality sleep and strategic downtime for creativity and long-term effectiveness. The episode closes with a call for leaders to model regenerative practices, acknowledging that when Memory Makers are encouraged to replenish their mental and physical capacity, it has a ripple effect throughout the organization, boosting both wellbeing and performance.

Additional resources:

Dr. James Hewitt (Human Performance Scientist) - https://drjameshewitt.com

Regenerative Performance by Dr. James Hewitt - https://www.amazon.com/Regenerative-Performance-Always-Sacrificing-Well-Being/dp/B0F7N8KM55

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink - https://www.amazon.com/When-Scientific-Secrets-Perfect-Timing/dp/0735210632

Win the Day by Mark Batterson - https://www.amazon.com/Win-Day-Habits-Stress-Accomplish-ebook/dp/B088F3HKQ4/

The Art of Impossible by Steven Kotler - https://www.amazon.com/Art-Impossible-Peak-Performance-Primer/dp/0062977512

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker - https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144324

The Story of Purpose by Joey Reiman - https://www.amazon.com/Story-Purpose-Creating-Brighter-Greater/dp/1118443691

The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham - https://www.amazon.com/Road-Less-Stupid-Keith-Cunningham/dp/0984659269

Thrive Global (founded by Arianna Huffington) - https://thriveglobal.com

Huberman Lab by Dr. Andrew Huberman - https://www.hubermanlab.com

Watch the other episodes in the GLS 25 Recap series:

Consistency Over Charisma: Takeaways from Craig Groeschel's Opening Keynote at the 2025 Global Leadership Summit - https://youtu.be/cwNiyzyD-go

Unlocking Potential and Conquering Goals: Takeaways from Jon Acuff's Closing Keynote at the Global Leadership Summit - https://youtu.be/TxtGAFeenSo

Live Life Like a Diversified Portfolio & More Insights from Thasunda Brown Duckett @ GLS25 - https://youtu.be/-qUowzD4-5M

Less Really Is More: Takeaways from Juliet Funt’s Tactics to Cut Clutter at GLS25 - https://youtu.be/aa7gHNA_Wao

Leadership Lessons from Nick Saban: Process, Discipline, and Transformation at the Global Leadership Summit - https://youtu.be/P7ldcRfsQrg

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rnMkFRvbqho

Visit https://www.storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes.

Broad River Retail brought this show to you. Visit https://BroadRiverRetail.com

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