We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cassandra Manning a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cassandra , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

What corporate America gets wrong about retail: the need for human connection.

As more retailers move to digital models, shutter physical stores, and replace employees with algorithms, I chose to open my brick-and-mortar store to greet the public in person.
While this may not work for every industry, I firmly believe that the need for human interaction in the fashion world still very much exists and if anything, is greater than ever before. Our world is becoming more complex and it’s easy to get lost in the digital shuffle or have decision fatigue.
At Thread & Clover, we help our customers navigate their decisions, weighing in with expert advice and companionship. We remember our customers’ names when their children have upcoming games, vacations they were getting ready for, and how the last pair of jeans fit them. These little details get overlooked in the digital world and what I feel is wrong with corporate America. Who really wins when the quest for shareholder value is all-important? How often have we seen a great company go under in this never-ending quest for profit above all else?
There’s beauty in being a small business, we’re agile and able to make decisions with our customers at the front and center, rather than reporting to shareholders. Our employees and customers matter, as individuals, as people, and as a community. We aren’t just here to help you find your style, we’re here to help you find yourself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m the owner of Thread & Clover, a men’s and women’s boutique in Rosemount, MN. While my BA is in Clinical Psychology, I have always been drawn to the retail world and feel the two professions aren’t entirely different worlds. At my core, I enjoy helping people feel good about themselves and connect to their identity.

Before opening my boutique, I worked as a Senior Stylist for Stitch Fix, as a District Manager for The Gymboree Corporation, and as a social media manager.

Any advice for managing a team?

My advice is simple: ask a lot of questions.

Almost every difficult time I’ve had in my career managing people has been overcome by deeply understanding my team. This often means putting your own assumptions aside, digging in, and asking the tough questions that you may not like the answer to. Taking time to be mindful of these practices in my business enables me to forge a solid team that thrives on respect and empathy.

“What am I doing to make your job better right now? What could I be doing?”
“How are things, REALLY?”
“What’s the most challenging part of your job right now?”
“What needs to change: immediately/30 days from now/ 6 months from now?”

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I grew up with my grandparents and my Grandfather was a meat manager at a well-known supermarket chain in CA. He would boast often about his reputation for being ‘hard-nosed’ and would say his team respected him and got the job done due to his stern nature. As I became a manager, I thought this path was what everyone did, and quickly gained a reputation for being tough, and also cold. While I enjoyed my work, I never felt like I could be my true self while there.

As I grew into my adult self and within my career, I learned there is an inherent power in vulnerability (thanks, Brene Brown!). For me to be the best leader I could be, I needed to lean into the softer parts of myself, my humor, my heart, and my empathy. I needed to take down that carefully constructed brick all around my personality and unabashedly show the world who I am, faults and all. It meant owning mistakes. It meant seeing areas of opportunity within myself. But it also meant a deeper connection to my teams and a new feeling of fulfillment with my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Threadandclovermn.com
• Instagram: @threadandclovermn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThreadandCloverMN/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-manning-9a103b22/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/thread-and-clover-rosemount?osq=thread+and+clover

Image Credits
All images taken by myself.