Renae Bradley

I have truly been blessed to have some really cool people in my corner to allow me to just learn and be who I am, the inquisitive side of me. I would equate a lot of who I am and where I am to about 3 or 4 people that have opened doors in my career path and just given me the opportunity to learn. These mentors have been instrumental in my journey, allowing me to explore my natural curiosity and develop my skills across different areas of information technology.

The best advice I've received is what I now share with others: don't give up your grit and grind. There is nothing that you cannot accomplish if you put your best foot forward. We all have a moment that we have to pause and reset, and it's okay to do that to get back focused on where you're trying to go. This advice came from one of the people who gave me opportunities early in my career, someone I still talk with today.

Don't give up your grit and grind. We second-guess ourselves just naturally, because we are emotionally driven, in the spaces that we are. But if we take the perspective of how we're able to manage just in general, and apply that to our professional lives, we can become and do anything that we desire. We multitask anyway, so take that same approach. Opening the doors for more women in the technology field is something I'm very passionate about, and I try to connect with organizations like Girl Tech, Women in Technology to support this mission.

The biggest challenge is understanding how my industry is changing so much with all the artificial intelligence. In the software-as-a-service space, the challenge is becoming, do you really need as many people? Our sale has always been that you don't have to have that headcount there, we can do the work for you. But now we're having to answer the question, does it still make sense to have so many people? We are switching that perspective and saying even though it may not be a particular physical person, let's look at it differently in terms of what we can manage so that you can still have your day to do the everyday things strategically and continue to grow your company, but at the same time, make your life a little bit easier, automating and finding other ways to do your business and do it well, and do it with less hassle. The biggest opportunity is really defining that baseline for clients. It's a great opportunity because it still allows you to be effective in what you do, strategically grow your business, but at the same time, have the ability to know that as you're taking that on, there are processes that can still get it done, and you don't necessarily have to take the headcount on.

In my work life, grit is important to me. You need to have some grit about yourself in a professional life, and be okay with mistakes happening, because there's a lesson in everything. In my personal life, love first, and everything else will fall into place. I'm a servant leader who takes a concerted effort to get to know people because relationships are important. I try my best to be a great listener first, because time is valuable and it helps me understand what makes you go when you put your feet to the ground every day.