AI isn’t just another tool — it’s a multiplier. But most business owners are missing the mark completely.

Jeff MacPherson is a three-time tech founder, the creator of the first Instagram DM chatbot (yes, the one that handled nearly a billion messages), and now the co-founder of XnGen AI. He helps businesses turn their internal IP into scalable AI systems that drive real profit.

In this episode, Jeff shares how business owners can stop chasing shiny tools and start building real leverage — even if they have no clue where to begin with AI.

We talk about:
🔹 Why AI is an intern, not a savior
🔹 The DNA framework: Data, Nurture, Automation
🔹 How to build your own internal “AI Cloud”
🔹 The mistake of plugging AI into broken systems
🔹 How to train AI to onboard your next hire
🔹 Where most founders get stuck (and how to break free)

Whether you’re curious, cautious, or already experimenting, this is the conversation to help you build smarter and buy back your time.

Quotes from the Episode:
💬 "AI is an intern, not a magic bullet."
💬 "Build your own AI cloud — not someone else’s tool."
💬 "Freedom isn’t working less. It’s working on what matters."
💬 "Most businesses don’t have an AI problem. They have a friction problem."
💬 "You can’t train AI without training your team first."

Actionable Takeaways:
✅ Start with your internal knowledge: SOPs, values, mission, strategy
✅ Centralize it in a simple tool like Airtable or build your AI cloud
✅ Train AI on real business data, not prompts off the internet
✅ Assign someone to own AI on your leadership team
✅ Focus on one workflow. Get results. Then scale.

Resources from this episode:
→Connect with Jeff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmacai/
→ Learn about XnGen AI: https://www.xngen.ai/
→ Matt Farmer AI: https://www.instagram.com/mattfarmerai

Like what you heard?
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review. It helps more business owners build freedom-first companies.

🎧 If this episode made you rethink how to use AI in your business, subscribe, share, and leave a review. For more conversations on purpose, people, and building companies that last, visit www.jeanmoncrieff.com.

In this episode of The Freedom Experience, I sit down with Bill Mills — CEO of Executive Group, award-winning author of Breakthrough: The Power of Conscious Conversation, and creator of The Leadership Process™.

Bill brings decades of hands-on experience working with CEOs, leadership teams, and peer groups to help business owners build organizations that are indispensable to their customers — and no longer dependent on them to run.

In this conversation, we go beyond theory. Bill shares real stories and simple tools that leaders can use to close the execution gap, drive focus, and build margin-strong businesses that scale without burning people out.

🎥 Watch this conversation on YouTube. And SUBSCRIBE!

Key Themes:

🔹 Closing the Execution Gap
Why 78% execution is a red flag, not a win — and how to use a century-old force field exercise to remove friction, drive alignment, and finish strong.

🔹 Becoming Indispensable
The question that stops CEOs in their tracks: “Who would cry at your funeral?” Bill unpacks what it takes to become a strategic partner to your customers — and earn 70%+ margins doing it.

🔹 Letting Go of Control
Delegating isn’t the goal — sharing control is. Bill explains how to shift managers from bottlenecks to catalysts and build a culture of ownership across the team.

🔹 Focus Over Complexity
Why chasing every shiny object kills momentum, and how one CEO went from $20M to $200M by going all-in on a single customer problem.

🔹 Freedom and Leadership
Bill shares what freedom means to him — and how real freedom shows up when you stop doing it all yourself and start sharing ownership with your team.

Quotes from the Episode:

💬 "If 80% of your priorities get done, the 20% you missed probably held all the value."
💬 "When your business disappears and the customer doesn’t blink, that’s a problem."
💬 "Freedom is when you own the business — it doesn’t own you."
💬 "You don’t have an execution problem. You have a friction problem."
💬 "You can’t chase two rabbits. Focus is the difference-maker."

Links & Resources Mentioned:

🌍 Executive Group: https://executivegroup.com
📘 Breakthrough: The Power of Conscious Conversation
🎓 Tom Foster on Role Complexity & Leadership
📊 Gallup Research on Manager Effectiveness
📈 The 10x CEO Study (via Inc. Magazine)

Actionable Takeaways:

✅ Diagnose the Gap: Use a force field analysis to identify what’s driving results — and what’s holding your team back.
✅ Stop Being Replaceable: Build a business your customers can’t imagine living without.
✅ Share the Wheel: Real power-sharing builds trust and drives scale.
✅ Build Around One Problem: Nail the one thing you solve better than anyone else — and scale from there.
✅ Rethink Execution: It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing the right things — all the way through.

🎧 If this episode made you think differently about leadership, growth, or freedom — subscribe, share, and leave a review.
For more conversations on purpose, people, and building businesses that last, visit www.jeanmoncrieff.com.

In this episode of The Freedom Experience, I sit down with Elizabeth Glasbrenner — CEO of Smiley Technologies, a family-owned business providing core banking software to community banks and financial institutions.

Elizabeth’s story is one of courage, clarity, and people-first leadership. After co-founding the business in 2002 with her brother Vance and father Walter, she stepped into the CEO role in 2016 — not just to scale the company, but to rebuild trust, reshape the culture, and guide the business through a period of rapid growth.

In this conversation, Elizabeth opens up about what it took to make that transition. From navigating imposter syndrome to balancing extreme personal challenges — including her husband’s Everest expedition and her daughter’s life-threatening health issues — she shares what it really looks like to lead with empathy and authenticity, even when the stakes are high.

🎥 Watch this conversation on YouTube. And SUBSCRIBE!

Key Themes:

🔹 The Leadership Shift
Why the leader who starts the business isn’t always the one to scale it — and how Elizabeth found her own leadership voice.

🔹 Building Trust from the Inside Out
How Elizabeth rebuilt trust in the organization after stepping into her brother’s shoes — and why listening was her first strategy.

🔹 Leading Through Personal Crisis
Balancing high-stakes leadership with an intense family situation — and the strength that came from showing up fully in both.

🔹 Quiet Strength
Why vulnerability, empathy, and consistency became her edge — and how that reshaped the culture at Smiley Technologies.

🔹 Freedom and Leadership
What freedom means when you're responsible for others — and how Elizabeth learned to lead in a way that aligned with her values.

Quotes from the Episode:

💬 "You don’t need to know all the answers. You need to ask the right questions."
💬 "Trust is everything. Without it, nothing moves."
💬 "I thought I had to prove myself. What I really needed to do was show up as myself."
💬 "Listening was the most powerful thing I did as a new CEO."
💬 "Freedom is finding calm in the chaos."

Links & Resources Mentioned:

🌍 Smiley Technologies: https://www.smileytechnologies.com
📲 Connect with Elizabeth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-glasbrenner/

📚 Books Mentioned
– The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
– Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
– Quiet by Susan Cain

Actionable Takeaways:

✅ Step Into the Role: You don’t need to be the same kind of leader as your predecessor — just the one your business needs next.
✅ Lead with Empathy: Listening is often more powerful than directing.
✅ Rebuild from Trust: Sustainable growth starts inside the team.
✅ Embrace Your Season: Life and business don’t happen in separate lanes — lead with full presence.
✅ Redefine Success: It's not about doing more — it's about doing what matters most.

🎧 If this episode made you think differently about leadership, growth, or freedom — subscribe, share, and leave a review.
For more conversations on purpose, people, and building businesses that last, visit www.jeanmoncrieff.com.