Welcome to Episode 133 of the Built on Purpose Podcast, brought to you by Y Scouts.
Everyone’s talking about AI but most businesses aren’t ready for it.
In this episode of Built On Purpose, Max Hansen sits down with entrepreneur Jeff McPherson, who’s built three tech companies and learned the hard way that AI can’t fix a broken foundation.
Jeff shares the lessons from losing his first startup in a lawsuit with Facebook, why AI often exposes weak systems instead of saving them, and the simple steps any leader can take to prepare their team for meaningful AI adoption.
Whether you’re running a startup or steering a decades-old company, this conversation will change the way you think about technology, leadership, and growth.
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💡 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to AI in Business
02:42 Identifying Broken Processes
07:57 Leadership’s Role in AI Adoption
13:10 Productizing Core Strengths
18:27 Mapping the Customer Journey
28:09 Amplifying Human Potential with AI
34:49 Understanding the Customer Journey
40:53 Breaking Habits for Effective AI Integration
47:48 Rapid Fire Insights on AI Trends
52:29 Key Mistakes in AI Integration
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💡 What You’ll Learn:
- AI adoption should not precede process optimization.
- Broken internal processes are often exacerbated by AI implementation.
- Scaling with AI requires a strong, well-defined operational foundation.
- Proactive process improvement is crucial for successful AI integration.
- Focusing on productizing core strengths and mapping the customer journey are key steps.
- AI should be viewed as a tool to strengthen existing operations, not simply automate tasks.
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🔥 Memorable Quotes:
- “AI is just a tool. When things are good, it makes them great. When things are bad, it makes them worse.” – Jeff McPherson
- “People who redo their production line will win all day, every day.” – Jeff McPherson
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🔗 Resources:
🔗 Connect with Jeff MacPherson
- 🌐 Website: http://cloud37.ai/
- 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmacai/
YScouts Company Links:
- Website: https://yscouts.com/
- About Us: https://yscouts.com/about-us/
- Process Demo: https://yscouts.com/resources/
- Meet the Team: https://yscouts.com/meet-the-team/
- Free Book “Hiring on Purpose”: https://yscouts.com/hiring-on-purpose/
- Built on Purpose Podcast: https://yscouts.com/podcast/
- Blog: https://yscouts.com/blog/
- Contact: https://yscouts.com/contact/
Max Hansen (Y Scouts Founder):
- Profile: https://yscouts.com/max-hansen/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxhansen
- Forbes HR Council: https://councils.forbes.com/profile/Max-Hansen-CEO-Y-Scouts/9d4bcbb0-c76f-41b5-aafd-ba0e0e30fdf0
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mhansen44/
YScouts Social Media & Channels:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/y-scouts
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/yscouts/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/Yscouts/
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/YScouts
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🎧 Listen the full episode on YouTube:
Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q1Mxr_rBBs
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Y Scouts is a leadership search firm that finds purpose-aligned and performance-proven leaders to help organizations achieve their missions faster. Ready to supercharge your leadership search and get the right person in your organization? Contact Y Scouts.
