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AI is everywhere — except where we’re telling kids they can’t use it.

In this episode of the Just Some BS Podcast, Brandon sits down with Billy Ostroski, school administrator and educator, to unpack the growing tension between education systems trying to restrict AI and a real world that increasingly depends on it.

This isn’t a fear-based conversation. It’s a practical, honest look at what’s actually happening inside schools right now — and why banning AI may be doing more harm than good.

In this episode, they discuss:
 • How schools are currently policing AI use
 • Why AI detectors are unreliable and creating conflict
 • The real risk of students skipping foundational learning
 • Bloom’s Taxonomy — and why it needs to be flipped
 • AI as a think partner vs a shortcut
 • Why “just banning it” doesn’t work
 • How guided use builds critical thinking
 • Parallels between AI and calculators in education
 • What businesses actually want students to know
 • Why reflection matters more than completion

This conversation is for educators, parents, and leaders trying to figure out how to prepare the next generation — without pretending AI is going away.

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 I don’t use AI to replace people.
 I don’t use it to pretend I’m smarter than I am.
 And I definitely don’t use it like a tech bro on LinkedIn.

In this solo episode of the Just Some BS Podcast, Brandon breaks down the 10 simple, boring, functional ways he actually uses AI every week — not for hacks or hype, but to reduce mental friction, think clearer, and stop spinning.

This episode isn’t about tools or prompts.
 It’s about how AI can help you think better, learn faster, and prepare smarter without replacing real thinking.

In this episode, Brandon covers:
 • How he uses AI to extract insights from massive data dumps
 • Why AI works best as a think partner, not an answer machine
 • Automating repeatable work without losing quality
 • Using AI as a realistic fitness and nutrition coach
 • His “Bob Vila” approach to home repairs and confidence
 • Turning messy transcripts into clarity
 • Process definition and workflow improvement
 • Using AI for thumbnails, visuals, and placeholders
 • Pressure-testing personal brand ideas without sounding corporate
 • Why preparation reduces anxiety in leadership and life

AI didn’t make him smarter.
 It made him clearer.

If you’re tired of AI hype and just want practical ways to reduce friction in your work and life, this episode is for you.

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Most CEOs spend their time in conference rooms.
 I spent seven weeks sweating in welding bays, loading trucks, grinding metal, and trying not to embarrass myself.

In this solo episode of the Just Some BS Podcast, Brandon breaks down what happened when he spent seven weeks working in seven different departments at SWF Industrial — doing jobs he was absolutely not qualified to do.

This wasn’t a stunt. It was an experiment in perspective, process improvement, and leadership humility.

In this episode, Brandon shares:
 • Why he chose to work the floor instead of running meetings
 • What logistics, production, stainless, maintenance, and fabrication actually feel like
 • The hidden stress inside every department
 • Why starting a task wrong costs more than starting slow
 • How physical exhaustion changes leadership empathy
 • What shop work teaches you about quality, incentives, and accountability
 • Why being bad at something can make you a better leader
 • The real difference between hypothetical and lived process improvement
 • How trust, humility, and effort earn real credibility

If you’re a leader who wants a deeper connection to your team, better decisions, and fewer blind spots, this episode is a raw, honest look at what happens when you stop leading from a distance.

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Most CEOs think they understand what their CFO should be doing.
Most are wrong.

In this episode of the Just Some BS Podcast, Brandon sits down with Eric Segal, Managing Director at CFO Consulting Partners, to unpack the biggest disconnect between CEOs and finance leaders — and why it quietly costs companies margin, clarity, and momentum.

Eric isn’t a traditional, in-house CFO. He advises CEOs and finance teams across multiple companies, which gives him a rare vantage point into the patterns most leaders miss.

In this conversation, we cover:
 • What CEOs actually misunderstand about their CFO
• Why many finance leaders get stuck in accounting mode
• The difference between reporting numbers and driving strategy
• How incentive structures quietly break performance
• Product and customer profitability blind spots
• Why delivery matters more than credentials
• How CFOs should communicate bad news
• The human side of data-driven leadership
• Why AI won’t fix broken finance fundamentals
• What CEOs should realistically expect from their finance team

This isn’t a finance lecture. It’s a practical, candid conversation about alignment, trust, and how finance should really support leadership decisions.

🔗 Connect with Eric & CFO Consulting Partners

Website:
 https://cfoconsultingpartners.com

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“I’m nothing special.”
 Mike Stern says that early in the conversation — and then spends the next hour proving why that mindset might be the most powerful leadership advantage there is.

In this episode of the Just Some BS Podcast, Brandon sits down with Mike Stern, CEO of Preventus, Navy veteran, and former tech executive operating in high-pressure, military-adjacent environments where decisions actually matter.

This conversation goes deep into:
 • Why ego quietly destroys teams and organizations
 • What Navy SEALs really understand about leadership
 • Making decisions with incomplete information
 • Getting comfortable with failure — before it finds you
 • Why accountability isn’t saying “my fault,” it’s making things right
 • Chain of command vs. real collaboration
 • Why ordinary people are capable of extraordinary impact
 • Building trust without rank, titles, or authority
 • Knowing when leadership means stepping back
 • Why succession planning should start on day one

This isn’t motivational fluff. It’s a raw, honest conversation about humility, fear, decisiveness, and what leadership actually looks like when lives, teams, and outcomes are on the line.

🔗 Connect with Mike & Preventus

Preventus:
 👉 https://www.preventus.life

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What does it actually feel like to live inside your calling once the excitement wears off?

In this episode of Just Some BS, Brandon sits down again with Andy Bachert, COO of Friends in Action International, to talk about the unfiltered reality of purpose-driven leadership. This isn’t about the moment you say yes. It’s about what that yes keeps asking of you years later.

Andy shares what it’s like leading international mission projects, managing teams across cultures, navigating burnout, and carrying the quiet weight that comes with being “the inspiring one.” From drilling wells that don’t hit water to learning when to pause instead of pushing forward, this conversation goes deep into leadership, faith, and long-term impact.

This episode is for anyone who’s felt the tension between conviction and exhaustion, growth and responsibility, inspiration and reality.

🔗 Connect with Andy & Friends in Action International

Friends in Action International:
 👉 https://fiaintl.org/

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What would you do if life kept reminding you that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed?

In this episode of the Just Some BS Podcast, Brandon sits down with Leigh Ann Wilson, the organizational powerhouse who took her two kids to all 50 states and all 63 U.S. national parks — across 19 major trips, often with only carry-ons, school breaks, and a razor-tight budget.

Leigh Ann shares:
• How losing her mom and nearly losing her husband shaped her “life is short — book the trip” mindset
• The exact moment her family travel project turned into a book
• What traveling with kids really teaches you (and them)
• The hardest meltdowns, longest hikes, and funniest “we’re never doing this again” moments
• The packing systems, logistics hacks, and planning strategies behind 19 trips
• The national parks that shocked her (good and bad)
• The park experiences every family should steal
• Why she wrote “Dear Nolan and Odette” as a love letter and legacy for her kids

Whether you love travel, dream of visiting the parks, or just want to hear what’s possible when a family decides to go all-in on adventure, this episode is packed with heart, humor, and life perspective.

Leigh Ann’s Links
My website has links to the book.  
https://la-order.com/travel-book-1
Publisher- https://store.bookbaby.com/book/dear-nolan-and-odette
Amazon- https://a.co/d/5xOmqgf
Barnes and Noble- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dear-nolan-and-odette-leigh-ann-wilson/1148669467?ean=9798317819668

Chapters 
0:00 – Intro: 50 states, 63 parks, and a book
01:05 – Why Leigh Ann started documenting everything
03:20 – How grief shaped her “life is short” mindset
05:00 – The first trip that set everything in motion
07:25 – Traveling with kids: chaos, cliffs & bathroom emergencies
10:10 – What her kids taught her on the road
12:20 – Parenting meltdowns, backseat battles & device rules
14:00 – Alaska, near-misses & finishing the 63-park journey
16:15 – Most surprising & underrated parks
19:45 – Planning 19 trips + impossible logistics
24:30 – The organizational systems behind the madness
30:00 – Travel hacks every family should steal
33:40 – Life is short: the mantra behind the book
37:00 – What she hopes her kids feel when they read it
43:00 – Top five parks and why they matter
46:00 – The cost of 19 trips (exact number!)
50:30 – Her website, the book, and what’s next

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60% of new supervisors fail in their first 24 months.
Today, we break down why — and how to build leaders the right way.

In this episode of the Just Some BS Podcast, Brandon sits down with leadership trainer and manufacturing expert Becky Becker to tackle one of the most painful and expensive problems in the industry:
promoting your best worker and hoping they magically become a great leader.

Spoiler: hope isn’t a strategy.

Becky has trained leaders in 43 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and she reveals the real reasons supervisors struggle — lack of training, lack of mentorship, culture gaps, and unrealistic expectations.

This conversation is packed with practical tools for manufacturing companies, HR teams, and new supervisors who want to succeed instead of sinking.

This episode is a masterclass in fixing the frontline leadership crisis happening across the industry.

CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Intro
 00:08 – Why promoting your best worker often fails
 01:00 – The NFL analogy that explains leadership mistakes
 03:00 – Is leadership born or trained?
 04:30 – Why the Navy trains leaders from day one
 05:45 – Radical grace & culture expectations
 07:30 – Why people need to feel appreciated at work
 09:10 – Meeting people where they are
 11:12 – Becky’s childhood story that shaped her leadership lens
 13:40 – Why leaders must understand values & mission
 18:50 – Why trust is a skill — not magic
 20:05 – ABCD Model of Trust
 21:30 – The human side of leading through chaos
 22:45 – Staying consistent as a leader
 23:48 – Becoming “unflappable”
 25:10 – What Navy SEAL breathing teaches about emotional control
 27:10 – Manufacturing’s massive supervisor failure rate
 28:20 – Why new supervisors get almost no training
 29:40 – The impact of bad supervisors on turnover
 31:18 – Creating alternate career tracks for technical experts
 32:20 – Why temporary supervisor assignments save careers
 34:05 – Becky’s weirdest nerd hobby (and a secret 1940s York movie)
 36:15 – What companies should screen for BEFORE promoting
 39:40 – How to evaluate leadership readiness
 41:10 – Preventing resentment when promoting non–star performers
 44:00 – Why new supervisors default back to what they’re good at
 45:45 – Sandbox vs. hot seat (training the right way)
 47:20 – How to help someone step back without shame
48:30 – The hardest conversation Becky ever witnessed
51:00 – Why annual reviews shouldn’t deliver surprises
52:20 – The T-ball coaching analogy every supervisor needs
53:50 – How the Manufacturers Association trains supervisors
56:10 – How companies can prepare supervisors before training
57:30 – The leadership belief Becky changed her mind on
58:30 – What great supervisors really do
59:30 – What Becky hopes she’ll be remembered for
59:55 – Advice for anyone just promoted
01:01:00 – Final message + where to find Becky

This podcast is just one part of the Just Some BS universe.

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Let’s be honest: there are things in life we all pretend to love — because everyone else says we’re supposed to.
Networking events. Brunch. Group chats. Hustle culture. Holiday hype.
But do we actually enjoy any of that?

In this solo episode of the Just Some BS Podcast, Brandon breaks down the Top 10 Most Overrated Things in Life — the stuff we hype up publicly but privately dread.

It’s not about being negative.
It’s about calling out the social norms, expectations, and traditions we continue to participate in, even though half of us secretly dislike them.

If you’ve ever smiled through a networking breakfast, forced enthusiasm on New Year’s Eve, or pretended brunch is worth $30, this episode will hit home.

CHAPTERS  TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Intro
01:12 – Why we pretend to love overrated things
02:21 – Ground rules
02:50 – #10: Icebreakers & team-building games
04:30 – #9: Networking events
06:48 – #8: Hustle culture
09:01 – Why sleep is massively underrated
11:01 – #7: Brunch
11:58 – Breakfast Brunch (Brandon explains)
13:52 – #6: New Year’s Eve hype
16:16 – #5: Corporate happy hours
18:38 – #4: Open office plans
20:33 – #3: Group chats
22:05 – The chaos of staying “caught up”
23:55 – #2: Being busy as an identity
24:29 – Learning to say “no”
26:06 – #1: Looking like you have it all together
28:24 – Why perfection is overrated
29:50 – Final thoughts + your turn

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Every December, families gather to do two things: eat cookies… and fight.
 In this episode of the Just Some BS Podcast, Brandon brings in Esther Angell — executive leader, culture expert, and unapologetic Christmas superfan — to settle the Top 10 Christmas Debates once and for all.

This episode covers:
 • Is Die Hard actually a Christmas movie?
• White lights vs colored lights (and what it says about you)
• Real tree vs fake tree — and the trauma behind your choice
• When Christmas decorating should actually start
• Eggnog: festive beverage or dairy-based crime?
• Christmas music in October — who hurt these people?
• Matching pajamas: adorable… or cult behavior?
• Do adults really need gifts?
• Favorite snacks, childhood memories & glitter trauma
• How leadership, empathy, and traditions collide during the holidays

It’s funny, nostalgic, slightly unhinged, and surprisingly meaningful — especially when Esther brings in leadership lessons, empathy, culture, and finding joy during a chaotic season.

If you love Christmas, hate Christmas, or just love the drama of Christmas debates, this is the episode for you.

00:00 – Intro & why Esther loves Christmas
01:05 – Culture, leadership & honesty during the holidays
03:20 – Esther’s Christmas resume
04:45 – Early Christmas memories & family traditions
06:20 – Debate #1: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?
07:40 – Debate #2: White lights vs colored lights
10:15 – Debate #3: Real tree vs fake tree
14:00 – Debate #4: When decorating should officially start
17:55 – Debate #5: Eggnog — festive treat or crime?
20:50 – Debate #6: Christmas music in October
24:00 – Debate #7: Do adults actually need gifts?
27:20 – Debate #8: Best holiday snacks & new business ideas
29:20 – Debate #9: Matching pajamas — wholesome or cult?
30:45 – Debate #10: Ugly sweaters & Christmas fashion
32:50 – Esther’s new podcast & what success means
35:20 – Final reminder about joy, saying no & holiday pressure
37:40 – Closing thoughts

Our Guest

Esther Angell

https://www.linkedin.com/in/estherangell/

https://www.instagram.com/esthereena /

🎙️ Like what you heard?
This podcast is just one part of the Just Some BS universe.

Follow host Brandon Stanchock for weekly BS-free takes on leadership, personal growth, company culture, AI, gaming, and more.

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Your Potential. Your Rules. Stay Weird.