The Freedom Experience with Jean Moncrieff

 🎙️ THE FREEDOM EXPERIENCE - Episode 29

The Hidden Truth About Purpose at Work with Zach Mercurio

In this powerful conversation with Zach Mercurio, we explore why purpose isn't just about having a mission statement - it's about creating environments where people truly feel they matter. Zach shares insights from his research and upcoming book about how leaders can build cultures of significance in their organizations.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

⚡ KEY MOMENTS:

[03:28] Zach shares the poem that changed his perspective on purpose [05:27] Why your job isn't your purpose [12:54] How embedded purpose serves as a storyline for organizations [17:03] The NASA story - how to show people their work matters [20:30] Rethinking job descriptions through a purpose lens [26:01] The two fundamental truths about employee engagement [36:08] How the Industrial Revolution disconnected us from purpose [46:09] Why purpose statements alone aren't enough

💡 POWERFUL QUOTES:

"Your purpose is not out there waiting to be found. It's right where you are waiting to be acknowledged and seen."

"It's impossible for something to matter to someone who doesn't first believe that they matter."

"When you have an embedded purpose, it serves as that storyline. But when you don't have that purpose, you get a lot of wasted energy and a lot of confusion."

📚 ABOUT ZACH: Zach Mercurio, PhD, is a researcher, author, and speaker specializing in purposeful leadership and positive organizational psychology. He works with organizations worldwide, including:

As a Research and Teaching Fellow at Colorado State University's Center for Meaning and Purpose and one of Simon Sinek's Optimist Instructors, Zach brings both academic rigor and practical application to his work.

🔮 WHAT'S NEXT: Pre-order Zach's new book "The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance" (Coming May 2025)

🔗 CONNECT WITH ZACH:

Website: https://www.zachmercurio.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachmercurio/

📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED:

🎧 LISTEN ON: iTunes, Spotify

Art Saxby is the founder and CEO of Chief Outsiders, a company revolutionizing how mid-sized businesses access executive talent through fractional leadership. From his early days as a "born nomad" to leadership roles at Frito-Lay, Kellogg's, and Coca-Cola, Art has mastered the art of thriving in new situations. At age 50, driven by necessity during the 2009 recession, he founded Chief Outsiders, which now boasts over 130 battle-tested marketing and sales executives helping companies reignite growth.

In this dynamic episode of The Freedom Experience, Art shares his proven "Growth Gears" methodology and reveals why even the best-run companies sometimes struggle to grow. Whether you're plateauing, seeking new market opportunities, or preparing for the economic upswing predicted for 2025, this conversation offers invaluable insights for business leaders ready to accelerate growth.

Watch the Episode on YouTube. And SUBSCRIBE!

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Want to prepare your business for the growth opportunities ahead? Don't miss Art's practical insights on building market-driven organizations that can quickly adapt and scale.

Paul Spiegelman is the co-founder of the Small Giants community, a peer group of purpose-driven business leaders. As the former chief culture officer of Stericycle and co-founder/former CEO of Beryl Health, Paul has pioneered approaches to building culture-first organizations. His journey from founding a medical alert business in the mid-1980s to selling Beryl Health for 22x EBITDA demonstrates how purpose-driven leadership can create exceptional business value while prioritizing people.

In this episode of The Freedom Experience, Paul and I explore the connection between purpose, culture, and business success. We discuss how putting employees first creates sustainable growth, the challenges of maintaining culture through transitions, and the personal journey of finding purpose after a successful exit. If you're interested in building a business that makes a difference while delivering exceptional results, this conversation is for you.

Watch the Episode on YouTube. And SUBSCRIBE!

Key Takeaways:

Resources and Links:

Would you like me to make any adjustments to better match your style or add any additional elements?

Mike Jones is the founder of Better Happy, an award-winning consultancy that helps businesses thrive by focusing on happiness and high performance. Drawing from his diverse background—including five years of military service, time spent in monasteries in Nepal and Thailand, and building his own businesses—Mike brings a unique perspective on what it takes to create sustainable success. He is also the author of The Happy Business Revolution, now available, which offers a fresh take on building businesses aligned with well-being and fulfillment.

In this episode of The Freedom Experience, Mike and I discuss how fulfillment, not just profit, drives long-term success. We explore the dangers of toxic productivity, the importance of employee engagement, and his Core 4 Model for balancing the needs of owners, employees, customers, and the business. If you’ve ever wondered how to grow a business without burning out, this conversation is for you.

Watch the Episode on YouTube. And SUBSCRIBE!

In this episode of The Freedom Experience® Podcast, I sit down with Ryan Tansom, founder of Independence by Design, to explore his journey of turning around his family business and creating his ownership framework. Ryan opens up about the gut-wrenching experience of "eating glass" during the five years he spent turning around a $21 million business, navigating the emotional toll of payroll struggles, and managing cash flow. He also discusses the pivotal moment when they sold the company to a competitor and how that '10-year therapy session' reshaped his understanding of business and life.

Through his experiences, Ryan created the Independence by Design framework to help other business owners avoid the same pitfalls. His mission is to teach business owners how to shift from a CEO mindset to an owner mindset, regain control over their time, and build a business that serves their personal and financial goals.

Watch this conversation on YouTube. And SUBSCRIBE!

00:00 – Introduction and Background
03:00 – The Shift from CEO to Owner
06:35 – Balancing Cash Flow and Equity
09:24 – Managing Payroll and Cash Flow
19:28 – Feeling Trapped in the Family Business
28:03 – The Challenges of Financing
38:39 – Selling the Business
41:24 – Post-Exit Reflections and Lessons Learned
44:41 – Ryan’s Mission to Help Business Owners
49:45 – The Game of Ownership
52:16 – Choosing the Right Game for Your Business
56:10 – Finding Joy and Purpose After the Exit

Howard Blake is a serial entrepreneur who’s built over 20 companies across four continents. Starting from humble beginnings—selling shirts out of the trunk of his car—he went on to scale businesses in diverse industries, from call centers to digital finance. Blake’s journey is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the power of bootstrapping, offering valuable insights into entrepreneurial growth without a safety net.

In this episode of The Freedom Experience® Podcast, I sit down with renowned entrepreneur and author Shannon Byrne Susko. Shannon, the creator of the Metronomics framework and author of several best-selling books, has revolutionized how businesses execute their growth strategies. Widely recognized for her leadership and innovation, she has earned accolades, including being named one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women multiple times. In our conversation, we explore her journey from being a desperate CEO to achieving multiple life-changing exits and how those experiences inspired the creation of Metronomics and the 3HAG (Three-Year Highly Achievable Goal). A system that unites teams and drives business success.

Watch this conversation on YouTube. And SUBSCRIBE!

The Power of Focus
Shannon highlights how staying focused on what you want—both personally and professionally—is crucial for success. It’s this focus that guided her and her team through periods of desperation and toward strategic growth.

Coaching as a Game Changer
Shannon attributes much of her success to the coaches who guided her throughout her career. She emphasizes the importance of being coachable and having a support network to remove blind spots and push you to grow.

3HAG Brings Strategy to Life
Shannon introduces the concept of the Three-Year Highly Achievable Goal (3HAG), explaining how this framework makes long-term goals tangible and keeps teams focused on actionable steps. It turns abstract ideas into realistic milestones that drive growth.

The Human Side of Strategy
Beyond strategy and execution, Shannon talks about how leadership and culture must align with the company's vision. A cohesive team that learns together wins together. This human element is what makes the 3HAG so effective.

Cash System & Financial Clarity
Shannon underscores the importance of a clear cash system within Metronomics, helping businesses understand how to generate the necessary cash flow through strategic decisions and forecasting.

In this episode of The Freedom Experience, I sit down with Mackey McNeill, a trailblazing entrepreneur and financial expert, to explore the challenges faced by business owners and the critical role of financial planning in business success. Mackey shares her unique journey of building a successful business, the importance of intention in achieving business goals, and how fear can drive poor decision-making for entrepreneurs.

As the founder of Mackey Advisors, a CFO firm for fast-growing businesses and those striving for intentional growth, Mackey brings more than just numbers to the table—she brings heart, purpose, and decades of experience helping business owners thrive.

A CPA, PFS, and the award-winning author of The Prosperity Playbook and The Intersection of Joy and Money, Mackey has guided thousands of entrepreneurs through the ups and downs of building a successful business. Her insights have appeared in INC Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Money, to name a few.

Mackey Advisors isn’t just another financial firm. It was one of the first certified B Corps in its region, a four-time Real Leaders Impact Award winner, and even earned a place on the INC 5000 in 2022. In 2023, they added the INC Power Partners award to their accolades—a testament to their commitment to helping businesses grow with intention.

When she's not helping others find prosperity, Mackey is living hers—spending time at her permaculture homestead, RedSunflower Farm, where she loves to cook straight from her garden, wander the woods, and cherish moments with her grandchildren.

In this episode:

Mackey introduces her innovative framework that empowers entrepreneurs to make data-driven decisions through integration and strategic planning. She also emphasizes the importance of building a team capable of running a business independently. She shares how this allowed her to step away from daily operations and focus on long-term growth. The conversation touches on leadership, succession planning, and maintaining core values in scaling a business.

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Connect with Mackey:

In this episode of The Freedom Experience® Podcast, I sit down with Tom Walter, Founder, CEO, and Chief Culture Officer at Tasty Catering. Tom is a true serial entrepreneur, having grown Tasty Catering from its humble beginnings as a Chicago hot dog stand into one of the top four catering companies in Chicago, with group revenues surpassing $85 million.

Tom's story is one of transformation, driven by a deep belief in the power of relationships, culture, and people. In this conversation, we dive into the cultural revolution that took place at Tasty Catering in 2005, when two young employees challenged Tom’s leadership style. Their call for change was the catalyst for a complete turnaround, resulting in a more people-centered, values-driven company that continues to thrive.

Tom shares how hitting rock bottom, both personally and professionally, forced him to rethink how he led the business. With a renewed focus on fostering an entrepreneurial spirit within the team, Tasty Catering went from $2-3 million in revenue to $85 million today.

The driving force?

Tom's emphasis on understanding people’s skills, creating a values-based culture, and removing workplace "disruptors" that prevent employees from performing at their best.

One of the standout concepts we discuss is the idea of "entangled employees"—people who are deeply woven into the fabric of the company and who think and act like owners. Tom shares how empowering his team to take responsibility for their own areas of work and decision-making has led to innovation and incredible growth, especially during challenging times like COVID-19.

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This episode is a must-listen for any entrepreneur or business leader looking to transform their company culture and foster an environment where employees thrive and contribute at their highest potential.

Books:

Thought Leaders:

These books and thought leaders play a significant role in shaping Tom Walter's leadership philosophy and the culture at Tasty Catering.

In this Episode

Glen Dall shares his journey from working on an assembly line to becoming the CEO of a publicly traded company. Starting in the automotive industry, he faced setbacks, returned to school, and transitioned into the food marketing industry. As CEO, he turned the company around by focusing on customers, supporting the sales team, and cutting costs, but eventually left due to conflicting visions with new investors.

Glenn then became a business consultant and scaling-up coach, helping other CEOs avoid the CEO Doom Loop—a cycle of poor decisions and micromanagement driven by fear and lack of accountability. Recognizing signs like taking over tasks and lack of communication, CEOs can build strong leadership teams, focus on vision, core values, and culture, and use clear business frameworks, peer groups, and coaches to navigate challenges and drive growth.

Key Takeaways

Resources

He is also a contributing editor to the book "ROCK & SAND PREMIUM EDITION: A Practical Insight to Business Growth

His expertise in accountability is captured in another book he contributed to, "Creating A Culture of Accountability: A Gravitas Impact Monograph.".