The Modern CEO Podcast

Amber McCue
  • 4.6 (45)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Semimonthly

You started this business to lead. Somewhere along the way, the business started leading you instead. The Modern CEO Podcast with Amber McCue is where that stops, and growth gets a plan. Real strategy, sustainable systems, and the kind of leadership conversations that help you step fully into your role as the CEO your business needs. Your season of growth is already underway. You're right on time.

  1. 1d ago

    We Quit Email. Here's the Slack Setup That Actually Works.

    This isn't an episode about which apps to download. It's about what it actually looks like to build a communication system that works - across time zones, across roles, across a business that's always moving.   Amber, Joanna, and Lilly have run their company without internal email for years. In this episode, they break down how they've set up Slack to function as a central hub for everything: team communication, sales notifications, customer service escalations, login codes, and more. They share the channels they love (including a dedicated sales celebration channel that fires during live webinars), the culture norms they've developed around emojis and follow-ups, and the automations that make it all feel effortless.   If you're a business owner drowning in email threads, bouncing between platforms, or watching important messages disappear into the void - this conversation will give you real, practical ideas you can put to work right away. Whether you use Slack or not, the principles here translate. One communication hub. Clear norms. And a team that actually knows what's happening.

    26 min

  2. Jun 11

    Words That Work: How We Actually Talk Through the Hard Stuff as a Team

    This episode isn't about communication theory. It's not a framework you have to go home and figure out how to apply. This is us, mid-work, showing you the exact words we use when something goes sideways — when creative feedback is vague, when a deadline is at risk, when someone's overwhelmed and needs the team to jump in. It started with a message from someone in our community after the last episode. She said what we do is book-worthy — and asked us to get even more specific with the language. So Amber, Joanna, and Lilly sat down with actual scenarios and real-life examples, including a few moments that happened in the 48 hours before we hit record. You'll hear the Delegation Solution framework in action, why the positive sandwich is still on the table, and the behind-the-scenes story of Joanna saying "our list" in a Slack message — and what Amber made of it. This one is for the business owner who already knows communication is important, but wants to hear what it actually sounds like when a team does it well. The specifics are here. Come take what works.

    33 min

  3. May 28

    Everything Is Breaking (And What That's Actually Telling You) with Jacqueline Snyder

    Jacqueline Snyder — fashion designer, founder of The Product Boss, and advisor to over 100,000 product-based business owners — joins Amber for a conversation that starts with five words: Everything is breaking, nothing is working. That was 2025. The fires were literally burning around Jacqueline's LA home. The tariffs were wrecking her community. And she was up through the night building webinars that broke even, month after month, refusing to ask for help.   Then she collapsed at a mastermind in Texas, woke up bleeding on the hotel floor, got rolled out on a gurney past the bar, and two weeks later, lost her mom.   What came next surprised everyone, including her. By surrendering — really surrendering, not just saying the word, she had the most profitable month her business had ever seen.   This episode is for the Modern CEO who's been pushing through, doing all the things, and wondering why it still isn't working.

    35 min

  4. May 21

    When Family Is Also Your Team: A Conversation with Lilly & Joanna

    Working with family sounds like either a dream or a disaster. This episode is proof it can be the former — but only when the foundation is right. Amber sits down with her oldest daughter, Lilly McCue (Director of Operations and Marketing Operations at Amber McCue), and longtime business partner Joanna Tiger for a candid conversation about what it actually looks like to build a business alongside the people you love. This was recorded at the request of a client who wanted to know: how does it go? And does it really work? Spoiler: it does. But not by accident. In this episode you'll hear: How Lilly got her start — pulling quotes for Twitter at nine years old — and the quiet-quitting moment in 4th grade that set the tone for their whole working relationship Why clear roles and deep trust are the two non-negotiables for making family dynamics work in a business What "assuming positive intent" looks like when it's actually lived — not just written on a values doc The unspoken rules that hold their team together (including who's not allowed to touch the CRM) What Amber would tell any business owner considering hiring a family member — including the conversation to have before you start   If you've ever wondered whether letting your worlds collide could actually work for your business, this one's for you.

    40 min

  5. Apr 9

    What I'm Doing With AI Right Now (And What I'm Not)

    70 to 85 percent of AI projects fail to meet expectations. And after spending the last year pressure testing AI inside my own business, I think I know why: people automate before they know what good looks like. In this episode of the Right on Time podcast, I'm pulling back the curtain on the AI Clone Team I've been building in real time. These are named AI specialists, each with a specific role in my business: Callie handles content strategy, Marlo runs financial analysis, Ania organizes the newsletter, Polly manages podcast production, Susie supports social media, etc. Sixteen AI team members in total, each trained on my voice, my brand, my frameworks, and my way of thinking. I'm sharing the content pipeline workflow that turns voice memos from a random walk into organized, usable ideas. I'm walking you through the Reality Check leadership folder that catches patterns I would never spot on my own. And I'm being honest about what I'm keeping manual on purpose, because automating too early is how you scale something that isn't you. Whether you're watching the AI wave from the sidelines or you're already experimenting, this episode is a real time, behind the scenes look at how AI works inside a real business with real clients and a real team. You are right on time.   In this episode, you'll hear about: The 16 AI Clone Team members we use (and who does what) How a content pipeline turns random voice memos into organized, categorized ideas your whole team can access The Reality Check folder that helps me spot leadership patterns I'd otherwise miss Why 70 to 85% of AI projects fail, and the mistake behind it What I'm keeping manual on purpose (and why it makes the work better) Three specific places in your business where AI can give you leverage right now Why I hired a human AI consultant AND a social media manager even while building an AI team What "garbage in, garbage out" means for training AI on your voice   Links mentioned in this episode: AI Clone Team How to Clone Yourself® methodology

    25 min

  6. Mar 26

    Your Team is Waiting for you to Fix your Meeting

    Your team already knows your meetings aren't working. They've known for weeks, maybe months. In this episode, I'm sharing how to redesign your meetings into decision-making machines so every person leaves with clarity, action steps, and deadlines. We cover how to right-size your meeting cadence, the rolling agenda method, why moving fast means you need more structure (not less), and how building real rapport in your meetings changes everything. Small shifts here create ripple effects across your whole company. You are right on time. Links: ambermccue.com/modernceo | ambermccue.com

    24 min

  7. Feb 19

    In a World of AI, Experience Wins

    Your clients don't care about your process. They care about how working with you makes them feel. And in a world where AI can generate, automate, and replicate almost everything, that feeling is the one thing that cannot be copied. In this episode, Amber gets into what it actually means to be an experience-driven business and how to design one, whether you're fully virtual, product-based, service-based, or all three. She shares the research behind why emotionally connected customers are more than twice as valuable as satisfied ones, breaks down the three levels most businesses operate at (and why so few ever reach level three), and brings it all to life with real examples from her own business, Nike, and a founder's community doing something quietly brilliant. In this episode: Why satisfaction is transactional and connection is where loyalty actually lives The three levels of business delivery and what it takes to move to level three How Amber's team opened their real planning meetings to VIPs and what happened when they did What Nike's run clubs teach us about identity, belonging, and price sensitivity Why a packed schedule can actually hollow out the experience you're trying to build A five-layer framework to audit or design your own client experience starting now Whether this is brand new thinking or you've been building experience into your work for years without a name for it, you are right on time.

    21 min

  8. Feb 5

    Why You're the Bottleneck in Your Business (And How to Fix It)

    Are you dangerously close to becoming the bottleneck in your own business? Recorded while walking through Zagreb (because I was literally about to become the bottleneck myself), this episode breaks down how to tell if you're holding up your own progress and what to do about it. What We Cover: → The signs you're becoming the bottleneck (hint: it's because you care too much, not too little) → The $1 bill vs. $100 bill framework for prioritizing your time → Three systems that stop the bottleneck before it starts → The responsiveness trap and how it trains you to become the answer person → Why meetings beat message marathons → Creating decision-making frameworks so your team knows what they own   The Bottom Line: You're not removing yourself from your business. You're removing yourself from the noise so you can focus on what compounds value. 💬 What's one thing bottlenecked at your desk right now? Drop it in the comments.   🔗Connect: ambermccue.com | @ambermccue on Instagram

    24 min
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4.6
out of 5
45 Ratings

About

You started this business to lead. Somewhere along the way, the business started leading you instead. The Modern CEO Podcast with Amber McCue is where that stops, and growth gets a plan. Real strategy, sustainable systems, and the kind of leadership conversations that help you step fully into your role as the CEO your business needs. Your season of growth is already underway. You're right on time.

Information

  • Creator
    Amber McCue
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    164
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Amber McCue, LLC
  • Show Website
    The Modern CEO Podcast

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