Peter Holt unpacks what makes managing franchisees fundamentally different from managing employees, why franchising is really “the business of selling mistakes,” and how a devastating trust breakdown with a master franchisee in Sweden shaped his entire leadership philosophy.

Matt Cranney, Executive Vice President at M3 Insurance, breaks down how M3 built a culture that refuses to rank customers above employees (or vice versa), why the agency deliberately talks about “effectiveness” instead of “efficiency,” and how they’re rolling out AI as something “redemptive, not replacing.”

Jerad Hutchens, president of Summit Contracting, shares how Summit self-performs almost every phase of a build to control quality and margins, why he had to learn to stop making every decision himself, and how a serious injury early in his life taught him to think before he acts.

On this episode of Ratchet Up, Allan Breidenbach sits down with Chris Baichoo, President of WMEP (Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership), for a conversation on 40+ years in manufacturing leadership – from his first job as a sheet metal operator to running a nonprofit that helps hundreds of small and mid-sized manufacturers grow.

In this episode of RATCHET-UP, Tony and host Allan Breidenbach explore leadership, accountability, the impact of private equity on culture, why poor leaders create recruiting opportunities, and how Tony turned dyslexia and a non-traditional education into an advantage.

In this episode of RATCHET-UP, Allan Breidenbach sits down with Jim Hartlieb, President & CEO of First Business Bank

On this episode of RATCHET-UP, Allan Breidenbach sits down with Michael Carr, President & CEO of Naviant, to talk about leading people through the fastest wave of technological change most leaders have ever faced: agentic AI.

On this episode of RATCHET-UP, Allan Breidenbach sits down with Steve Farsht, co-founder of Corazon Capital, an early-stage venture fund based in Chicago.