{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Empowered Owners","title":"\"I Can't Screw This Up\" with Mike Jablonski","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/fe38e3e8\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1276,"description":"Not many people have stewarded century-old companies. We're lucky that Mike Jablonski, former owner-operator of Whitney Brothers, is one of them. He takes us through 121 years of American manufacturing—from making wooden toys with hydro-powered equipment to today's manufacturing methods. Mike shares the remarkable story of how Whitney Brothers survived the Great Depression, world wars, devastating fires, and the declaration of pine as a \"strategic wartime material\" that forced a permanent pivot to hardwoods. He opens up about the weight of stewarding a century-old legacy and the influence of technical tours to Germany and Italy. Mike reveals how Whitney Brothers reinvented itself from commodity toys to institutional-grade furniture, explains the company's unique \"Whitney-ize it\" product development process, and shares an emotional moment with a founder's descendent. Whether you're interested in manufacturing, family business succession, or what it really takes to make a company last over a century, Mike's insights on teamwork, innovation, and pride in workmanship offer timeless lessons.Edited by Mateusz Złakowski","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/4dfAJJ_3XDv0O8Mvdt0R-ZeYjzWr4e5AyRKBUwAj0zs/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQ3OTY2LzE3MDMx/NjM5ODktYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}