From the Kitchen Rush to Cyber Risk: Lessons in Leadership and Service - ERP140

Josh Hobein, manager of cybersecurity and automation at Centrex IT, discusses how MSPs can be run like five-star restaurants by prioritizing service, empathy, and experience over mere SLA “checkbox” performance.

Drawing on his background in restaurant management, he explains how hospitality skills translate to tier-one helpdesk and why culture is defined by what leaders tolerate, requiring top-down standards, accountability, recognition, and sometimes letting misaligned people go; Centrex’s ESOP model also supports ownership and buy-in.

On security, he describes a simplified five-stage maturity model built from cyber insurance requirements and CIS controls (favoring CIS for its programmatic implementation groups) to help non-technical owners understand progress via a roadmap.

He cautions against fear-only security selling, advocating education-based conversations, and emphasizes business-decision-focused tabletop exercises (including IRGame.ai) plus the importance of cyber insurance and minimum security baselines.

Check out a scene from The Bear that demonstartes what choosing excellence looks like.

This episode is brought to you by Opsleader Pro. A place for MSP owners and managers to get the systems and tools they need to build a stable and growing MSP. Part group coaching, part peer group, everything you need to run a successful MSP.

(00:00) - Meet Josh Hobein

(00:41) - Michelin Star MSP Mindset

(02:25) - Hospitality to Helpdesk

(04:39) - Service That Wins Loyalty

(06:56) - Beyond SLAs With XLAs

(09:36) - Leading Culture and Standards