Activating Curiosity® | Leading Change in the Construction Industry

Construction needs skilled workers. But if every contractor is looking for people who are already trained and experienced, who is developing the people the industry will need next?

Jennifer Wilkerson, Vice President of Innovation and Advancement at the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), joins Ryan Ware to explore why training and developing people has become a strategic issue for the construction indust...

AEC professionals spend their careers solving complex problems.

But are we applying that same problem-solving ability to our finances, businesses, careers, and lives?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Ryan Sullivan, founder of Off the Beaten Path Financials and Off the Beaten Path Advisors, to explore a different question:

What if some of the financial realities we've accepted in AEC aren't rules at al...

Explore construction leadership, operations, technology adoption, and AI’s role in improving company culture and productivity in the built environment.

Because construction leaders spend a lot of time talking about budgets, schedules, productivity, and technology.

But what if those aren't the real challenge?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Casey Bell, CEO of Aecore and Co-Founder of Buildzen, t...

Discover construction workforce challenges, recruiting, talent retention, mentorship, and how culture impacts employee engagement in AEC firms.

We know the construction industry has a changing workforce.

But are the ways we recruit, hire, and develop people changing with it?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Bryce Batts, Co-Founder of Career Collective and a recruiter with 20 years of experience in the...

Unpack how AI and information management in construction estimating, preconstruction, and project delivery can reshape productivity and housing affordability.

Construction has spent decades trying to build faster, reduce costs, and improve productivity. Yet estimating, preconstruction, permitting, coordination, and project delivery continue to consume more time and information.

But what if construction doesn't have a building problem...

Construction has spent decades trying to solve labor shortages, productivity challenges, and rising costs. But what if the greatest opportunity isn't simply changing how we build? What if it's changing what we consider "standard?"

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Melanie Taylor, Vice President of BILDT, to explore why industrialized construction is about far more than prefabrication or modular build...

Construction has spent decades improving physical safety.

Hard hats. Harnesses. Glasses. Training. Procedures. PPE.

But what about the things we can't see?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Dina Fodero, speaker, certified Enneagram Practitioner, and creator of I-PPE™ (Invisible Personal Protective Essentials), to explore the human side of safety in construction.

Together, they unpack why protecting peop...

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the construction industry—but technology alone won't determine who succeeds.

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Timber Barker to explore why successful AI adoption starts with people, not software. Rather than asking whether AI will replace jobs, this conversation challenges leaders to ask a different question:

How can AI help people do their best w...

For years, sustainability has often been framed as a choice between doing what's right for the planet and doing what's right for business.

But what if the fastest path to climate action has nothing to do with asking people to sacrifice?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Josh Dorfman host of Supercool and co-founder and CMO of Plantd to explore sustainable construction, climate innovation, building pro...

Affordable Housing Starts With Better Questions | Purpose, Community & Construction

Affordable housing is often framed as a construction challenge, with conversations focused on cost, speed, and supply. Yet behind every housing project is a deeper question about community, purpose, and the people those spaces are intended to serve.

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Rory Rubin, Founder and CEO of S...

For over 20 years, the construction industry has discussed prefabrication, modular construction, and industrialized construction as solutions to labor shortages, productivity challenges, and project inefficiencies. Yet, adoption has been slower than many expected.

Why?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Josh Mensinger, President of Integrity Built Texas and Prefab, to reveal a hard truth often overlook...

Construction leadership culture shapes how teams work, perform, and respond to change. Yet across the construction industry, burnout has quietly become an accepted measure of commitment, leadership, and success.

But what if burnout isn't evidence of high performance?

What if it's evidence that we've accepted the wrong standard?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with executive leadership coach Julie Riga to ...

Construction delays are often blamed on labor, cost, or materials—but what if the real problem starts much earlier, during design?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Robb Andrade  of Overcast Innovations  to explore how siloed design decisions create downstream friction, rework, and unnecessary change.

Instead of focusing on what happens in the field, this conversation shifts upstream&m...

In this bonus episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Tom Raftery—speaker, sustainability strategist, and host of the Resilient Supply Chain and Climate Confident podcasts—to explore how global energy disruptions are reshaping construction, supply chains, and the future of resilience.

Using lessons from the 1970s energy crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and today's geopolitical u...

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, we explore a hard truth about construction: we’re not just facing a labor shortage—we’re facing a productivity problem.

If the construction industry is “busy” every day, why are projects getting slower, more expensive, and harder to deliver? This conversation challenges the idea that we’re solving problems and reveals how often we’re just firefightin...

What happens when architects and construction leaders stop accepting the limits of traditional building materials—and start asking better questions?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Allison Dring, CEO and Co-Founder of Made of Air, to explore how discomfort drives curiosity, innovation, and change in the built environment. Explore how biochar is becoming a key tool for sustainable building pra...

What if the AEC industry’s biggest challenge isn’t a staffing shortage—but a work model problem?

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Erin Fantozz, Founder of EFDesigns, to explore how architecture and construction firms are navigating a deeper shift in leadership, change management, and the future of work.

As workforce pressure continues across the AEC industry, many firms focus on hir...

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Vikas Murali, Co-Founder and CEO of Offsight, to explore why limited visibility inside prefab factories remains one of the biggest barriers to scaling offsite construction.

As contractors and manufacturers expand into prefabrication, modular construction, and industrialized manufacturing, many still rely on manual processes and disconnected systems that create uncert...

Construction leadership development today requires more than toughness—it demands a human-centered approach to leading change.

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Ed DeAngelis, CEO and Founder of EDA Contractors, to explore how trust, emotional intelligence, and curiosity are reshaping leadership in the construction industry.

As the AEC industry faces workforce challenges, change resistance, and i...