Curiosity And Mindset Episodes

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 SI Container Builds, to explore her unique journey from socia...

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 overlooked: The biggest barriers to prefabrication aren't tech...

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 practices and climate action in the construction industry. With the...

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 increasing complexity, Ed shares why “humanity as a strategy” is...

In this episode of Activating Curiosity™ | Leading Change in the Construction Industry, Ryan Ware sits down with Kristin Kautz of JAM Idea Agency to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the AEC industry—and why most firms are approaching it the wrong way. This conversation challenges a common assumption: that AI is a tool to implement. Instead, Kristin reframes it as something closer to “air”—an embedded capability that enhances how teams already work, rather than something separa...

Mini Series Part 5: Curiosity isn’t a soft skill—it’s a leadership advantage in construction. In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware explores how curiosity drives effective change leadership in the AEC industry and why it’s essential for navigating uncertainty, overcoming resistance, and building stronger teams. This conversation reframes a common challenge: leaders often focus on managing change, but overlook how people experience it. Instead, Ryan highlights curiosity as the br...

Construction doesn’t have a people problem—it has a connection problem. In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Angelo Suntres, founder of The Human Side of Construction, to explore how construction leadership and change management in the AEC industry must evolve to better support the people behind the work. This conversation challenges a long-standing norm: that toughness and technical skill define success in construction. Instead, Angelo highlights how empathy, co...

Curiosity isn’t a soft skill—it’s a leadership advantage in times of change. In this bonus episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware explores how construction leaders in the AEC industry can use curiosity to navigate uncertainty, reduce resistance, and lead change more effectively. In an industry shaped by constant disruption—new technologies, shifting delivery models, and evolving workforce expectations—leaders are often trained to seek control. But this episode challenges that instinct, h...

Change isn’t slowing down in construction—but how we lead through it needs to. In this short trailer for Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware introduces a new kind of conversation for construction and AEC leaders—one focused not just on solutions, but on how we think about and respond to change. This podcast is built around a simple but powerful question: What is the most important problem you’re trying to solve—and why? Through real conversations with construction leaders, innovators, and change...