01 / Writing

In my own words.

Straight talk on leadership, gun violence prevention, resilience, and building things that last.

Featured post

Featured · High-Performing Teams

Your crew should understand the safety program, not the hazard alone

Hazard training tells a crew what to avoid today. Program training tells them how the safety program works, who reviews a concern, and how a procedure gets changed. OSHA points to that second job, and it is the one most construction training skips.

Sep 21, 2026 · 7 min read

02 / All posts

170 of 170

Home Improvement Industry Scaffold planning starts on paper before anyone climbs Sep 19, 2026 · 9 min read Home Improvement Industry The crews least familiar with electricity are often the most exposed to it Sep 18, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Hand and power tool safety starts with the habits nobody corrects Sep 17, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Onboarding a first year roofer takes more than a safety video Sep 13, 2026 · 8 min read Resilience and Adversity One incident investigation misses what a pattern would show Sep 12, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure Hazard communication only works if the crew has read it Sep 11, 2026 · 7 min read High-Performing Teams A training library only helps if foremen know what is in it Sep 10, 2026 · 7 min read High-Performing Teams Worker participation belongs on the schedule, inside paid hours Sep 9, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure Assigning safety responsibility without authority sets people up to fail Sep 8, 2026 · 8 min read Home Improvement Industry What a commercial roof submittal should tell the owner Sep 7, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Training for a new task starts before the first production day Sep 6, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Cross training your crews is the cheapest insurance you can buy Sep 5, 2026 · 7 min read Home Improvement Industry Why the manufacturer’s final inspection belongs in the project plan Sep 5, 2026 · 8 min read Home Improvement Industry What building owners should ask before signing a roofing contract Sep 2, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams How to promote your best foreman without losing them Sep 2, 2026 · 9 min read High-Performing Teams Worksite demonstrations beat instructions people cannot apply Aug 22, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams The hazard you walk past becomes the standard Aug 19, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure The annual safety review should end with assigned work Aug 14, 2026 · 7 min read Leadership Under Pressure A safety commitment without resources is only a sentence Aug 13, 2026 · 7 min read Leadership Under Pressure Management walkthroughs that find problems instead of staging a tour Aug 11, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure Why injury counts are not enough to measure a safety program Aug 10, 2026 · 7 min read Home Improvement Industry Winter roofing in the Midwest: what can be done and what should wait Aug 9, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Toolbox talks that people actually listen to Aug 8, 2026 · 8 min read Home Improvement Industry The real reason building owners defer roof maintenance Aug 7, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Why the best field crews are built in the winter, not the summer Aug 6, 2026 · 8 min read Personal Brand and Career How to build credibility in a new industry when nobody knows your name Jul 24, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Why your best performers are probably underchallenged and how to fix it Jul 23, 2026 · 9 min read High-Performing Teams What I learned about hiring from 20 years of getting it wrong and right Jul 20, 2026 · 9 min read High-Performing Teams How to build accountability culture without micromanaging your team Jul 19, 2026 · 6 min read Leadership Under Pressure How to reset a toxic team culture without blowing it up Jul 18, 2026 · 7 min read Personal Brand and Career What a Wikipedia entry actually does for your career, and what it does not Jul 17, 2026 · 7 min read Home Improvement Industry Understanding building envelope failures: how a roof leak becomes a structural problem Jul 9, 2026 · 7 min read Home Improvement Industry Roof asset management for facility managers: a practical primer Jul 7, 2026 · 8 min read Home Improvement Industry Commercial roofing warranty coverage: what owners think they have vs what they actually have Jul 6, 2026 · 7 min read Gun Violence Prevention From personal loss to public advocacy: how I found the work that chose me Jul 5, 2026 · 7 min read Gun Violence Prevention How I talk to my kids about gun violence without making them afraid Jul 4, 2026 · 6 min read Personal Brand and Career How to negotiate your next executive role without underselling yourself Jun 30, 2026 · 7 min read Personal Brand and Career Why your resume is not your personal brand Jun 29, 2026 · 7 min read Resilience and Adversity How to lead well when your personal life is falling apart Jun 27, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Diversity in construction: what actually moves the needle and what is just optics Jun 25, 2026 · 9 min read High-Performing Teams How to build a team that runs when you are not in the room Jun 24, 2026 · 7 min read High-Performing Teams The right way to give feedback that people actually use Jun 23, 2026 · 9 min read Leadership Under Pressure Making decisions with incomplete information: how to stay decisive under pressure Jun 20, 2026 · 6 min read Leadership Under Pressure What nobody tells you about running a division inside a larger company Jun 19, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure How to run a performance conversation when the person is a friend Jun 18, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure Authority vs influence: why new executives confuse the two Jun 17, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure When your best foreman quits mid-project: a field guide to not panicking Jun 16, 2026 · 8 min read Resilience and Adversity How to come back from a bad quarter without losing the team Jun 15, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Performance management in the trades: what works when nobody is sitting at a desk Jun 14, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure Decision speed vs decision quality: what running an operating company taught me Jun 13, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure Firing well: the leadership skill nobody teaches and everyone judges May 31, 2026 · 9 min read High-Performing Teams Retention in roofing: why the third year is when you actually lose people May 28, 2026 · 8 min read Home Improvement Industry Insulated metal panels are eating the wall: where IMPs make sense and where they do not May 27, 2026 · 9 min read Home Improvement Industry Pre-buying steel coil: when speculation makes sense and when it sinks you May 26, 2026 · 7 min read High-Performing Teams Bench strength in the trades: building your next three foremen before you need them May 26, 2026 · 8 min read Home Improvement Industry Sheet metal flashing is where commercial roofs leak: a field foreman primer May 26, 2026 · 8 min read Leadership Under Pressure Crisis communication when the safety incident is real: a field guide May 26, 2026 · 7 min read Resilience and Adversity 30 years without a mother: what I learned about not turning grief into a personality May 26, 2026 · 7 min read Home Improvement Industry Cool roofs and reflective TPO: how 84 percent solar reflectance changes the HVAC math May 26, 2026 · 8 min read High-Performing Teams Hiring sales people from outside the trades: what transfers and what does not May 26, 2026 · 9 min read Leadership Under Pressure Managing up to a parent-company CEO in your first 90 days May 26, 2026 · 7 min read Home Improvement Industry Why 75 percent of commercial roofers expect growth in 2026 May 24, 2026 · 6 min read Home Improvement Industry What the $24 billion metal roofing market means for sheet metal contractors May 24, 2026 · 6 min read Home Improvement Industry Private equity bought a roofing platform every 48 hours in 2025 May 24, 2026 · 7 min read Home Improvement Industry IECC 2024 raised the R-value bar for commercial roofs May 24, 2026 · 6 min read Home Improvement Industry 349,000 workers short: how commercial roofers actually hire in 2026 May 24, 2026 · 8 min read Home Improvement Industry TPO took the market, EPDM did not die: a 2026 spec writer’s call May 24, 2026 · 8 min read Home Improvement Industry How the 50 percent metal tariff is reshaping commercial roofing bids May 11, 2026 · 7 min read Gun Violence Prevention 988 saved more than 4,300 young lives. Here is what we still owe the rest. Apr 25, 2026 · 10 min read Home Improvement Industry 5 Signs Your Roof Needs Attention Before It’s Too Late Apr 16, 2026 · 6 min read Home Improvement Industry Why Customer Experience Is the Future of Home Services Apr 15, 2026 · 6 min read Home Improvement Industry What homeowners get wrong about contractor estimates Apr 14, 2026 · 3 min read High-Performing Teams How to give feedback that people actually hear Apr 13, 2026 · 3 min read Personal Brand and Career How I Balance Being an Executive, Advocate, and Father Apr 12, 2026 · 5 min read Resilience and Adversity Grief does not follow a schedule and neither does healing Apr 11, 2026 · 3 min read Resilience and Adversity What getting engaged at 48 taught me about patience and timing Apr 10, 2026 · 3 min read Gun Violence Prevention Survivor to Advocate: Turning Pain Into Purpose Apr 9, 2026 · 6 min read Leadership Under Pressure The first 90 days in a new leadership role: what actually matters Apr 8, 2026 · 3 min read Resilience and Adversity The lie we tell ourselves about being self made Apr 7, 2026 · 2 min read Leadership Under Pressure The difference between managing and leading and why it matters Apr 6, 2026 · 2 min read Resilience and Adversity Three things my mother never got to teach me Apr 5, 2026 · 3 min read Leadership Under Pressure How to evaluate a roofing company before you sign anything Apr 3, 2026 · 3 min read High-Performing Teams The meeting that should have been an email and what it reveals about your culture Apr 2, 2026 · 2 min read Leadership Under Pressure Why resilient leadership matters more than talent in a downturn Apr 1, 2026 · 5 min read Resilience and Adversity How to build resilience after personal tragedy Apr 1, 2026 · 6 min read Gun Violence Prevention Firearm suicide prevention: what every family needs to know Apr 1, 2026 · 5 min read Gun Violence Prevention The conversation about guns that America refuses to have Apr 1, 2026 · 3 min read Leadership Under Pressure From $1.5M Startup to Regional GM: The Mindset Shifts That Matter Mar 30, 2026 · 7 min read Gun Violence Prevention In Wisconsin you can buy a gun faster than a mental health diagnosis Mar 29, 2026 · 5 min read Leadership Under Pressure How to run a productive one on one meeting in 20 minutes Mar 28, 2026 · 3 min read Gun Violence Prevention The 5 leadership lessons from running for Congress that no one talks about Mar 25, 2026 · 7 min read High-Performing Teams What the home improvement industry gets wrong about leadership Mar 25, 2026 · 6 min read Gun Violence Prevention A father’s fight: Why I advocate for gun violence prevention Mar 25, 2026 · 5 min read High-Performing Teams What scaling a $15M construction company taught me about leadership Mar 23, 2026 · 6 min read Resilience and Adversity How I stopped letting imposter syndrome run my career Mar 22, 2026 · 3 min read Gun Violence Prevention What I tell people who say gun violence is not their problem Mar 21, 2026 · 3 min read Leadership Under Pressure Why the skilled trades shortage is a leadership problem, not a labor problem Mar 20, 2026 · 4 min read Resilience and Adversity The phone call that changed how I think about fatherhood Mar 19, 2026 · 3 min read Gun Violence Prevention What happened when I stopped pretending to have it all figured out Mar 17, 2026 · 3 min read Leadership Under Pressure Why the Trades Are the Best Career Path Nobody Talks About Mar 16, 2026 · 9 min read Gun Violence Prevention Inside the Wisconsin Fake Electors Lawsuit: Why I Became the Lead Plaintiff Mar 15, 2026 · 10 min read Writing Inside the Home Improvement Industry: What Most People Don’t See Mar 14, 2026 · 6 min read Personal Brand and Career The Career Pivot Nobody Talks About: Lessons from 20+ Years Mar 13, 2026 · 6 min read Gun Violence Prevention The Intersection of Business Leadership and Community Advocacy Mar 12, 2026 · 6 min read Home Improvement Industry Metal Roofing vs. Asphalt Shingles: Which Is Right for Your Home? Mar 11, 2026 · 6 min read Writing What Homeowners Should Know Before Starting a Major Renovation Mar 10, 2026 · 6 min read Personal Brand and Career Building Your Personal Brand While Working Full-Time Mar 9, 2026 · 6 min read Gun Violence Prevention How One Person Can Change Policy: A Practical Guide Mar 8, 2026 · 7 min read Leadership Under Pressure I wrote this when I walked away. Five years later, it saved my life. Mar 7, 2026 · 6 min read High-Performing Teams Lessons From Turning Around Broken Teams Mar 6, 2026 · 8 min read Resilience and Adversity Why I talk about my mother’s death on stage in front of strangers Mar 5, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention How gun violence prevention became the center of my career Mar 3, 2026 · 3 min read High-Performing Teams What remote work got wrong about team connection Mar 2, 2026 · 2 min read Leadership Under Pressure The hidden cost of cutting corners on a construction project Mar 1, 2026 · 3 min read Personal Brand and Career What I learned from getting rejected by 200 event planners Feb 28, 2026 · 3 min read High-Performing Teams Why Culture Fails When Leaders Avoid Hard Conversations Feb 27, 2026 · 7 min read High-Performing Teams What Scaling a Large Team Taught Me About Accountability Feb 26, 2026 · 7 min read Gun Violence Prevention What Corporate America Can Learn from Grassroots Organizing Feb 25, 2026 · 6 min read High-Performing Teams How to Rebuild Team Trust After a Bad Quarter Feb 24, 2026 · 7 min read Leadership Under Pressure How to fire someone and still sleep at night Feb 23, 2026 · 3 min read Resilience and Adversity What Audiences Ask After I Share My Story Feb 22, 2026 · 7 min read Resilience and Adversity What I would tell my 25 year old self about money, risk, and starting over Feb 21, 2026 · 3 min read Resilience and Adversity How to Talk About Trauma Without Turning It Into Performance Feb 20, 2026 · 7 min read Personal Brand and Career How to build a media kit that event planners actually use Feb 19, 2026 · 2 min read Leadership Under Pressure Why Great Leaders Are Built, Not Born Feb 18, 2026 · 6 min read Gun Violence Prevention What my DNC speech taught me about finding your voice Feb 17, 2026 · 3 min read Resilience and Adversity What Construction Taught Me About Resilience Feb 16, 2026 · 7 min read Home Improvement Industry The Science Behind Sheet Metal Fabrication in Modern Roofing Feb 15, 2026 · 7 min read Resilience and Adversity How Grief Changes the Way You Lead Feb 14, 2026 · 9 min read High-Performing Teams Why your best employees are quiet quitting and what to do about it Feb 13, 2026 · 3 min read Leadership Under Pressure Leadership Lessons From Building in High-Stakes Industries Feb 12, 2026 · 7 min read Leadership Under Pressure Why Most Teams Do Not Need Motivation, They Need Clarity Feb 11, 2026 · 7 min read Leadership Under Pressure How to Lead When the Numbers Are Not Good Feb 10, 2026 · 6 min read Leadership Under Pressure What Leadership Under Pressure Looks Like in Real Life Feb 9, 2026 · 7 min read Leadership Under Pressure The 5 Leadership Lessons I Wish Someone Told Me at 25 Feb 8, 2026 · 6 min read Leadership Under Pressure What Running for Congress Taught Me About Building a Business Feb 7, 2026 · 5 min read Resilience and Adversity What 36 Years of Silence Taught Me About Vulnerability in Leadership Feb 6, 2026 · 5 min read Leadership Under Pressure A Homeowner’s Guide to Roof Replacement: What to Expect Feb 5, 2026 · 6 min read Leadership Under Pressure What Business Leaders Get Wrong About Psychological Safety Feb 4, 2026 · 6 min read Leadership Under Pressure The State of Home Improvement in 2026: Trends to Watch Feb 3, 2026 · 8 min read Personal Brand and Career Why Every Professional Needs a Personal Website in 2026 Feb 2, 2026 · 6 min read Gun Violence Prevention The Real Cost of Gun Violence Beyond Headlines Feb 1, 2026 · 8 min read Gun Violence Prevention Why I Still Fight: My Story of Gun Violence Prevention Jan 31, 2026 · 10 min read High-Performing Teams What Building Operations at Scale Taught Me About Leading People Jan 30, 2026 · 9 min read Leadership Under Pressure How to Scale a Construction Company: Lessons From the Field Jan 27, 2026 · 15 min read High-Performing Teams How I Build High-Performing Teams Jan 26, 2026 · 8 min read Gun Violence Prevention When you voted for Trump, you have to know that you voted the same way as the KKK Jan 25, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention KHARY PENEBAKER’S DPW 2017 DNC SPEECH Jan 24, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention Penebaker: Permitless carry bill would make Wisconsin a more dangerous place Jan 23, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention Early Voting Starts Today, March 20, 2017! Jan 22, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention The Cost of Domestic Violence Jan 21, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention Sensenbrenner Dodges Debate Jan 20, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention Sensenbrenner Bears Responsibility for Trump, and for Trump’s Betrayal of Republican Values Jan 19, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention Rep. Sensenbrenner Silent on Request for Debates Jan 18, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Penebaker Statement on National Suicide Prevention Month Jan 17, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Khary Penebaker Challenges Rep. Sensenbrenner to Five Debates Jan 16, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention Penebaker Praises First of Its Kind Gun Violence Prevention Partnership Jan 15, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Response to Trump Statement on Gun Violence Jan 14, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Party in Cutler Park with Russ, Khary & Sen. Mary Landrieu! Jan 13, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Khary Penebaker Wins Primary, Will Face Jim Sensenbrenner in November Jan 12, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Candidate Khary Penebaker to Cast His Vote in the Wisconsin Primary Jan 11, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Congress Fails to Protect America Jan 10, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention We Need More From Our Leaders Jan 9, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Penebaker to #WearOrange for National Gun Violence Awareness Day Jan 8, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Hire A Hero Jan 7, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Our Leaders Should Fight for Affordable Healthcare Jan 6, 2026 · 3 min read Gun Violence Prevention Khary Penebaker Values Diversity in all Communities. Jan 5, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention Khary Penebaker Proudly Stands with Jack McCain and Interracial Families Jan 4, 2026 · 2 min read Gun Violence Prevention Penebaker Calls for Improved Mental Health Care After Antigo High School Shooting Jan 3, 2026 · 1 min read Gun Violence Prevention Khary Penebaker Announces Wisconsin’s 5th CD Bid Jan 2, 2026 · 1 min read

Crisis resources

If you are struggling
Reach the help. Ask for it out loud.
Call or text988 Text HOME to741741 Every resourceGet help →
If you are struggling
Reach the help. Ask for it out loud.
Call or text988 Text HOME to741741 Every resourceGet help →