About Left-Handed Hammers

Remember your first day on a job site? Maybe someone sent you looking for a left-handed hammer, a bucket of steam, or striped paint. That moment when you realized you'd been had? That's when the real learning began.

Left-Handed Hammers is where construction professionals share the hard-earned lessons you can't learn from a manual—real talk about risk, safety, culture, and what it actually takes to build safely and profitably in today's world.

Your Hosts:

James Gurule, CLCS, PWCA - From swinging hammers on job sites to advising C-suite executives on complex risk. With 12+ years in risk management spanning underwriting, client advisory, and now specializing in construction and M&A at IMA Financial Group, James knows what it takes to protect both people and profits. A former wrestler and youth advocate, he brings grit, heart, and a servant-leader mentality to every conversation.

Nathan Miller, CSP, CRIS - Risk Control Manager with over 21 years of safety expertise spanning construction, aviation, and industrial environments. As an OSHA Certified Instructor with a Master's in Industrial Safety, Nathan has dedicated his career to keeping workers safe and helping companies build cultures where everyone goes home at the end of the day.

Perry Silvey, CHST (Contributing Host) - Safety Manager at BT Construction and proud NUCA representative who's lived every side of the construction equation—from operating equipment and laboring on sites, to estimating multi-million dollar projects, to leading safety programs across multiple companies. With over 15 years in safety leadership and a background in earthwork and utility construction, Perry brings the voice of the field and the practical reality of making safety work on real job sites every single day.

Our Approach:

• James = Business/Risk lens
• Nathan = Technical/Regulatory lens
• Perry = Field/Practical lens + NUCA specialty

Together, we bring you conversations with the people who know construction best: the C-suite leaders making strategic calls, the safety directors transforming culture, the field workers living it every day, and the industry experts solving the problems that keep us up at night.

What We Cover:

• Real incidents and the lessons they taught us
• Safety trends and best practices that actually work
• The culture shifts transforming our industry
• Risk management strategies that protect your bottom line
• Stories from the industry
• Construction business acumen

Who This Is For:

Whether you're a CEO thinking about big picture and culture trends, a CFO measuring total cost of risk, a safety director building culture, a superintendent managing crews, an estimator pricing risk into bids, or a tradesperson who wants to go home safe every day—this show is for you.

Because in construction, we learn by doing. But the smartest operators learn from others who've already been there, made the mistakes, and figured out what works. Get better every day and move the industry forward.

New episodes twice monthly. Let's build smarter, safer, and stronger—together. 🔨