SOLAR COASTER is part business memoir, part history of the modern American solar industry, and part reflection on faith, purpose, and leadership. When did you first hear the phrase “solar coaster,” and why did it feel like the right title for the book?

I don’t remember the exact first time I heard the phrase, but if you spend enough time in the solar industry, you hear it. “Solar coaster” is how those of us who have lived through the industry’s ups and downs describe the ride. Policy changes, interest rates, financing, technology, commodity prices, and politics can completely change the economics of a project or the direction of the industry. You can have a plan, and then suddenly everything changes. To survive, you have to constantly adapt.

It felt like the perfect title because that has been my professional life for nearly two decades. But the title also took on a second meaning for me. My career has had its own tremendous highs and lows, and through all of those experiences I came to understand how much my faith and my soul were guiding the journey. That is why I play with the word in Part III of the book as my “SO(U)LARCOASTER.” The book is about the solar industry, but it is also about the much bigger ride of figuring out who you are, what your purpose is, and how to live your best life with the life you have been given.

You emphasize surrounding yourself with “A+ players.” What qualities make someone an A+ player in your view?

An A+ player is someone who is exceptionally good at what they do, but it goes beyond talent. They are driven. They want to win. They work hard because they genuinely care about the work; they are constantly learning, and they are always thinking several moves ahead. They understand their industry deeply and are never really satisfied with just being good enough.

I also think the best teams are built when those people share values, trust one another, and are committed to the same mission. At TurningPoint Energy, we made a conscious decision to hire the best people we could and then get out of their way. Give A+ players the resources they need, help them with the hard decisions, and make sure they have some balance in their lives. You don’t need to micromanage great people.

One of the lessons I learned, though, is that even A+ players can burn out. Growth for the sake of growth can destroy a great culture. Part of leadership is knowing when your team has too much on its plate, pulling back and giving people the time and space they need to continue doing great work.

Faith runs throughout your memoir. How has your spiritual life influenced the way you make business decisions?

My spiritual life has become my compass for making decisions. I grew up Catholic, went to a Jesuit university, and over the years, prayer and spiritual reflection became increasingly central to the way I approached both my personal life and my business life. I came to believe that you really can’t separate the two.

For me, soul-based leadership means strengthening your soul so that it becomes your moral compass, then having the courage to listen to it when you face difficult decisions. Some of the biggest decisions of my career were very prayerful ones, including decisions about the future of TurningPoint Energy and eventually my own exit from day-to-day leadership. I would ask: Is this the right thing for me? Is it the right thing for my partners, our employees, and their families? What am I being called to do?

That doesn’t mean I ignore financial analysis or business strategy. Those things are essential. But the most important decisions in life are rarely made by a spreadsheet alone. Faith has helped me think about success differently, not simply as what I can build or earn, but what I can contribute, whom I can help, and whether I am using what I have been given for something larger than myself.

SOLAR COASTER ultimately asks what we should do with the opportunities, talents, and time we’re given. How would you answer that question today?

We are all stewards of the gifts we’ve been given. Use them to help others. That is probably the simplest answer I can give.

I believe the best life is one where you connect your individual talents and abilities with causes you genuinely believe in. We all need to make money and support ourselves and our families, but money is a tool, not the purpose. The deeper purpose is figuring out how the particular gifts you have been given can create value for other people and for the world around you.

And giving back is not just about writing a check. I talk in the book about giving your “treasure, time, and talent.” You might begin by donating money, then give your time, and eventually realize that your professional skills and experience can be even more valuable to an organization or cause you care about.

That is really why I wrote SOLAR COASTER. After decades in business, I felt called to take what I had learned, including the successes, failures and mistakes, and pay it forward. I don’t think we’re given opportunities simply to accumulate more for ourselves. With success comes a greater responsibility to give back, help others, and leave things a little better than we found them.

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