You found us at the Detroit Book Festival!
Here’s what we’re working on — and how to follow along.
Sign up here for updates on “Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco” (3-book series and companion podcast), “Recalibrate: Because Plan A Rarely Works Out” (coming soon), and other creative projects from the Maple & Steel Corporation.
Strategy.
Story.
Substance.
Maple & Steel is a creative and strategic company built on purposeful work — from executive leadership and board governance to published & produced storytelling distributed around the world.
Featured Projects
Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco (Memoir Series)
By: Kenny Rudolph
A humorous and hopeful journey through the deep despair of home repair. It’s a love story.
When a leaking kitchen window spirals into a five-year odyssey, Kenny and Shari Rudolph find themselves castaways in their own home — battling robot insurance bandits, vanishing contractors, COVID shutdowns, and waves of pirates masquerading as licensed restoration experts.
If you've ever hired a contractor or filed a home insurance claim, you'll recognize every excruciating moment.
Books 1 and 2 available now in paperback and ebook. Book 3 coming soon!
Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco (Companion Podcast)
Co-hosts: Kenny Rudolph & Shari Rudolph
A good love story wrapped in duct tape and drywall dust.
The official companion to the book series — and a show in its own right. Each episode, Kenny and Shari relive another chapter of the fiasco, then bring in a seasoned expert to answer the question every homeowner eventually asks: what should we have done differently?
Laughs, groans, hard-won wisdom, and original music, including the Abandon House theme song and the infinitely relatable “Go Sell Crazy Somewhere Else”.
Top 5 on Apple Podcasts — Personal Journals
Listeners in 145+ countries
Recalibrate: Because Plan A Rarely Works Out
By: Shari Rudolph
Setbacks are not the exception — they are the curriculum.
After years of being groomed for a CEO role, Shari got a 10-minute Zoom call and a "we've decided to go in a different direction." What followed wasn't just disappointment — it cracked something open.
She realized she'd been running on a measurement system she'd never consciously designed. Rules about hard work, control, and what success was supposed to look like. Rules she'd inherited, never questioned, and built her entire identity around.
She didn't need to reframe. She needed to recalibrate.
The book and companion podcast are coming soon. In the meantime, Shari is available for keynotes, workshops, and executive programs — for leaders navigating change, transition, and what comes next. Corporate, association, leadership forum, and conference stages welcome.
Meet the Team
Kenny is an experienced writer, producer, publisher and media & entertainment executive.
His books, stage plays, TV shows, podcasts and original music have built a global following spanning nearly 150 countries.
Kenny Rudolph
Shari has spent her career at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and building things that matter. She scaled a major social impact organization to nearly 10x growth, co-founded two startups that were both acquired, and has advised organizations across nonprofit, media, ecommerce, and social enterprise.