Built With Purpose

In this heartfelt episode of Built With Purpose, Chris Fay sits down with Quin Hatfield, head football coach at Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, South Carolina and a former pharmaceutical sales leader, for a conversation about faith, vision, leading through adversity, and the kind of influence that has nothing to do with a title. It’s a personal one for Chris, too. Quin coaches his sons, and it was Quin’s message at the program’s annual prayer walk that sparked this conversation.Quin shares his journey from small town Manning, South Carolina, where football became his outlet growing up and where an uncle and grandfather who both played at Clemson showed him what the game could teach. He spent 20 years at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, growing from sales rep into sales leadership, all while keeping a hand in coaching on the side. Then, in late 2019, a door opened he never saw coming: Christ Church asked him to lead its football program. After two months of counsel, prayer, and a note from his wife that read “Where you go, I will. We’re in this together,” Quin took the leap in February 2020.Chris and Quin explore what it took to build a program with just one team meeting before COVID shut everything down. Quin talks about honoring a storied past, including a state record 55 game winning streak, while casting a new vision built around one word: Elevate. Elevate your mind, elevate your work ethic, and performance follows. They dig into why getting your seniors on board matters more than any speech from the head coach, and why peer leadership carries ten times the weight with the people watching.Chris and Quin discuss:The prayer walk tradition that inspired this episodeMaking the call to leave a 20 year corporate career for a callingWhy his wife’s blessing was the final piece of the decisionLaunching a new vision with one team meeting before COVID shut everything downHow one word, Elevate, became the foundation of a programThe Thirsty Thirteen and why your seniors set the cultureWhy peer leadership carries more weight than anything a coach saysLeading through injuries, a tougher classification, and a brutal scheduleWhat Bobby Cox teaches leaders about a consistent demeanorThe Leadership Academy and new Blueprint program shaping student athletes beyond the fieldThe story of the buffalo that runs straight into the stormMost Powerful MomentWhile working with his Leadership Academy to define leadership, Quin landed on three words: saying, doing, and being. What you say and what you do matter. But being, the vibe you give off and what it’s actually like to be around you, may carry more influence than both. Then he turned the question on Chris: what is it like to be around Chris Fay? It’s a question every leader should be ready to answer.Key TakeawaysLeadership isn’t a title. It’s influence through what you say, what you do, and who you areElevate your mindset first; work ethic and performance followHonor the past, but don’t let it keep you from casting a new visionThe best teams are player led. Win over your senior leaders and the rest will followGive people room to ask why, then help them move forwardYour demeanor sets the tone. Show up the same in the wins and the lossesReal growth happens when you step out in faith, not when everything is calculatedResilience is built in the storm, so run into itConnect with Chris & QuinChris Fay | LinkedIn: /cjfayQuin Hatfield | Head Football Coach, Christ Church Episcopal School

In this reflective episode of Between the Builds, Chris Fay flies solo from his brand new studio to revisit last week's conversation with Admiral Sandy Winnefeld and unpack something nearly every competitive leader wrestles with at some point: imposter syndrome.Chris opens with honesty. Sitting across from a four star admiral, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Top Gun instructor, then spending time in the fast pace of New York surrounded by towering accomplishments, he caught himself asking the same questions so many leaders ask quietly. Do I belong here? Am I worthy of this conversation? Am I doing enough? He shares how that feeling has followed him through the years, including time spent alongside highly accomplished CEOs in YPO who are buying, selling, and scaling businesses at a remarkable pace.That reflection lands right as Chris's own organization heads into strategic planning season, with the executive leadership team gathering to define where the company is going next. It's his favorite time of year, and it sparked the core idea of this episode: imposter syndrome usually isn't about the other person. It shows up when we lack our own plan, our own vision, and our own identity. Chris walks through the inputs that shape his personal vision, from keeping the business privately funded, to being home with his family while his kids finish high school, to protecting his health. Those choices define what success looks like for him, and they're different from what success looked like for Sandy.Once you own the inputs and the outcome, Chris explains, the comparison loses its grip. Highly successful people stop being a measuring stick and start being peers who pursued their own path well. The better question becomes how they set their vision and built toward it.Chris closes with two actions for the planning season ahead, a candid look at why he'll never monetize this podcast, and a preview of how the show will continue to evolve with new conversations and guests.Chris discusses:What it felt like to sit across from a four star admiral and Top Gun instructorHow fast paced, high achieving environments can trigger imposter syndromeWhy competitive leaders are especially prone to comparing themselves to othersThe real root of imposter syndrome: a missing plan, vision, and identityHow keeping the business privately funded shapes the company he chooses to buildWhy being home for his family and protecting his health are part of his definition of successSeeing highly successful people as peers instead of measuring sticksIron sharpens iron, and why you become who you spend your time withThe January 1, 2028 exercise for defining what success means to youWhy he'll never monetize Built With PurposeThe Most Powerful MomentChris describes a choice he gets to make every time he sits down with someone like Sandy. He can ask whether he's worthy to be in the room, or he can recognize that Sandy fought his own fight and pursued what he wanted from his life, and that it's okay if Chris wants something different. That shift turns intimidation into curiosity. Instead of measuring yourself against someone's success, you get to learn how they built a vision and achieved it.Key TakeawaysImposter syndrome usually signals a missing plan, not a missing abilityIt's okay to measure success differently than the people around youHighly successful people are peers who pursued their own path, not a scoreboardIron sharpens iron; look closely at whether the people around you build you up or break you downPlanning season is for your life, not just your businessConnect with ChrisChris Fay: LinkedIn /cjfay Built With Purpose: builtwithpurposepodcast.com

In this remarkable episode of Built With Purpose, Chris Fay sits down with Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, retired U.S. Navy four star admiral, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Top Gun instructor, and author of Sailing Upwind, for a conversation about leading under pressure, staying calm in a crisis, building elite team culture, and the relentless curiosity that fuels great leaders.Sandy shares a 37 year Navy career he breaks into three chapters: learning the machine, leading inside the machine, and leading the entire machine. It started in the cockpit of an F-14, flying combat missions and eventually earning a spot as an instructor at the real Top Gun. From there, he went on to command a fighter squadron and later the USS Enterprise, a nuclear powered aircraft carrier with 5,000 sailors aboard. Early in his career he served as Colin Powell's aide, an experience that shaped how he thinks about people, communication, and composure. He closed out his service as the second highest ranking military officer in the country, advising two administrations from inside the White House Situation Room.Together, Chris and Sandy dig into what leadership looks like when the stakes are as high as they get. Sandy walks through ejecting from an F-14 at night, 700 miles off the coast of San Diego, and the training that carried him through it. He takes listeners onto the bridge of the Enterprise on 9/11, when a ship headed home turned toward Pakistan, and shares how he cut through competing priorities and found the right words to rally his crew before their first strikes. They also unpack the surprisingly humble culture inside Top Gun, the "murder board" that kept everyone sharp, and how Sandy learned to brief presidents in plain language that helped them make better decisions.Chris and Sandy discuss:The three chapters of a leadership career, from learning the machine to leading itWhy the real Top Gun culture was nothing like the movie's egosThe "murder board" and how positive peer pressure builds elite teamsWhat it's like to eject from an F-14 at night over open oceanHow "putting your stress in a box" keeps leaders focused when it countsThe simple fix that got the USS Enterprise to Pakistan on time after 9/11Colin Powell's essence of leadership: highest standards and best possible careThe Most Powerful MomentIn the days after 9/11, Sandy was searching for the right way to speak to his 5,000 person crew before their first strikes. The answer showed up in a local newspaper that mistakenly printed a silhouette of the World War II-era Enterprise. Sandy realized the original Enterprise had also been heading home when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and also flew some of the first strikes in response. That connection became the heart of his message over the ship's PA system.Key TakeawaysNever let them see you sweat; your team feeds off your poiseThe essence of leadership is holding people to the highest standards while taking the best possible care of themYou may be the smartest person in the room, but you're not the only smart person in the roomIn a crisis, stay calm, fall back on your principles, and do the most important things firstTrain your team well enough that you can step back and spot problems before they happenEmpathy means putting yourself in the other person's shoes, not just feeling for themConnect with Chris Fay — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjfay/

In this energizing episode of "Between the Builds," Chris Fay kicks off the fall season after a summer hiatus with a conversation about vision, planning, and why the most effective leaders don't wait for the calendar to give them permission to change.Chris opens with a highlight from a recent YPO chapter event he and his wife hosted, where he led a fireside chat with Jason Garrett — former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, backup quarterback to Troy Aikman across three Super Bowl championships, and now an NFL analyst for NBC. What stood out most wasn't just Garrett's message but how he delivered it: sharp, prepared, and deeply convicted, always with a smile, even at his most intense. Garrett's core idea on leadership stuck with Chris: the first word in leadership is "lead," and leading starts with painting a vision. Every organization, family, and team needs something bigger than itself to strive for, and without that vision, there's nothing to rally around or hold anyone accountable to.That idea landed right as Chris's company heads into Q4 and its annual planning season, a time he genuinely looks forward to for stepping back, reflecting on where the business has been, and setting a clear vision for the year ahead. But it also raised a bigger question: why do we always wait until January 1st? Chris unpacks how New Year's resolutions, product sales, and event invitations all work the same way — they're calls to action, and most of us sit back and wait for one before we move. The reality is that nothing requires us to wait.Chris shares how he's put that into practice. With a season of intense restructuring, divestitures, and acquisitions now behind him, he found himself facing a calendar in disarray and a new chapter for the business. Rather than wait for the new year, he created his own call to action: he set October 1st as the date for major change, backed it up to the very next Monday, and walked into his leadership team meeting to announce that the company would begin operating differently starting that day. The goal is to get those changes working well now, so the business is off and running when the new year arrives.Chris closes with a challenge to every listener: whether it's a strained relationship, your health, your calendar, or a hard conversation at work you keep putting off, stop waiting for January. Pick one change, put a date on it, and make next Monday your call to action.Chris discusses:What he learned hosting a fireside chat with former Cowboys head coach Jason GarrettWhy Garrett leads with a smile, even when he's at his most intense"The first word in leadership is lead" and why vision comes before accountabilityWhy Q4 planning season is one of his favorite times of the yearThe question of why so many people wait until January 1st to make a changeHow New Year's resolutions, sales, and invitations all function as calls to actionWhy putting a date on a change gives it more gravityThe Monday he walked into his leadership meeting and declared a new dayThe one-change challenge: creating your own call to action for next MondayKey TakeawaysLeadership starts with vision — without it, there's nothing for your team to rally aroundYou don't need a new year, a new quarter, or a major milestone to make meaningful changeMost people wait for a call to action; the best leaders create their ownAttaching a specific date to a change makes it feel real and gives it weightThe habits you built yesterday don't have to define how you lead todayGetting a head start on change now means you hit the new year already in motionPick one change, put a date on it, and commit to itConnect with ChrisChris Fay — LinkedIn: /cjfay

In this reflective episode of "Between the Builds," Chris Fay flies solo the morning after Labor Day to unpack a week that brought a year and a half of transformation to a head — and the mental discipline that got him through it.Chris traces the transformation back to February 2025: a diversified organization running six different business units, narrowing its focus as the competitive landscape and technology shifted. Five M&A deals in roughly fifteen months later — selling business units, acquiring a new one, fundamentally reshaping how the company goes to market — last week marked the finish line, with the signing and closing of the final acquisition and a celebration with the ownership group.That same week held a harder moment. Chris shares the loss of a 19-year employee who had a fast, aggressive battle with stage four pancreatic cancer, with a funeral held the Friday before the long weekend. From there, the company moved straight into Labor Day — a holiday established nearly 150 years ago to honor the American worker — and Chris found the collision of a major business milestone, a funeral, and a holiday built around honoring work impossible to sit with quietly.That's the backdrop for the episode's central story: a former Navy SEAL sniper and training instructor who once spoke to Chris's company, and a moment where he asked an overwhelmed team member how many projects she had going at once. She said 30 or 40. He asked again, and again, until someone in the crowd finally said "one" — because in the SEALs, complicated missions get broken down to a single step, a single milestone, nothing more. Chris talks about applying that same discipline to the 18-month transformation: rather than getting overwhelmed by where the company needed to be in a year or two, he focused only on what needed to happen today, and this week.Chris closes with two things he's still working on: learning to actually pause and celebrate wins instead of immediately chasing the next fight, and the belief that growth only comes from doing hard, uncomfortable things — they get easier over time, which is what makes room for the next hard thing. His challenge to listeners going through their own hard season: don't think about next week or next month. What's the one step you can take today?Chris discusses:Why he decided to record a reflective episode the morning after Labor DayThe 18-month transformation that began in February 2025 — from six business units down to a focused fewClosing the fifth M&A deal in roughly fifteen months and what it took to get thereThe history of Labor Day and why it hit differently this yearA former Navy SEAL sniper's lesson on focusing on one project at a timeWhy thinking too far ahead turns hard work into overwhelmBeing bad at celebrating wins — and why he's trying to get better at itWhy growth only comes from doing hard, uncomfortable thingsKey TakeawaysWhen a mission feels overwhelming, break it down to the one next step — not the whole mountainThinking about next month instead of today is what turns hard work into dreadGrowth requires doing hard things; comfort never stretches youBig transitions and personal loss have a way of landing in the same week — that's just lifeTake time to pause and reflect once you hit a milestone, before moving to the next oneThe people who get through hard seasons are the ones who stay focused on todayConnect with ChrisChris Fay — LinkedIn: /cjfay