Podcast
Building Excellence
Hosted by Bailey Miles · EN
Welcome to the Building Excellence Podcast with Bailey Miles. The mission of this show is all about sharing inspiring stories from some successful athletes, coaches, business minds, and thought leaders to help you build excellence in your life, leadership, and legacy.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Mark Miller - Co-Founder of Lead Every Day & Former Chick-Fil-A VP of High-Performance Leadership on The Secret to Leading Every Day
4d ago00:52:51Tap to summarize#267: Mark Miller is a bestselling leadership author, speaker, and the co-founder of Lead Every Day. His books have sold more than 1.5 million copies in 32 languages.Mark’s career at Chick-fil-A spans over 40 years, starting as an hourly team member and becoming the company’s 16th corporate employee. He recently retired as Vice President of High-Performance Leadership, where he was instrumental in building Chick-fil-A’s renowned leadership culture.For 25 years, Mark led initiatives investing tens of millions of dollars to develop and validate leadership principles across high-performance teams, employee engagement, execution, and organizational culture. His work resulted in globally acclaimed books such as THE Secret as well as Wall Street Journal bestsellers. He’s recognized for translating leadership principles into real-world application and unlocking the potential of executives and teams to create high-performance organizations.For more on Mark at leadeveryday.com or his personal contact in the show notes. Enjoy the show! Contact Mark: mark@leadeveryday.com or 678-612-8441
Transcribe →Austen Allred - Founder & CEO of Gauntlet AI on Innovation, AI, & Finding A Way
2w ago00:47:15Tap to summarize#266: Austen Allred is a technology entrepreneur, education innovator, and Y Combinator founder whose work has influenced the national conversation around workforce development, skills-based hiring, and alternative pathways to technology careers. He is the founder and CEO of Gauntlet AI an intensive AI engineering talent platform that partners with employers to identify and develop elite AI-native engineers. Previously, he co-founded Lambda School, later rebranded as BloomTech, one of the most recognized coding academies of the past decade, helping pioneer income-share agreements and raising more than $100 million from leading investors, including GV, Y Combinator, and Stripe.Before founding BloomTech, Allred co-founded the citizen journalism platform Grasswire and co-authored the bestselling growth-marketing book Secret Sauce. His perspectives on entrepreneurship, education reform, and the future of work have been featured in publications including Harvard Business Review, The Economist, WIRED, Fast Company, TechCrunch, and The New York Times. Today, he is widely recognized for his efforts to rethink how top technical talent is trained and deployed in the age of artificial intelligence.You can find Austen on X and Linkedin, as well as austenallred.com.Enjoy the show!
Transcribe →Lt. General Mark Hertling - Retired US Army Lt. General on If I Don't Return: Reflections from a Father's Wartime Journal
3w ago00:50:51Tap to summarize#265: Lieutenant General (Retired) Mark Hertling served 38 years in the United States Army as a tanker and cavalry officer, culminating as Commander of U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army. During his military career, Hertling spent 38 months in combat. He served as a major and operations officer of a cavalry squadron during Operation Desert Storm, as Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Armored Division in Baghdad in 2003–2004, and later as Commander of the 1st Armored Division and Multinational Task Force Iron in northern Iraq during the 2007–2008 surge. After retiring from the Army in 2012, Hertling transitioned to the private sector as a Senior Vice President at a major healthcare organization. He was asked to design and lead a healthcare leadership program, work that led to his first book, Growing Physician Leaders (2016). His second book, If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal, was published by Ballast Books in 2026.From 2014 to 2024, he served as a senior analyst for CNN. He currently writes for The Bulwark and appears on MSNBC as a freelance national security analyst.For more on General Hertling check out markhertling.com as well as LinkedIn & Twitter. You can find his book in the amazon link below. Enjoy the show! Book: https://www.amazon.com/If-Dont-Return-Fathers-Wartime-ebook/dp/B0GDJFMF21?ref_=ast_author_mpb
Transcribe →Chris Garner - SEC Football Official, Sales & Leadership Consultant on Whistles & Wisdom
4w ago00:57:32Tap to summarize#264: Chris Garner is a veteran SEC football official, leadership speaker, and author with more than two decades of experience officiating at the highest levels of college football. A graduate of The Ohio State University and former U.S. Navy servicemember, Chris worked his way from Ohio high school football fields to the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference, earning assignments to major bowl games, conference championships, and College Football Playoff contests. Drawing from years of making split-second decisions under intense pressure and his sales experience, he shares insights on leadership, accountability, teamwork, and performance in high-stakes environments. Chris is also the author of Whistles and Wisdom, where he explores the lessons officiating has taught him about excellence both on and off the field.For more on Chris check out garnerleadership.com Enjoy the show!
Transcribe →Jason Jacobus - CCO Brainerd Chemical, Author, & Speaker on Realigned
May 2500:50:54Tap to summarize#263: Jason Jacobus is the Chief Commercial Officer of Brainerd Chemical, where he leads commercial strategy and growth for one of the country’s established chemical manufacturing and distribution companies. With decades of experience in sales, operations, and leadership, he has built a reputation for combining business performance with long-term relationships, operational discipline, and values-based leadership in a demanding industry.Outside of business, Jacobus is also the author of Realigned, a book centered on faith, personal growth, leadership, health, family, and purpose. Drawing from his own life experiences, he speaks openly about success, setbacks, and the importance of aligning life around deeper principles instead of external achievement alone. His message resonates with entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals looking to build meaningful success without losing sight of what matters most.Book: https://www.amazon.com/Realigned-Jason-Jacobus/dp/B0G8LYBL11/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
Transcribe →Samyr Qureshi - Co-Founder of Knack, Advisor, & Investor on the Power of Persistence & Asking Again
May 1800:54:06Tap to summarize#262: Samyr Qureshi is an entrepreneur, investor, and business leader best known as the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Knack, a nationally recognized education technology company focused on advancing student success through peer learning. Under his leadership, Knack partnered with universities across the United States and raised significant venture capital to support its growth and impact. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and University of Florida “40 Gators Under 40” recipient, Samyr is widely respected for his work at the intersection of education, technology, and entrepreneurship. Today, he advises and invests in emerging companies while continuing to advocate for innovation, leadership, and expanding opportunity through scalable solutions.https://www.samyr.co/
Transcribe →Mark C Fava - Boeing Vice President on Lessons From the Admiral
May 1100:47:08Tap to summarize#261: Mark C. Fava is a career aviation lawyer and retired naval flight officer. He is a prolific writer and entertaining speaker. Mark retired from the US Navy as a captain having commanded three units, including an aviation squadron. He has been a law firm partner and a corporate executive lawyer. He has written numerous articles, including “What I Learned from the Judge” in the SC Lawyer and “Steering Through a Crisis: Lawyers as Leaders” in The Washington Lawyer. As a law school adjunct professor, he has also taught aviation law and legal writing.Mark was the chief operations attorney at Delta Air Lines on 9/11 and spent years in the navy’s P-3 Orion chasing Soviet submarines. He has practiced law for more than thirty years and is currently a vice president at the world’s largest aerospace company.He lives in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife and three daughters. When not working, reading, or writing, Mark enjoys life in the low country and appreciates a cold glass of sweet tea in the summer and a good oyster roast in the fall.markcfava.com
Transcribe →Jess Ekstrom - Founder of Headbands of Hope & Mic Drop Workshop on Making It Without Losing It
May 400:38:22Tap to summarize#260: Jess Ekstrom is the founder of Headbands of Hope and Mic Drop Workshop, investor in women, best selling author, Forbes Top Rated Speaker and mom.Her first brush with success was selling all of her toys on eBay when she was twelve. Since then, Jess and her companies have been featured on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America and more. More importantly, her companies have helped millions of women and girls around the world.She’s the bestselling author of Chasing the Bright Side and Making it Without Losing it. Her hobbies include writing, hiking, board games with her husband, playing hide and seek with her kids, and searching for the best breakfast burrito in America.Social Media links:www.instagram.com/jess_ekstromwww.facebook.com/jessekstromwww.twitter.com/jess_ekstromhttps://www.tiktok.com/@jessekstromhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-ekstrom-59160342/https://micdropworkshop.com/https://jessekstrom.com/
Transcribe →Tony Schell - Co-Founder & Partner Escalate Capital Partners on the Real Mark of Success
Apr 2701:01:42Tap to summarize#259: Tony Schell is the co-founder and general partner at Escalate Capital Partners, a leading private credit and growth equity firm based in Austin, Texas. Since co-founding the firm in 2005, he has helped build Escalate into a prominent provider of flexible, non-dilutive capital solutions for growth-stage companies across technology, software, services, and healthcare sectors.With decades of experience in venture lending, structured finance, and growth investing, Schell has played a central role in deploying over $1.3 billion of capital into more than 140 companies, supporting businesses as they scale toward profitability, acquisitions, or public exits.At Escalate, he focuses on structuring tailored financing solutions—blending debt and equity—to help entrepreneurs extend runway, preserve ownership, and accelerate growth. Under his leadership, the firm has become known for its collaborative, long-term approach and deep relationships across the venture capital ecosystem.Enjoy the show!
Transcribe →Frank Weisser - Top Gun Maverick & Blue Angel Pilot on Why Confident Humility Is the Real Secret to Leadership
Apr 2000:54:23Tap to summarize#258: Frank Weisser is a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot best known for flying with the elite Blue Angels and for his role as a pilot and aviation coordinator on the blockbuster film Top Gun: Maverick. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Weisser logged thousands of flight hours in high-performance aircraft like the F/A-18 Hornet, earning recognition for both his precision in the cockpit and his leadership in high-pressure environments. After his military service, he brought his real-world expertise to Hollywood, helping deliver the film’s authentic aerial sequences while also flying as a stunt pilot. Known for his discipline, humility, and pursuit of excellence, Weisser’s career bridges elite military aviation and storytelling at the highest level.frankweisser.netEnjoy the show!
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