Articles By Shayne Fitz-Coy

This page features a collection of articles by Shayne Fitz-Coy, covering acquisitions, investments, business turnarounds, and operational leadership. His writing offers practical strategies for building resilient teams, turbocharging growth, and creating companies that compound over generations.

At Sabot Family Companies, he buys to hold forever — not flip — focusing on real businesses with real people and real problems. One company was losing $3M annually when he bought it; today it generates $4M in profit annually.

His Business Operating System guides every turnaround:
• Go and see what others overlook.
• Earn the right to lead through building people.
• Build to last.

His articles explore acquisition strategy, operational turnarounds, leadership and culture, and patient capital — what he calls Capitalism with Love.

At the Actual Place: Why Rustic Pathways Leaders Stay With Students

At the Actual Place: Why Rustic Pathways Leaders Stay With Students Article written by Shayne Fitz-Coy on Rustic Pathways This article outlines Rustic Pathways’ leadership philosophy for educational travel programs. We believe the most effective leaders in experiential education are engaged at the point of service delivery: at ‘the actual place.’ This approach prioritizes hands-on leadership...

The Unseen Edge: Why “People First, Data Second” Isn’t Just a Motto, It’s an Imperative

The Unseen Edge: Why “People First, Data Second” Isn’t Just a Motto, It’s an Imperative It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that the more dashboards we build, the more metrics we track, and the more algorithms we deploy, the better our businesses will perform. Yes, data is undeniably critical but at Sabot...

The Psychology of Travel for Teens: Why Some Programs Transform and Others Don’t

The Psychology of Travel for Teens: Why Some Programs Transform and Others Don’t Article written by Shayne Fitz-Coy on Rustic Pathways Why do some teen travel programs yield change and others don’t? After 12,000+ students, one pattern keeps surfacing: transformation happens in the stretch zone. Too comfortable and teens stay the same. Too stressed and...

More Than a Trip: My Vision for the Next Generation of Global Citizens

More Than a Trip: My Vision for the Next Generation of Global Citizens For me, true education has always extended beyond the classroom walls. Some of life’s most important lessons are learned when we step out of our comfort zones and into the wider world. That is the core belief behind Rustic Pathways. At its...