Explore Sean’s Essays:
Lead with learning
It takes a lot of courage for a leader to stand up and say "I don't know the answers, but I'm going to figure it out." The best leaders start with learning. They build a culture of continual growth and learning. Imagine the CTO who learns cockroachDB in her spare time to help...
Education As Policy
If you’ve been watching the primaries you know how little has been said about education. According to Gallop only 3-5% of Americans see education as a top priority this year. As a nation the economy is our top concern this election cycle. But given our worries about the economy...
When you grow up…
What do you want to be when you grow up? How many times were you asked this as a kid? Was your answer ever the same from month to month? Chances are that you're not currently doing that job (and maybe you never will). This question is bullshit. Every time we ask a...
Peripatetic
Peripatetic often refers to the act of wandering, walking, and meandering where you think deeply. It is also the name of Aristotle's school of philosophy. He's typically associated with teachings while walking. Aristotle was an inductive philosopher, so it makes sense that his...
A World Without Jobs?
Imagine if you never had to walk into an office again. You didn't have a job, and the government gave you a check every month that enabled you to live pretty comfortably. What would you do? How would you spend your time and gain fulfillment? Could the world even come to this?...
Education as Political Policy
As a country we’re more concerned about our economy than anything else during this election cycle. If you’ve been watching the primaries you might have noticed that there has been little to no discourse about education. According to Gallup only 3-5% of Americans see education...
Internet for every student
Every child in America should be have access to the internet. It's a necessity as learning moves online. And our children need to develop digital literacy to participate in the innovation economy. Yet 15% of Americans don't have access to the internet. When I'm in schools...
Providing value
The surest way to get a job or promotion is to provide value. It sounds simple, but I see people going about it in the wrong ways. Just this week a friend told me he was going to email a hedge fund he respected and offer to work for free. He wanted to work for free to...
Copy It
We learn to write by copying down the alphabet. You ingrained those shapes into your mind by copying them down thousands of times — now you can write them out effortlessly. Musicians learn to play by copying songs. Artists learn to draw by reproducing the greats. Copying the...