Sean Kerins, CEO of Arrow Electronics, Says: The further you go, the less you know
All those Sean Kerins gets the chance to lead benefit because, at Syracuse, he played basketball for one of the greatest coaches in history, Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim.
Sean had been his high school’s all-time leading scorer— a record he held for more than three decades— but his decision to be the “little fish in the big pond” and go to Syracuse paid off. He knew he would progress far more rapidly when competing against bigger and better, even if that meant less playing time than he might have received at a smaller school.
Today as Arrow’s Chief Executive Officer, he leads a team of 20,000 employees across more than 300 locations worldwide with the same scrappy mindset. He is committed to lifelong learning. “The further you go, the less you know,” Sean explained, “The more willing you are to reach out and learn from others, the better off you will be.”
In this episode, Sean explains how that curious culture inspired Arrow to modify a Corvette, empowering a quadriplegic former IndyCar race driver to drive again using only his head’s motion. Through Sean’s story you will learn how to activate the company culture document that hangs in your office so that it becomes more powerful than just wall art.
You will learn:
- 18:00 Why diversity of thought leads to a better outcome.
- 21:30 How to bounce back quickly from adversity.
- 30:00 How to maintain curiosity and continue learning.
- 40:00 How to create a culture that includes constructive feedback.
Resources:
- Arrow modified a Corvette to empower quadriplegic, former IndyCar race driver Sam Schmidt to drive again…using only the motion of his head.
- Connect with Sean on LinkedIn
- John Wooden and Don Yaeger’s book, A Game Plan for Life.