EDWEEK - Apr 11 - Aaron Schildkrout runs Growth Platform at Uber, in San Fran. Previously, he was the co-founder of HowAboutWe. He was a teacher for four years at Codman Academy Charter Public School, in Boston.
Teaching is a lot more like being a CEO. They say the three jobs of the CEO are to make sure there is cash in the bank, to hire great people, and to define the vision. I’d add to that: to build highly effective processes. If you achieve these four things, you will have “nothing to do.” I became a data-driven teacher long before I was a data-driven CEO. I was often giving students 10 or more quantitative grades during every class. I would put a spreadsheet transparency on an overhead and would add micro-grades to it throughout the class. I would then add the grades to our school’s online grading system. Consequently, the students got addicted to checking — and improving — their grades. It’s the same for the CEO. The goal is for every single person in the company to qualitatively understand their goals and their progress toward these goals.
Luckily, being a teacher — like being a CEO—is profoundly fulfilling, independent of compensation and status.
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