An Interview With Chad Silverstein
I’ve never asked for the position of leader, though I have taught many classes and run businesses. Just be as real and honest with the people around you as possible, and avoid professional jargon. In Britain that just makes you look insincere.
We are starting a new interview series about the world of entrepreneurship beyond the classroom — a realm where theory meets grit, and education meets real-world challenges. We want to hear about critical business wisdom that often goes unspoken in academic settings. I had the honor of interviewing Sean Bw Parker.
Sean Bw Parker (MA) is an artist, writer and musician specialising in art, cultural theory and justice reform. After gaining a Masters degree in Fine Art from the University for the Creative Arts in 2003 he lived and worked in Istanbul for ten years, has published a number of books, albums and articles, performed at or curated festivals, given a TED talk, had music played on BBC Radio, and had paintings displayed at London’s South Bank and in other exhibitions. He was born in Exeter in 1975, and currently lives on the West Sussex coast.
Thanks for being part of this series. Let’s jump in and focus on your early years. Can you share who was your biggest influence when you were young and provide specific examples of what you learned from them that helped shape who you’ve become and how you live your life today?
Probably Robert Smith, frontman of The Cure. It was obvious from his performances in videos such as The Cure In Orange that he had mixed feelings about public attention, but kept on getting more popular despite, or because of that. The ability to gradually, or suddenly, change your style of creative expression was influential in him too.
Staying on the topic of influence, who has been your biggest catalyst more recently and what can you share that you’ve learned from them that led you to making changes in your life?
Dr Michael Naughton, lecturer in criminology and sociology at the University of Bristol, and founder of Innocence Network UK and Empowering The Innocent. A friend, colleague and source of information/inspiration, Dr Naughton epitomises integrity in justice reform, and the value of critical thinking in thinking about how society deals with allegations of criminality.
In this interview series, we aim to reveal what seasoned entrepreneurs wish they had known when they were starting out and capture what the textbooks and college professors left out. Mistakes are invaluable. Can you name one specific mistake that you made early on, and learned the most from, but wish you’d been forewarned about?
I don’t really believe in mistakes, as everything that happens feeds into something else. Every negative experience will later be understood as a learning experience. Thus drinking too much before some concerts to the point that my playing was tired, or I couldn’t remember the show well enough, might be regrettable- or it might be just how I was living at that time.
Is there a leadership myth you believed early on that you’ve since debunked through your real-world experience?
I’ve never asked for the position of leader, though I have taught many classes and run businesses. Just be as real and honest with the people around you as possible, and avoid professional jargon. In Britain that just makes you look insincere.
What’s the key operational insight you’ve gained since running your business that was never mentioned in any classroom?
If success comes at the price of treating people badly, then it’s no success at all.
Did college prepare you for scaling a business? What specifically was missing?
No I went to art school, so studiously avoided all that. However in 1997 the art lecturer said that we were expected to fit our art into the business world, and make it relevant to that. I’ve been fighting that thinking ever since.
Any unexpected challenges in team dynamics that your academic experience didn’t prepare you for? How did you handle it?
During the ‘culture war’ years of 2014–2024 it became clear that complaint culture had taken hold in human resources and courtrooms. Thus if an employee, customer or student wasn’t happy about something, even if it was to do with their own mental health, they could sue the organisation their lawyer decided was responsible. This development seemed to put creative energy on ice for years.
Have you had to unlearn any widely-accepted business ‘wisdom’ in your journey? What was it and how did it affect your strategy?
You don’t need to be ‘ruthless’, but you do need to be human, beyond the bureaucracy.
What’s your advice for new entrepreneurs? What are your “5 Things You Won’t Learn in College But Must Know to Succeed in Business”?
- If success comes from treating people badly, it’s no success at all.
- If you work out which activity makes you the happiest, doing it for the rest of your life is the surest route to worldly happiness.
- Most things people say to you aren’t facts, they’re just opinions.
- This too shall pass.
- You are very unlikely to have to use that algebra you were made to learn if your business is arts management.
How do you ensure your team not just understands but embodies your business principles? Any techniques you wish you’d known earlier?
Don’t try to ensure, just lead by example.
If we were sitting together two years from now, looking back at the past 24 months, what specifically has to happen for you personally and professionally, for you to be happy with your results?
Keep doing what I’m doing with integrity, then material success or failure are irrelevant compared to the process of having done it.
Looking back over the last two years, what key accomplishments make you satisfied with your progress?
I’ve had paintings in 5 or 6 exhibitions, have had over 100,000 streams of my music, published two books and had 8 million X impressions. All good for the new economy of ‘algorithmic weight’ I suppose.
As someone with significant influence, what’s the one change you’d like to inspire that would benefit the most people?
Every time you get angry or frustrated with someone else, online or off, try to understand what they are doing from their perspective.
How can our readers keep up with your work?
Amazon, Spotify, YouTube, X — all at Sean Bw Parker. Plus my new art website: https://seanbwparker.collexart.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=51458&Akey=H2Z6Y64C&ajx=1
Thank you so much for joining us! We wish you only success.
Thank you!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a seasoned entrepreneur and Thought Leader with over 25 years of business experience. He has founded, operated, and exited multiple companies and now builds into a handful of high impact CEOs. Chad has launched multiple online communities, including a recent leadership development platform, and also serves as a strategic advisor for Authority Magazine’s thought-leader incubator program.
To learn more and connect with Chad visit: chadsilverstein.io
Sean Bw Parker On 5 Things They Forgot To Mention In College was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.