Former Twitter CEO Says Liberal Arts Key to Success in Silicon Valley

Some figures in California’s famed Silicon Valley may paint a liberal arts degree as impractical in our modern world, but this is far from the truth according to former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo. In a recent lecture, Costolo called liberal arts degrees “vital” for students who want to become creative leaders in today’s business world — the same liberal arts degrees awarded by Christendom College each May.

Costolo believes that his own liberal arts education led to his current success in business, giving him key leadership skills and broadening his worldview.

“A broad liberal arts degree, and deep immersion in the humanities, is actually vital to developing our very best leaders and, in fact, without that education, none of you would develop the habits of mind, and frameworks for creative synthesis and lateral thinking, that really make the very best leaders in the world,” said Costolo, as reported in the Michigan Daily.

Costolo became CEO of Twitter in 2010, after Google acquired his company, FeedBurner. During his five years as CEO, Costolo was pointed to as one of the most influential CEOs in the business world, thanks to his habits of creative synthesis, disciplined thinking, and awareness beyond himself — all habits which come from a liberal arts education.

“[Business leaders] need to have a few habits of mind uniquely developed through deep curiosity and immersion in the humanities and liberal arts,” says Costolo.

For Costolo, one’s college education is key to their future ability to become a leader in their field. With a liberal arts education in particular, students have a greater chance of achieving the attributes Costolo believes make a great leader, such as the abilities to make quick decisions and adapt to dynamic environments without any guidance. Thanks to the habits of mind achieved in the liberal arts, students are able to think creatively and outside the box to find solutions in such difficult situations.

By highlighting the incredible value and importance of a liberal arts education, Costolo echoes another Silicon Valley icon, Steve Jobs, who remarked that “it’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough — it’s technology married with the humanities that yields us the result that makes our heart sing.”

Such an education is found at Christendom College, where students encounter a universal study of knowledge — through history, mathematics, literature, science, classics, and political science, unified by the central role played by philosophy and theology. This universal study, when learned in the way that only Christendom offers, expands the intellect and empowers students to be the leaders in today’s marketplace.

For more information on the power of the liberal arts at Christendom, please visit here.