Decisions under pressure
How capable people act when evidence, incentives, reputation, and risk stop pointing in the same direction.
Los AngelesWriting & archive
Sean
Burns
Selected writing
The record before the result.
01Bill Ackman & ValeantConcentration · Reputation · RiskApril 12, 202402From Icon to Cautionary TaleConviction · Liquidity · AdaptationApril 5, 202403LJM: Lies, Justice & MalfeasanceVolatility · Incentives · SurvivalMarch 29, 202404The Rise & Fall of a Market MavenSuccess · Style drift · DrawdownMarch 22, 2024
Working questions
What did they know—and when did the evidence change?
The path matters
A sound conclusion can still produce a ruinous result. Survival depends on understanding the path, not just the destination.
History without hindsight
Reconstruct the choices available at the time before the outcome makes every warning look obvious.
About
Sean Burns works in law in Los Angeles and has prior experience across asset management and RIA operations.
He publishes selective work about businesses, markets, risk, investment history, and institutional judgment. The aim is a public record that becomes more useful as it ages—not a reaction to every news cycle.
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