I hate fluff pieces, self promoting garbage.
Why I code as a CTO
121–130 of 304 posts
Re: Why I code as a CTO
#122Pricing section of your website has no prices, I'd suggest calling that section something else.
Re: Why I code as a CTO
#123Articles like these are kind of hard to parse because there's no well-defined meaning to the title of "CTO". Our "CTO" codes, probably more than anybody in the company, but that's because he's got a founder-inherited CTO title that mostly just means "he can do whatever he wants" --- we're happy with that, what he wants is practically always great. That's one definition of a CTO. Another CTO type is the opposite: "the…
> because there's no well-defined meaning to the title of "CTO". Our "CTO" codes,
Amen.
I am a CTO, but spend most of my day coding. I was brought onto a smallish/medium sized company to get their base tech into the modern age, build LOB apps to improve some workflows, and ultimate build a new EMR in that space to replace the one the company is using.
I don't have anybody that reports to me. I'm one of 2 tech people in a company of clinicians and doctors. There is no budgeting or reports I have to generate.
But, it was the only title that made sense given my role in that specific company.
Anytime someone asks me I always have to add "but I don't really do CTO things".
Re: Why I code as a CTO
#124This may as well be titled “Why I code…as an ex-Google Millionaire.”
Because that’s how ridiculous this person is.
Re: Why I code as a CTO
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
So many things wrong with this sort of “CTO must not do what they enjoy but what is the list of responsibilities “ robotic thinking. So you think coding is not high leverage on a tech company. Do you even remember why your company exists anymore? Surely not to give people a living and let them be happy at work, according to you. Absolutely no, the only purpose of a company is to deliver value, but I bet you can’t eve…
> So you think coding is not high leverage on a tech company. At the CTO level of a growing company it is one of the lower leverage things they can do. Setting technical direction, hiring the right people, and putting the right people in positions of power will all have much more impact than writing some code on the weekend.
You’re wrong man. These things you mentioned happen rarely, it’s not what you do day to day. If you don’t do some high value coding you have no clue how to steer a tech company at a technical level.
Re: Why I code as a CTO
#126Man, if I'm trying to decide which company to work for, and I see a blog post from its CTO crowing about regularly checking in code on Saturdays and Sundays, I'd start backing slowly away. And when I got to the bit that said "AI has made me three times as productive," I'd turn and run. Your job at the top is, more than anything else, pushing down a healthy culture. That includes things like setting an example of not…
That’s the point — I and others would have the opposite reaction, it’s self selecting, so it’s doing its job. I didn’t even read the article because I thought “boring, nothing special about a CTO who codes, we all do.”
Re: Why I code as a CTO
#127[deleted]
Re: Why I code as a CTO
#128I have a hard time taking someone with the title of “CTO” seriously if they have no reports and have time to code instead of being concerned with strategy. I’ve had a few “opportunities” to be a “CTO” that were really no more than a glorified, underpaid senior developer with the promise of “equity” that would probably be meaningless
How do you concern about strategy all day? Just sit down and think about it?
you read gartner's publication and blindly ask AI to copy paste that info in a memo or powerpoint to pass it on to the middle management without trying to figure out if it makes sense.
At least that is how it looks from the engineers perspective.
Re: Why I code as a CTO
#129Man, if I'm trying to decide which company to work for, and I see a blog post from its CTO crowing about regularly checking in code on Saturdays and Sundays, I'd start backing slowly away. And when I got to the bit that said "AI has made me three times as productive," I'd turn and run. Your job at the top is, more than anything else, pushing down a healthy culture. That includes things like setting an example of not…
> I don’t particularly enjoy building orgs and figuring out people stuff. Engineering management involves navigating interpersonal dynamics, performance reviews, and organizational design. These are crucial functions, but they’re not where my strengths lie. This bit got me. It's a direct quote from the linked post for those who haven't read it
Then why are you the CTO!!
Dude just wants to be a staff engineer
Re: Why I code as a CTO
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
Frankly if you’re a CTO you aren’t incentivized by a salary. It makes sense in this case no different than you’d code on the weekends for your side hustle. It only doesn’t make sense when this jackass thinks the salaried engineer needs this “grit”. C-levels aren’t supposed to be “model employees”. The incentive structure is wildly weighted in their favor. Instead you should ask them to understand the difference, whic…
So in your view c-level are all sociopaths? Let me guess you are not c-level. Or maybe you are but you’re the exception to the rule.
Hasn't it been repeatedly shown that C-level positions select for sociopaths?