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What exactly would be the audience for this? I’d be worried about someone coming in as a CTO who would actually need a list like this.
What exactly would be the audience for this? I’d be worried about someone coming in as a CTO who would actually need a list like this.
I don't think I've ever met a CTO who wouldn't benefit from a list like this - or who would deny that it would be useful. The secret to getting good at management is to acknowledge that it is a huge, deep and learnable set of skills. The best managers I know are the ones who constantly seek to improve their skills, and "do the work" to improve.
It's clear that Jim is constantly reading/actively improving, sometimes doing kinda unusual things, like having a specific strategy for priming his REM sleep by thinking a lot about some current problem combined with some kind of meditation exercise.
What exactly would be the audience for this? I’d be worried about someone coming in as a CTO who would actually need a list like this.
What about someone growing into the role of CTO? I run a tiny company (single-digit number of workers) & am de-facto the only "boss"/executive so I guess you can say I'm the CEO (I'm also an individual contributor - as I said, tiny). But I still need to sometimes also do what a CTO would do in a bigger company, and if things go well and the company grows I may need to incrementally learn more and more of the themes a…
Not really.
What exactly would be the audience for this? I’d be worried about someone coming in as a CTO who would actually need a list like this.
What about someone growing into the role of CTO? I run a tiny company (single-digit number of workers) & am de-facto the only "boss"/executive so I guess you can say I'm the CEO (I'm also an individual contributor - as I said, tiny). But I still need to sometimes also do what a CTO would do in a bigger company, and if things go well and the company grows I may need to incrementally learn more and more of the themes a…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I, on the other hand, would be worried when a CTO claims (s)he knows everything already. The more experienced you are, the more you realize how little you know.
While that's true, these articles don't teach you that much as a CTO. The most leveraged way to learn how to CTO is to work for a good one and keep the curiosity level high. The next way after that is to cultivate good relationships with CTOs you look up to and develop a mentor-mentee relationship. The next most leveraged way to learn how to CTO is to just do it. Ultimately, reading the material on these lists is a v…
First of all, how many CTO's do you know? And how many of them are good?
Second, is this "mentor-mentee" thing real, or just something business coaches and get-rich-quick gurus claim? Never seen it in the real world.
I'm an old timer. Most of my experience comes from experience. Most of my intellect comes from books an articles written by people who know what they are talking about. Claiming that the latter is a waste of time seems very wrong advice to me.
But maybe your mentor told you differently.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
While that's true, these articles don't teach you that much as a CTO. The most leveraged way to learn how to CTO is to work for a good one and keep the curiosity level high. The next way after that is to cultivate good relationships with CTOs you look up to and develop a mentor-mentee relationship. The next most leveraged way to learn how to CTO is to just do it. Ultimately, reading the material on these lists is a v…
This is my personal opinion, so don't take it too hard. But your post triggers my BS alert. First of all, how many CTO's do you know? And how many of them are good? Second, is this "mentor-mentee" thing real, or just something business coaches and get-rich-quick gurus claim? Never seen it in the real world. I'm an old timer. Most of my experience comes from experience. Most of my intellect comes from books an article…
Here is something similar for Tech Leads: https://techleadcompass.com/
Earlier quoted context omitted.
While that's true, these articles don't teach you that much as a CTO. The most leveraged way to learn how to CTO is to work for a good one and keep the curiosity level high. The next way after that is to cultivate good relationships with CTOs you look up to and develop a mentor-mentee relationship. The next most leveraged way to learn how to CTO is to just do it. Ultimately, reading the material on these lists is a v…
This is my personal opinion, so don't take it too hard. But your post triggers my BS alert. First of all, how many CTO's do you know? And how many of them are good? Second, is this "mentor-mentee" thing real, or just something business coaches and get-rich-quick gurus claim? Never seen it in the real world. I'm an old timer. Most of my experience comes from experience. Most of my intellect comes from books an article…
Have you ever learned from one of your more senior coworkers or peers? Worked alongside someone who showed you the ropes or helped you level up your skills? Then you've been a mentee.
Have you ever taken time to guide new hires or junior coworkers in something you're familiar with? Provided advice to accelerate someone's learning? Then you've been a mentor.
Mentor/mentee usually isn't an explicit declaration. It's a very valuable way to accelerate skills, though not the only way.
My biggest challenge as a CTO is that, by nature, I'm singular in focus. If I am developing something I find it hard to context switch and review other developers' work. The best strategy I have found so far is to block certain times in the week solely for reviewing everyone's progress.