I’ll Never Be a Chief Technology Officer Again… Unless It’s for My Own Company
Here’s why.
Chief technology officer is like being Jon Snow in Game of Thrones: you are the bastard executive.
I dreamt of this titled position from a young age. I wanted to change the world with technology. With ingenuity and a computer, I could do anything.
When I got my hands on my first coding magazine, I thought I had won the lottery. Letter by letter, I’d type in code to make things work. My fascination would lead me to college and later a career in technology.
I had no idea what life as an executive had in store for me. They say ignorance is bliss, but my moments of joy were far and few between. I thought it would be everything that I dreamt of, but it was a nightmare
The First Betrayal — Tricked by a Savvy Salesman
The first time you take the post as CTO, you fail without knowing it — at least I did. Everything you need to know about the job is cloak and dagger. Executives speak a secret language. There are signals you don’t know until you get your butt kicked over and over.
One day, the Executive Vice President asked me to lunch. He walked into my office.
