Lesson 8: Learn how to give a killer presentation (here’s a tip).

There is so much cynicism aimed at slide presentations, however, let’s not blame slides. It’s not slides that are bad, it’s bad slides…

Management problems are always two layers deep (at least)

Unity is plural and at minimum two — R. Buckminster Fuller

This can be a tough one to swallow, especially if you’re struggling with a bad manager who reports to you. I know. I have been there more than…

Never ask two questions in an email…

Maybe this lesson seems a bit “cheeky,” but it makes the list. Never ask two questions in an email. I still make this mistake, and if I had vacation accrual for every minute spent deciphering confused, half-answer responses to any of my “Please see below and…

What is a CTO?

This role means different things across companies, but for me it has meant being the technology leader on a senior team responsible for the commercial success of a business, or business unit, that sells software products and services. The CTO is a senior position as a leader and manager whose primary…

Become a good interviewer. Here is what works for me.

If you are like 99% of managers, you will stumble through this for years, possibly with no training, and nothing but high expectations that you can review and vet someone in as short as one to two 1-hour interactions. I count myself in…

Lesson 7: Trust is earned by delivering, not by adherence.

Process matters, and nobody cares about your process.

Trust is earned by delivering, not by adherence.

Do not argue over curly braces (a.k.a Don’t be a zealot…)

Look to stack exchange, whose editors in response to the question, “Should curly braces appear on their own line?” said this:

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We…

Lesson 6: Learn to think commercially (here’s how).

Often I hear, “I want to learn budgets and finance so that I can become more commercial.” Quick tip: thinking commercially has nothing to…

Embrace technical debt. Manage it. Refinance.

Actively leverage and manage technical debt. It is a powerful accelerator. I firmly embrace the opinion that technical debt is a critical tool in solving users’ problems, and getting to market quickly. The key is to manage it.

Lesson 1: Write code for a decade.

The CTO is not a general management position, it is a functional leadership role, and as such needs line-level credibility. Heads of Sales…