The CTO Playbook

By: Adam Horner
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  • Summary

  • Join Adam Horner, a CTO with over 30 years in the tech industry, on The CTO Playbook — the podcast dedicated to helping CTOs excel. Perfect for CTOs and tech leaders navigating the complexities of their roles, each episode offers clear insights, innovative strategies, and practical advice from top leaders in tech. With Adam’s extensive experience mentoring engineers and tech leaders, and over a decade as a CTO, you’ll gain the tools and knowledge to build and refine your own CTO playbook. Whether you're tackling complex projects, fostering innovation, leading teams, or shaping your company's tech strategy, this podcast is your go-to resource. Adam’s journey from engineer to strategic CTO was challenging. He learned through the school of hard knocks, making avoidable mistakes and facing countless challenges. Often out of his comfort zone and wishing for more guidance, he created this podcast to provide the support and advice he once lacked. Tune in for engaging interviews, leadership tips, and the latest in technology strategy. Each episode is designed to help you lead with confidence and level up as a CTO. Listen now to start your journey with The CTO Playbook and build your own playbook to excel in your role.
    Copyright 2024
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Economics Management Personal Success
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Episodes
  • 18: Coaching Managers for Excellence with Zach Goldberg

    18: Coaching Managers for Excellence with Zach Goldberg
    Nov 19 2024
    Join The CTO Playbook Slack Community to connect with other CTOs!Zach Goldberg is a seasoned CTO and author of “The Startup CTO's Handbook”.In this episode, you're going to learn the key lessons Zach gained from leading multiple startup engineering teams, common mistakes CTOs make when managing growth, how to build a culture of continuous learning and high performance, why external thought leadership matters for tech leaders, and much more.Zach Goldberg is an executive coach, the author of the 10k+ GitHub star book, “The Startup CTO’s Handbook” and the CTO of Gruntwork. Zach graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering. He’s been the CTO of seven startups including WiFast, Sticks and Brains, AutoLotto, Trellis Technologies, GrowFlow, Towards Equilibrium Inc. and most recently Gruntwork, as well as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Tencent and an Associate Product Manager at Google.Timestamps:[01:34] Zach shares his journey from engineer to CTO [02:47] The origins of The Startup CTO's Handbook [05:11] Key lessons learned from managing engineering teams [06:18] Balancing management responsibilities in growing teams [07:39] Different challenges with various management styles [10:22] The value of culture in retention and hiring [12:02] Creating a culture of learning in tech teams [13:21] Ensuring managers support learning opportunities [15:31] Measuring coaching success with feedback loops [17:11] Why skip-level meetings can improve transparency [19:12] Benefits of connecting with lower-level team members [23:05] Encouraging documentation and writing skills [24:33] Why writing is a valuable skill for tech leaders [27:18] Writing documentation for different user perspectives [28:38] How consuming your own product builds empathy [30:36] Practical examples of fostering empathy in engineering [32:30] Zach’s advice for new CTOs entering growth organizations [33:30] How to handle mistakes and setbacks as a leader [34:44] Value of CTO coaching and leadership developmentWant Zach Goldberg’s advice? Book a discovery call today to get an introduction to what Executive Leadership Coaching can help you achieve. Find Zach through The Startup CTO Coach’s Website and on LinkedIn.Resources Mentioned:The Startup CTO's Handbook by Zach Goldberg | Book or AudiobookTurn the Ship Around! by David Marquet | Book or Audiobook Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin | Book or AudiobookFind more from Adam on LinkedIn and YouTube and check out Adam's CTO coaching company Synova Tech.
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    37 mins
  • 17: Funding Success Made Simple with Thorgeir Einarsson

    17: Funding Success Made Simple with Thorgeir Einarsson
    Nov 12 2024
    Join The CTO Playbook Slack Community to connect with other CTOs!Thorgeir Einarsson is a seasoned CEO and advisor who has helped hundreds of tech startups secure funding and navigate acquisitions.In this episode, you're going to learn why CTOs play a crucial role in fundraising and M&A deals, common mistakes CTOs make that can kill a deal, the importance of transparency during technical due diligence, how AI is changing the expectations for tech leaders, and why a CTO’s communication skills are as important as their technical knowledge.Thorgeir Einarsson is the founder of Elevera Advisers and has created, built and sold tech companies in Europe, the US, Asia and Africa for the last 35 years. Thorgeir co-founded Pitchago in 2020, which is an innovative SaaS platform for incubators & entrepreneurs to self-assess their startups and build a level-up action plan.Timestamps:[05:00] Introduction to Thorgeir’s background in fundraising [06:33] Differences between M&A and raising capital [08:01] Role of a CTO during M&A and fundraising [09:33] Importance of preparation in fundraising [10:10] Changes in the CTO role with AI advancements [10:33] Should a non-founder CTO act like a founder? [12:36] Why investors worry about non-founder CTOs [14:34] Due diligence process explained [15:23] What to include in a technical presentation [16:53] Should you hide flaws during due diligence [18:24] How startups handle imperfect technology [20:14] Learning from past M&A deals[21:28] How a CTO can sell their vision effectively [23:17] Focus on solving real problems with technology [24:04] Why a CTO should communicate the company vision [25:31] Examples of successful CTOs in M&A deals [26:49] The importance of reading the room during negotiations [28:49] Challenges of dealing with different tech stacks in M&A [29:45] Why CTOs need to have a bit of attitude [30:24] Avoiding the “not invented here” mindset [31:59] How a CTO’s openness impacts M&A success [33:18] Influence of a CTO in deal negotiations [34:36] Balancing technical and business perspectives [36:00] When is a complete technology rewrite necessary?[37:08] The evolving importance of the CTO role [39:20] How AI is changing the software industry [41:05] Global trends and their impact on CTOs [43:48] Building a scenario-based product roadmap [45:06] Preparing for uncertain market conditions [46:00] How to decide on a major tech overhaul [47:51] Why the CTO should work closely with the CEO [49:59] Introduction to Pitchago’s assessment tool [50:45] How Pitchago helps with funding readiness[52:59] How CTOs can become better communicators Get a thorough 360-degree Pitchago Assessment of your venture in just 5 minutes for free! Find Thorgeir Einarsson on LinkedInResource Mentioned:Pitchago | WebsiteElevera Advisers | WebsiteThree Types of Online Attacks with Mikko Hypponen | TEDx TalkFighting Viruses, Defending The Net with Mikko Hypponen | TEDx TalkFind more from Adam on LinkedIn and YouTube and check out Adam's CTO coaching company Synova Tech.
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    53 mins
  • 16: How to Build an Engineering Strategy that Scales Without Wasting Resources

    16: How to Build an Engineering Strategy that Scales Without Wasting Resources
    Nov 5 2024

    In this episode, Adam talks about how to create a strong engineering strategy and prioritize creating roadmaps that align with company goals while effectively communicating your strategy to the entire team.


    Timestamps:


    [02:19] Aligning the engineering strategy with company goals

    [06:00] Creating a roadmap for the engineering strategy

    [13:40] Building a process roadmap

    [24:03] Prioritizing and executing the engineering strategy


    Join The CTO Playbook Slack Community to connect with other CTOs!


    Find more from Adam on LinkedIn and YouTube and check out Adam's CTO coaching company Synova Tech.
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    31 mins

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