The CTO's Magic Triangle: Tech, Process, People (@LondonCTOs - June 2015)

THE CTO’S MAGIC TRIANGLESYLVAIN REITER, JUNE 2015

INTRODUCTIONS

WHAT MAKES A CTO?

Every industry is different; as a CTO you should learn to flex and adapt

CTOs should focus on product delivery

Image: http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/the-three-innovation-drivers/

“DESIGN IS A FUNNY WORD. SOME PEOPLE THINK DESIGN MEANS HOW IT LOOKS. BUT OF COURSE, IF YOU DIG DEEPER, IT’S REALLY HOW IT WORKS.”

Image: http://www.enewsflux.com/steve-jobs-used-this-simple-productivity-hack-to-hone-apples-focus/

— STEVE JOBS, APPLE

70% PEOPLE

20% PROCESS

10% TECH

Learn to find the balance and priortise

TECHNOLOGY

Stay on top of the trends

THEN NOW

Image:http://mashable.com/2013/09/20/facebook-mobile-strategy/

Let the team decide the best frameworks

Look for providers that add value to your organisation outside of their core offering

PROCESS

Use calendar based resourcing to organise your team

STARTUP

COMPANY GROWTHExplore technology

“Hack” culture

CONSOLIDATION

Engineering + Configuration management

EXPANSION

R&D with new tech + scale

resources

DOMINANCE

Long term vision and innovation

2+ years 5+ years 10+ years

Develop a long term road-map to build an adaptable and forward thinking business

Inspired from our own growth and http://www.socalcto.com/2007/12/acting-cto-role-in-start-up.html

As the technical leader, take ultimate accountability over the execution

“VISION WITHOUT EXECUTION IS HALLUCINATION.”

Image: http://itcvoices.org/thomas-edison-the-lost-chapter/

— THOMAS EDISON

Use ‘obeya’, just-in-time management reporting

LEAN QUALITY

MANAGEMENT

1 2 MANAGEMENT REVIEWS

QUALITY OBJECTIVES

3 CAPA + RISK REGISTER

4 CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

6

INFRASTRUCTURE

5

HUMAN RESOURCES

Optimise productivity to ensure quality

PEOPLE

Hire people with the right behaviours and that you yourself would want to work for

Keep the team motivated and happy

Encourage interdisciplinary work to push people outside of their comfort zones

Deal with issues before they become problems

The best teams are judged when things go wrong

Identify and capitalise on your teams strengths

“TRAIN PEOPLE WELL ENOUGH SO THEY CAN LEAVE, TREAT THEM WELL ENOUGH SO THEY DON’T WANT TO.”

Image: http://www.brandingbricks.com/2014/06/20/post-199-a-brand-interview-with-marty-neumeier-part-1/

RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER VIRGIN GROUP

THANK YOU!@cyberduck_uk @sylvainreiter