For the modern CTO, knowledge generally comes wrapped in three forms …
Technical
This is often about building a T-shaped skill set, with a general awareness of different technologies, alongside a deep understanding of at least one.
This helps you to sharpen your BS antenna about what does and doesn’t “feel” right.
Domain
An understanding of the business and the space, particularly around how it makes money. Things can go wrong without it.
Forgetting the customer, failing to spot a changing business landscape and/or not understanding business processes and relationships have been the end of many senior executives (and their businesses).
Leadership
Core to the success of any CTO is an understanding of and comfort with the soft skills you need to motivate, negotiate and thrive as a senior executive.
Weakness in any of these three areas of knowledge will make your journey to becoming an effective technology leader just that little bit harder.
