Modern CTO

Developer and CTO are two distinct roles.

It's the experience of transitioning the space between them that is unique to our generation. Navigating the path of this new transition between developer and CTO roles successfully is jagged and sometimes difficult.

And it should be, right? This is our first time experiencing a technology revolution. No one is great at anything on the first try.

We basically all just pioneered and dealt with this together. We need to take a breath, recalibrate, and share what we know with the next generation.

The book covers topics from Joel's experience:

Transition
You're a developer, not a CTO (yet)

Deadlines
How you keep from missing deadlines.

Speaking up
Take a risk and sound dumb

Rewriting systems
Abandon ships and build a better one.

Poor code
Spaghetti code MVP Epidemic

Product
Getting lost in the product: UX mistakes to watch out for.

Managing
People do not work for money; people work for momentum.

• Are You a Visionary CTO?
• What Should a Modern CTO Know?

1. Developers Are Not CTOs
2. The Spaghetti Code MVP Epidemic
3. Over-Engineering is a problem
4. How to Ceate & Destroy Momentum
   • Creating momentum from nothing
   • Destroying momentum
5. Whether to Hire, Buy or Outbuild Their Competitor
6. How Not to Scale Prematurely
7. How to Solve Any Problem
8. How to Work with Programmers When You Aren't One
9. UX Mistakes to Watch Out For
10. When to Speak Up
11. When to Hire Consultants
12. How to Analyze Failure
13. How to Bounce Back From Unforeseen Constraints
14. Answer the Question "How Difficult is it to Code…?"
15. How to Avoid the "Bottom of the Ninth Guy"
16. When to Abandon Ship
17. How to Miss a Deadline
18. When to Respond to Feedback
19. How to Validate an Expert in Any Field
20. How to Effectively Communicate Complex Ideas

Sigh, just some random ramblings, of a guy that have gone from Developer to CTO. A thin book, which contains approx 50% blank pages.

Not worth reading.