CTO + VP Engineering: Needed or Redundant?

I was recently asked whether the common distinction in startups between a CTO and a VP of Engineering is justified or not. My thinking is that for most organizations with less than 200 engineers, this separation isn’t a rule of nature and that you might be better off without it. It’s not needed unless it’s […]

The Traits of a Great Engineering Culture

Given that it’s my mission to help companies create world-class engineering teams, I often get questions along the lines of, “how does a world-class team behave?” In my mind, that’s a trivial question. The fascinating question, though, is to think about how you would tell that your team is on track to become remarkable. Teams […]

IC Growth Paths

As a tech leader, you probably have heard a lot about the importance of holding regular 1:1s to hear feedback from your reports and help them grow. However, you may have been burned in the past from this concept of prompting your employees to overthink their personal growth. “They all want to be managers!” I’ve […]

Own It

A scenario I’m sure you can relate to is that you grab a coffee with friends and having the conversation quickly drift to the regular work rants. You know those people. They always seem to have the same kinds of stories: the boss never listens to what they say, things are not being done right, […]