Defining CTO Success: The Theory of Three

Defining CTO Success: "The Theory of Three"

I was taught a long time ago about the three-trip/three-month/three-year theory as the most accurate tool to predict the success of the CTO. The three-trip/three-month/three-year theory is all about the relationship of the CTO to the business units of the organization and the value that they create. The theory is based on whether or not you, as the CTO, can engage an executive of the company in a project that requires you to visit three times in three months, and then repeat that frequency for at least three years to report progress of that and other initiatives. If you can go back to that same executive, or the successor, after the three-year period and share the same energy to repeat the relationship, then you are probably on the road to succeeding. If you can repeat the three-trip/three-month/three-year theory with all the divisional heads, and achieve an equally supportive relationship, then you have probably become a critical element of the executive team and would be considered a success in any organization.

It's a simple test, but it's surprising how accurate and difficult it can be. The three-trip/three-month/three-year theory sorts out a CTO's people skills, value creation and contribution methods, technical savvy, change management skills, and, most importantly, devotion to doing the best things for the company.