Best Skills


The ability to learn and do new things and change are the best skills to have. Everything we do in technology has a very short shelf life. I can look at my career and see that. The languages have all changed since the beginning of my career, and they'll change again. If you have the ability to surf the waves of change, you'll do well. You need to have the ability to be good at something, to learn it fast and to understand what's different about it and make use of it. Don't get so stuck on it that you miss the next big thing that's there. It's a skill of lifelong learning. It'll keep you fresh, and it will keep you challenged. I think you need all of those things to be effective in your job.

Be prepared to change and be prepared to foster change. There's the old prayer asking to let me change the things I can, accept the things I can't change, and know the difference. I think that's what the CTO role implies. You're not there just to identify with the status quo. You're not there as a caretaker for what is. You're expected to ask where it can be.

The rules for technology will change, too. What's cool today will be pass in a few years. Like everything else, if you wait around for the future, you won't accomplish anything. Find out the best alternative today; make use of it; and when there's something better, change your goal and switch.




The CTO Handbook. The Indispensable Technology Leadership Resource for Chief Technology Officers
The CTO Handbook/Job Manual: A Wealth of Reference Material and Thought Leadership on What Every Manager Needs to Know to Lead Their Technology Team
ISBN: 1587623676
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 213

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