When I became a CTO I assumed the job was being the best engineer in the room. It isn't. The job is making sure the room doesn't need the best engineer to be you.
Decisions, not code
My highest-leverage output is a good decision made quickly and communicated clearly. A week of indecision is more expensive than a slightly wrong call you can correct.
Protect focus like a budget
Context-switching is the silent tax on every team. I batch interruptions, defend deep-work blocks, and treat my engineers' attention as the scarcest resource we have.
You can't scale yourself. You can only scale the clarity you give other people.
Hire for trajectory
I'd rather hire someone hungry and unfinished than someone polished and coasting. Skills compound; curiosity compounds faster.
The technical part of technical leadership fades. The human part never does.
