Personal Qualification | Staying on top of the game

Transcript

1. Personal Qualification |
   Staying on top of the game
   How to be a (Startup)-CTO
   

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2. That’s me/ my journey so far
   ● Computer science studies
   ● Business administration &
   entrepreneurship studies
   ● data experts - Software Engineer
   ● ImmobilienScout24 - Software
   Engineer, Team Lead, Head
   ● Deutsche Post, E-POST -
   Director Engineering, VP
   Product, CTO
   ● Mister Spex - CTO
   ● Smava - CTO
   ● Startup I, II
   ● German Startups Association -
   Spokesman "CTO Network"
   ● Technology Advisor and
   Business Angel
   Education Career Side topics
   

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3. My responsibilities as being a CTO
   ● Technology strategy & decisions
   ● Engineering process
   ● Roadmap planning
   ● Organisation setup, values & principles
   ● Hiring
   ● People development
   ● Tech projects (e.g. Cloud migration)
   ● Post merger integration
   ● Due diligence
   ● …
   Short: Tech, People, Culture, Process
   https://www.flickr.com/photos/ojimbo/5755042801
   

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4. CTO !== CTO
   It’s all about the context and the situation
   

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5. But there are patterns …
   ● It’s usually not about the easy things.
   ● It’s always a bit different.
   ● It’s not repetitive work.
   ● There is more work (to be done) than time (to work on it).
   ● …
   

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6. How to stay on top of the game
   in such an environment?
   

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7. First things first
   ● Staying on top of the game requires time and dedication.
   ● It's all about discipline and motivation. (Procastination is your enemy.)
   

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8. Fundamentals
   

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9. Improve your working style
   ● Prepare
   ○ SCR (Situation, Complication, Resolution)
   ○ Amazon meeting style
   ● Prioritize
   ○ Eisenhower matrix
   ● Work
   ○ Focus time
   ○ Pomodoro
   ● Decide
   ○ Delegation Poker
   

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10. Situation, Complication, Resolution
    Used for analytical storytelling but can be also used to break down complex facts
    Situation: The important, fact-based state of current affairs that everyone in the
    room agrees with
    Complication: The reason(s) the situation requires action
    Resolution: The specific action you're recommending to solve the problem
    

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11. Focus time, Eisenhower matrix
    

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12. Delegation Poker
    

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13. Know trends but don’t follow (all of) them
    Hint: Also give room so your team knows them (hackathon, research days, …)
    

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14. Build your network
    ● … for exchange and advise
    ○ Communities, role models, mentors, coaches
    ● … for relevant content sources
    

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15. Reflect continuously
    ● Ask yourself …
    ○ Do I focus on the right things?
    ○ What's next?
    ○ What's will be important in the future?
    ○ What are my weak spots?
    ● Most important:
    ○ Be honest to yourself
    ○ Prioritize
    Hints:
    ● Coaches can help
    ● Track your satisfaction
    

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16. Advanced: How to navigate through situations and
    take the right decisions
    

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17. Understand the physics ... Mental models help
    “A mental model is an explanation of someone's thought process about how
    something works in the real world. It is a representation of the surrounding world,
    the relationships between its various parts and a person's intuitive perception
    about their own acts and their consequences. Mental models can help shape
    behaviour and set an approach to solving problems (similar to a personal
    algorithm) and doing tasks.” - Wikipedia
    In short: Mental models help to assess how things work and therefore help to
    make better decisions.
    

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18. Process of learning
    Situation
    Information
    / Feedback
    Decision
    Situation
    Information
    / Feedback
    Decision
    Mental
    model
    Feedback based learning Single-/ double-based
    learning
    

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19. Mental models - State of business
    https://blog.gardeviance.org/2
    015/03/on-pioneers-settlers-t
    own-planners-and.html
    

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20. Mental models - Culture building
    https://shift314.com/how-we-
    do-things-around-here-in-ord
    er-to-succeed/
    The Reengineering
    Alternative (Amazon)
    

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21. Mental models - …
    ● Strategic, tactical, operational
    ● First Principles Thinking
    ● Second-Order Thinking
    ● Inversion
    ● Map vs Territory
    ● Feynman’s Technique
    ● …
    Additional sources: https://fs.blog/mental-models/
    

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22. Finally … How to?
    

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23. How to …
    ● Find your own way to grow .. get inspired by others but don't copy them
    ● Let go of perfection
    ● Keep in mind: It’s a marathon (continuous learning) not a sprint.
    ● Apply PDCA
    ● Hint: Combine learning which something you enjoy
    

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24. Thanks for listening!
    

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25. Some book recommendations
    

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26. And …
    

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