How Copying What Other CTOs Do Ensures You Underperform | Exec Engineering #112
Yassine Kachchani
Co-founder & CEO at Gemography | Publisher of Exec Engineering, a weekly digest on Engineering + Talent
Hi there ??
Last month, Gemography faced an impersonation fraud campaign targeting job seekers. As a marketplace built on trust, this attack hit a nerve. It felt like someone was toying with our life's work.
I’m not gonna lie, I felt scared initially, but experience taught us to regroup and plan as a first reaction. Thankfully, Admin and Marketing handled the situation efficiently and made sure it didn't derail our quarterly objectives.
Interestingly, being impersonated by scammers is a compliment in a way. They tend to choose the most trustworthy brands, and they picked Gemography. Can’t complain about that.
I was asked if there were any lessons learned from this, but I couldn’t think of any. As a founder, you get used to unpredictable events almost on a daily basis, and your job is to manage them.
Thanks for reading Exec Engineering, a weekly digest for the busy tech executive.
I hope this edition brings you value.
The Digest
‘I Applied to 2,843 Roles’: The Rise of AI-Powered Job Application Bots (Jason Koebler / 404 Media)
AI agents can be powerful allies in talent acquisition. The key is using them to amplify your reach and efficiency while preserving the human filter to make sure you don't miss out on great fits.
2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey (Stack Overflow)
AI tools are gaining traction, but it looks like developers aren’t completely sold. 43% still find them ineffective when faced with complex tasks. For engineering leaders, this means that more work is needed to achieve "AI-Engineer-Fit."
How copying what other CTOs do ensures you underperform (Noah Cantor interviewed by Adelina Chalmers)
Copying successful leaders may seem like a shortcut, however, it frequently results in a misalignment between values and actions. Authentic leadership stems from understanding your own strengths and style.
"When we copy other people, what we're doing is we're emulating the way that they shape their relationships. We're emulating the values that they hold and that they share. And so if their values and our values don't match, that feels discordant.”
Why the best roadmaps are team-oriented (Mike Veerman / Planned Attention)
The evolution from Gantt charts to team-focused roadmaps reflects the shift from project-driven to product-centric thinking in software development.
Appetites instead of estimates (Jason Fried / world.hey.com)
Appetites shift the focus away from trying to predict everything and instead emphasize setting limits. According to Jason Fried, these constraints spark creativity and keep projects from spiraling out of control.
"A appetite is like a budget. Not 'we think it'll take 4 weeks' but 'we're only giving it 4 weeks.'”
“Our Employees Are Not Children” – Spotify Will Keep Remote Working (Bryson Page / EDMTunes)
领英推荐
Spotify’s take on remote work shows the trust they put in their employees. Marcus Wermuth addressed this topic in my interview with him a few weeks ago.
Leveraging the ‘new person' effect (John Durrant / Human-Centric Engineering)
Beyond transferring skills, John Durrant highlights how the 'new person effect' injects fresh energy and perspectives that can drive positive change throughout the team.
"Injecting a new person into a team is like a chemistry experiment that has never been done before.”
Where did the Women go? (Michelle McDaid / The Leading Place)
The tech industry's demographic shifts in the 1960s-70s had long-lasting effects, with the decline of women in tech being driven apparently by a deliberate push-out rather than natural attrition.
Dialog
“The challenge for new managers lies in shifting their focus—learning to say "no" to the tasks that have contributed to their success thus far, tasks they both enjoy and excel at.”
Read my later interview with Péter S. , Engineering Leader and Advisor, where he shared his insights on spotting leadership potential, guiding engineer-to-manager transitions, and thriving in the AI era:
More reads
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About Exec Engineering
I’m Yassine ??. I spend a big chunk of my time digging into engineering management and talent acquisition, especially where the two overlap. I share the most interesting resources I come across in this newsletter, all curated by hand.
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P.S. If you prefer your content on Substack, I'm also there.
Enabling Human-Centric Software Engineering Teams
1 个月Thanks so much for the mention Yassine Kachchani
Advises Engineering Leadership (CTO | VP | Head of Engineering) on how to build tech strategy, accelerate delivery and demonstrate bottom line impact. The Executive Mindset CTO Newsletter
1 个月Yassine Kachchani thank you so much for sharing points from our discussion and taking us in your article really appreciated