From Informed Decisions: Conversations and Q&A
with Randall Craig and
Ronja Francoeur

About this episode: 

The job of the CTO (and CIO) has become bigger than we ever thought it would be. Every department and every process is embedded with tech, and we are expected to have all the answers. Endless high-risk and high-cost decisions to be made… so who is the sounding board, and the checks and balances?

Today we invite tech leaders (and those who work with them) to discuss current pressing issues faced by technology leadership:

• From focus on tech to focus on strategy and growth

• Building credibility through functional leadership in non-tech areas of the business (Operations, Marketing, HR, etc)

• Managing the expectation that AI will shortcut all systems

• Expectations from marketing

• Outsourcing, using consultants, or building your team

Topics Discussed (with timestamps)

• 01:04 Corporate Strategy and business leadership in context for the CTO/CIO

 • 05:09 When CTOs/CIOs list their biggest challenges, they answer with “constant disruption”, “conflicting priorities” and other high-level always-true answers; is this a whitewash to avoid speaking to their real challenges?

• 07:47 Business leaders and business strategies have to be customer-focused, and yet the responsibilities of your typical CTOs/CIOs are not customer-focused; is this appropriate or is this something we can expect will change and evolve?

• 10:08 If a company rolls out a tech with a bad user experience or other fatal flaw, is the CTO/CIO accountable… or perhaps the organization wasn’t clear on what their brand is?

• 13:32 What is the support system for CTOs/CIOs? How can they get unblocked and get perspective while respecting their NDAs and company secrets?

• 15:58 Cross-departmental metrics and bilateral collaboration: What KPIs should CTOs/CIOs be looking at to avoid silos?

• 17:50 Founders are often their own CEO, but also their own CTO: When you were founder and CEO of your own companies, were you your own CTO as well? What is your recommendation for the CEO/CTO dual function?

• 23:55 What would be your goals for coaching a CTO/CIO, and what would success look like?

• 26:39 If your boss assigns to you, or suggest to you that in your role as CTO/CIO you use a coach, what does this mean? Does this mean you are under performing? What’s the opportunity?

• 30:06 How much CTO/CIO brain space should be delegated to team development? Or is it appropriate to leave that to HR?

• 33:18 For the general public, generative AI has been world changing, but for the in-the-known CTOs/CIOs, what’s their take?: Is it that AI is overhyped and they’ve been using AI before it became popular, or is AI under-hyped and there is more change ahead than anyone can imagine?

• 36:34 Being reactive vs proactive, generating credibility for your department

• 41:40 The intersection between marketing (and the marketing function) and technology (and the technology function)

• 44:30 Staffing: outsourcing, insourcing, training, consultants, etc: Where are you going to spend your time upskilling your group?

• 49:34 Technical dept: What will it take the move the flywheel, and what should the joint efforts of the new generation of CTOs/CIOs be to overcome this challenge?

• 52:54 How do I get to the next level of my career? How to I stay fresh, and not get bored?