Reflection: Four Things I Wish I Knew as the New CTO of a Startup

> I was responsible for internal IT infrastructure and operations such as maintenance of LAN system, DNS configuration, back up of internal services, data redundancy plan, and even printer issues. I was also responsible for bringing in businesses; meeting potential clients, pitching and talking about our solutions and liaising with existing clients and making sure they are happy. Then I was responsible for technical design and architecture of web applications; making sure they are robust and secure. Lastly, there is people management aspect; hiring, growing and providing suitable assignments for my team members.

...

> I resigned because I felt lost. My wish then was to have someone show me the ropes, walk me through step by step, share best practices and point out the pitfalls so I could take the quantum leap to a smarter, sharper, wiser CTO.

It seems further confirmation this person should not have been a C-level of anything and did not know what she did not know. After a year of feeling lost, resigned, and wrote a book to tell other people how to be CTO.

> I have come to realise that leaders don’t want someone who would just execute without questioning. Leaders want someone who would come back with research, data and finding on whether something is worth doing or not. Especially at a small startup.

A CTO is a leader, not a gofer.