A CTO should be technical
I just became a CTO. So, let me bear my thoughts.<p>Since July of this year I've been CTO for a small games company, I've worked in this industry before in a more specialised role but this is <i>much</i> broader scope.<p>I've gone from being responsible for 1 person to 10 which will likely become 50 by the end of next year.<p>I'm terrified.<p>I'm terrified because I feel like I will let my reports down.<p>I'm terrified because a lot of the work I'm doing lacks transparency, how do I tell my compatriots about things that may not come to pass, especially deep political things -- and the amount of work necessary to onboard/offboard people, about "strategic partnerships" and why they're taken, or not taken or any of the hundreds of other things which are changing direction 3 times a day <i>each</i>.<p>I am technical, deeply, passionately technical.<p>I will not do service to people by being technical, my days are too fragmented, my worries too broad, it's impossible to dig into a small focused problem and give it the treatment it deserves - and even if I could then I'd be dooming one of my colleagues to maintain it forever because I couldn't possibly..<p>My being technical is good because I know the problems and I know what can make people feel valued; I can give people autonomy and direction and I can understand when help is needed and how to give it.<p>However, almost nothing in my work is technical, it's all presentations, discussions, breakdowns, timelines, contracts and negotiation.<p>The most code I write now is to do cost reporting.<p>My most frequently accessed cloud console pages are the billing sections.<p>This is not fun at all (and frankly, I didn't think it would be); but I fear what will replace me if I leave.