🔸Unpacking Software Architecture

I help people deploy more value with less code.

Mike Thornton

Engineering Management Expert • Fractional CTO • Remote • 🇮🇱

I woke up one day and realised I was managing a feature factory — a very efficient and well-managed feature factory, with solid engineering practices and modern development methodologies.

But this did not stop the other execs viewing the department as a cost centre.

To be honest, I can't blame them. Our velocity was through the roof, but we were going nowhere in particular, at least not deliberately. So much potential was not being realised as tangible results on the company's bottom line. 

I needed to stop being the tech guy and start acting as a business executive. 

Through trial and error, at a series of companies, I refined my approach and techniques for achieving this.

If you've felt something similar, know that it is possible to escape from the feature factory mindset, and to free your company from this limiting mindset too.

You'll need to do these 3 things in order to break out of the conundrum:
1. Ensure that your department works on THE RIGHT THINGS.
2. Focus on BUSINESS OUTCOMES, rather than tech outputs.
3. Become a key player in formulating the company's business strategies.

I created the CTO Grandmasters programme to help other CTOs break the glass ceiling between tech and business, and acquire enough executive influence to successfully leverage technology to visibly and consistently drive tangible business outcomes.

DM me OUTCOMES if you're a CTO or Engineering VP, and you're ready to break out of the corner you've been boxed into.

Itzchak Sabo

My rookie CTO mistake:

I said yes to everything. I was keen to prove that nothing is impossible in software — for me. 

I knew I had grown up as a software engineer when I stopped saying "That's impossible" all the time. I was no longer afraid to take on challenging tasks.

But as a CTO, this was a limiting mindset.

Order-taking to fulfil requests of other departments — that's not what a CTO is for.

Engineering is not a support function.
Engineering is a core driver of business value.

As a CTO you should be initiating more, and reacting less.

Collaborate with other executives on their business goals.
Show them how technology can unlock business outcomes.
Position yourself as a partner, not just an executor.

Drill down into the details of the company's business model. 

What are our business problems at the moment?
What market trends is the company reacting to? 
What are the company's goals and strategies? 
What are the company's biggest risk factors?
What financial constraints are limiting us? 
How does each department measure its progress?
What leading (vs. lagging) indicators exist?
What is the interplay between the company's core metrics?

You'll almost certainly identify areas where you can contribute significantly, well before anyone requests a technological solution. 

By truly understanding the company's problems, you can help fashion solutions in true collaboration with the other executives — rather than just be sent on your way with a list of predefined "solutions" to implement.

That is where the true ROI of engineering lies.

What discerning questions can you suggest to add to my list?

P.S.
CTOs and Engineering VPs: 
🎁 I'm giving away my practical framework for boosting your engineering department's ROI. DM me "ROI" to get notified before my next free online workshop.

I show CTOs how to engineer ROI | Coach @ CTO Grandmasters | Fractional CTO for companies that need to boost engineering ROI

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Mike Thornton

Itzchak Sabo

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The Battle

Mike Thornton

Itzchak Sabo

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Itzchak Sabo's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreItzchak Sabo's LinkedIn Performance