Recently, I was messaged by a Gentlemen on Linkedin who asked for some advice on what he could do to achieve his goal of becoming a CTO; he has some excellent project management experience so just needed a nudge in the right direction. After replying to him, I thought my answer would make a great blog especially for similar people that aspire to become a CTO. Here are my three pieces of advice to become a CTO, I hope you find it useful…
When you get to that level, it's as much about who you know as what you know. Recruitment companies often arrange C-Level networking events. See if you can wangle an invite onto one of them. For example, Crimson is holding a Christmas curry networking event this month and tickets are free on Eventbrite.
My second piece of advice is just to do it. It would be much easier to get into a startup as CTO. There are several independent "startup only" job sites out there. E.g. Workinstartups. You should be able to find an opportunity with a startup who would be willing to accept less experience for cost savings.
The third is training. There is a CTO specific training course that I heard of recently that has been created by Martin Sadler; if you can get a place on this, it would be fantastic. If not, the next best thing is to read books. Here are a few that I would thoroughly recommend:
Lean Startup - Eric Reis
Pitch Anything - Oren Klaff
Predictable Revenue - Aaron Ross
The Advantage - Patrick Lencioni
The 7 habits of highly successful people - Stephen Covey
The 4 hour work week - Tim Ferris
How to get rich - Felix Denis
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Helen Whatley MP put forward a “flexible by default” bill in parliament this month.
Here we talk to Clare Streets, Associate Director, about 5 key elements that are supported by flexible working and how it impacts her work/life balance.