We are living in what I like to call the “era of inventiveness and imagination.” Over the past several years, the rate at which we have been able to imagine ground-breaking ideas and convert them into reality through technology has accelerated at an unprecedented pace. The impact on our personal lives has been profound. And the fundamental impact on corporations cannot be ignored.
Businesses now live within an economic world in which their financial identity is defined not just by the growth of current core revenue streams, but by the rate at which they can identify, address, and capitalize on new ones. Talent and culture transformation must accompany this economic change. In this world of uncertainty and rapid growth, nothing is more valuable than balanced left-right brain thinkers and doers backed by a management team that knows how to nurture both the minds and hearts of its team.
For me, there has never been a better time to be a CTO. Opportunity and creativity abound. But a CTO must be willing to embrace several new roles. I call these the Futurist, the Distiller, the Change Agent, and the Architect.
The Futurist
The role of the Futurist is to use a unique blend of wild imagination, deep technology knowledge, and pragmatic business sense to craft new opportunities for their company and customers. I have found that there are two practices that help to nurture this important persona in my CTO arsenal.
The Distiller
The value of the Distiller is in the ability to filter the cacophonous noise of the technology marketplace. They are there to prevent others from either becoming overwhelmed by information or becoming jaded and immune to technology promises. The CTO needs to separate out the temporal from the major lasting shifts, and create simple trends and themes for the company. These themes can enable a business to build a platform for “democratic innovation” whereby everyone in the organization participates and contributes.
Being a Distiller requires practice, and there are four skills that I focus on to hone my skills in this particular area.
The Change Agent
The process of building appropriate culture and inspiring people needs to be taken into consideration if businesses are to be able to address the level of change required by the world today. This should be as important to the CTO as it is to the Head of Talent.
It is a critical part of my job to inspire others, enable them to imagine new possibilities, and empower them to make those ideas real within the context of the business – at all levels. I want to see eyes that light up when I talk about this, rather than those that are disbelieving. To get to that, I take a holistic approach to business culture.
The Architect
We are all designers and builders. But the CTO needs to pay special attention to creating structures for others so there is “method to the sometimes madness” of the technology innovation process.
As a CTO in this amazing era of “inventiveness and imagination” are you ready to embrace your roles as Futurist, Distiller, Change Agent, and Architect for your company?
View guest post by Puneet Gupta, Chief Technology Officer at Brillio, on Business Insider – India
In the latest article by Shailen Salvi in CEOWorld Magazine, he shares his thoughts on how data explosion will further […]
In the latest article by Shailen Salvi in CEOWorld Magazine, he shares his thoughts on how data explosion will further […]
SAN CLARA, CA – November 10, 2020 – Brillio, a global digital technology consulting and solutions company, today announced that […]
SAN RAMON, Calif., November 06, 2020—Brillio, a leading digital technology consulting and solutions company, has been positioned as a Major […]
All Rights Reserved.