| CTO ACADEMY How was it for you? Welcome everyone to our weekly “5 Minute Tech Break”.Main article this week looked at the tricky problem of Managing Negative Team Members but we also take a look on Early Adopters, OKRs and a Guide for Building a Great Accountable Team. Get to know one of our executive leadership coaches, check the latest fintech news and if you haven’t noticed the fast growing of the European Tech Scene, we have included something special for you on that topic, oh and interviews with tech leaders.Take care of yourselves and your family this weekend and remember to rest up.Enjoy the read and have a great weekend. |
 |
| LEADERSHIP FOCUS Managing The Negative Team Member This week I looked at the challenging issue of how to handle negative team members.I know from personal experience that it’s never easy dealing with negativity – whether on a big stage or in a small team ….“It’s a remarkable human foible that we can spot the 1 negative person in 100 smiling faces. Anyone who has performed on stage or delivered a presentation will recognise the sensation of spotting that face in the crowd who looks far from impressed or engaged with what you’re saying.It’s the same in a business environment and particularly during this Zoom era where you immediately spot the individual with the negative body language, lack of engagement, constant fidgeting. How do you respond to this behavior? What feedback should you be giving? … You can read the full article here. |
 |
| LEADERSHIP FOCUS Early Adopters – Wonderful but Dangerous With the constant pressure around innovation and product development, you will often be in a position of having to ship out that product or launch that start up, before it’s perfect – anathema to many. The early adopters are defined as “people who start using the product or technology as soon as it becomes available”. This means they are more valuable than we think.Read the article here. |
 |
| NEWS & VIEWS Other Articles Catching Our Eye This Week What’s next for DevOps: Q&A with Lightstep CEO Ben Sigelman…In the decade since the word “DevOps” was coined, its goal has stayed the same, but the way organizations implement DevOps is constantly changing. For a closer look, Mr. Ben Sigelman, CEO of Lightstep, sat down with us, answered our inquiries and we had a very engaging conversation.“The European tech scene is growing faster than almost anywhere else in the world”: Interview with Emma Davies, co-CEO at Octopus Ventures…2020 has shifted focus to purpose. Purpose-driven companies, including the energy, foodtech and agtech space, have attracted record levels of investment. Over the last five years, investment in environmentally-focused technologies grew at five times the rate of traditional VC investments. To find out more, check out the interview with and the newly appointed co-CEO of Octopus Ventures, Mrs. Emma Davies. 5 Tips for a Thriving Company Culture…”Workplace culture is one area commanding attention. As the virus caused business limitations and forced many companies to go fully remote in 2020, workplace culture was challenged in new ways. This was a reminder to company leaders to make this a priority” says Mark McClain, CEO and co-founder of SailPoint and the ForbesBooks author of Joy and Success at Work: Building Organizations that Don’t Suck (the Life Out of People).Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing: A Guide to Implementing OKRs and Building an Accountable Team…Building a startup is much more difficult than building a traditional business. Any tech founder knows it. The tough part is that, in most cases, the startup not only faces uncertainty, but insufficient resources, entrenched competition, lack of experience, and many other challenges. Still, there is hope! One way to build accountability and performance from the start, and define the right culture, is to use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).Abu Dhabi fintech NymCard raises $7.6 million Series A to democratize card issuance in Middle East & Africa…Abu Dhabi-headquartered fintech NymCard has raised $7.6 million in a Series A round, it told MENAbytes today. The round was led by Shorooq Partners with the participation of OTF Jasoor Ventures and VentureSouq, and takes its total funding to date to $12 million. NymCard never announced but had previously raised $4.4 million in two different rounds. |
 |
| MEET THE TEAM #7 Dave Jones, Consultant & Executive Coach This week we are back in London and we are presenting our coolest coach – hold on and you’ll find out why – Dave Jones.Dave is an Executive Coach and Technology Consultant. He has worked with software teams in SME by guiding analyst teams, formulating strategies and doing business development. Read more about him, here: |
 |
| BOOK OF THE WEEK The Soul of an Entrepreneur: Work and Life Beyond the Startup Myth We’re often told that we’re living amidst a startup boom. Typically, we think of apps built by college kids and funded by venture capital firms, which remake fortunes and economies overnight. But in reality, most new businesses are things like restaurants or hair salons. Entrepreneurs aren’t all millennials — more often, it’s their parents. And those small companies are the fabric of our economy.The Soul of an Entrepreneur is a business book of a different kind, exploring our work but also our passions and hopes. David Sax reports on the deeply personal questions of entrepreneurship: why an immigrant family risks everything to build a bakery; how a small farmer fights to manage his debt; and what it feels like to rise and fall with a business you built for yourself. An award-winning business writer dismantles the myths of entrepreneurship, replacing them with an essential story about the experience of real business owners in the modern economy. |
 |
| VIDEO OF THE WEEK Dream – Already Seen By 60M |
 “Greatness is not this wonderful, esoteric, ellusive, god-like feature that only the special among us will ever taste. It’s something that truly exists in all of us.” |
| SOCIAL MEDIACome And Join Our Instagram CommunityAt last, we are a member of the Instagram family. We hope you find it fresh and modern…Follow the @cto.academyand let us know what you think about it.Come visit us on Linkedin , Facebook and Twitter where we post tech leadership content on a daily basis. |
90 Things You Need To Know To Become an Effective CTO
London
2nd Floor, 20 St Thomas St, SE1 9RS
Copyright © 2024 - CTO Academy Ltd
