How to Build a Technical Strategy That Solves Business Problems | CircleCI CTO, Rob Zuber

It doesn’t matter if you have an innovative technical strategy if you’re not solving problems the business cares about… 

This week, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Rob Zuber, CTO at CircleCI. They delve into the evolving role of engineering leaders, and the importance of building a technical strategy that aligns with overarching business goals.

Throughout the conversation, Rob emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer needs, gathering direct feedback and maintaining strategic flexibility. If you’re interested in understanding the balance between technical strategy and business leadership, this episode provides a wealth of knowledge, strategies, and real-world examples.

Episode Highlights:

01:38 Crafting technical strategy for teams at CircleCI 
07:26 How engineering leaders can make the most informed choices about their business
17:47 Using postmortems to fuel a growth mindset 
22:39 Applying hypotheses to be prepared for worst-case scenarios 
27:43 Why CTOs need to focus on solving business problems first, then technical strategy
30:30 Why engineering leaders need to form a close relationship with finance
33:17 Advice for ICs or Directors on becoming a business leader
39:17 Rob's approach to building trust and organizational design 
44:36 How can I prepare for being a technical founder?
55:12 What is CircleCI doing in ML?

Show Notes:

• Modern Software Engineering

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