A CEO coordinates the organization’s work to deliver value to customers, security for employees, and returns to investors. For a CTO, a trusting, respectful partnership with the CEO—or with the executive they report to—is essential: technical plans are harder to carry out when the two are misaligned. section 2.1.2 section 2.1
Do not assume the CEO needs the same technical detail you do. A CEO may have a management or finance background, or may sound technically confident without fully understanding an issue. Explain the result and its implications, especially the effect on customers, and check that you have established common ground. section 2.1 section 2.1.2
To make the partnership work:
- Lead with data. Connect a recommendation to a measurable business effect rather than relying only on instinct. section 2.1.4
- Bring the CEO into consequential decisions when every available option has a serious cost. Lay out the alternatives and their consequences. section 2.1.4
- Avoid an immediate yes under pressure. Take the request under advisement, consider its implications, and return with a decision or recommendation. section 2.1.4
Making a request concrete
When seeking approval to hire, show the expected productivity gain. For a project proposal, estimate its financial effect, such as reduced support or license costs. The point is to give the CEO a basis for weighing the request against other business priorities. section 2.1.4 section 2.1.2
