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Modern CTO: Everything you need to know, to be a Modern CTO.
I highly recommend his podcast, book, and the tools he has created to improve the lives of developers and CTOs. ―Jacob Boudreau CTO of Stord | Forbes 30 Under 30
Joel's book and show provide incredible insights for young startup developers and fellow CTOs alike. Joel offers a human perspective and real practical advice on the challenges and opportunities facing every Modern CTO. ― Christian Saucier | Entrepreneur and P2P Systems Architect
I've really come to respect what Joel is doing in the community. His podcast and book are filling a much needed hole and I'm excited to see what else the future has in store. ― Don Pawlowski Chief Technology Officer at University Tees
Modern CTO Everything you need to know to be a Modern CTO. Developers are not CTOs, but developers can learn how to be CTOs. In Modern CTO, Joel Beasley provides readers with an in-depth road map on how to successfully navigate the unexplored and jagged transition between these two roles. Drawing from personal experience, Joel gives a refreshing take on the challenges, lessons, and things to avoid on this journey.
Readers will learn how Modern
Manage deadlines Speak up Know when to abandon ship and build a better one Deal with poor code Avoid getting lost in the product and know what UX mistakes to watch out for Manage people and create momentum … plus much more Modern CTO is the ultimate book when making the leap from developer to CTO.
Kindle Formatting issues resolved 5/13/18. Thank you for the feedback.
Joel's book and show provide incredible insights for young startup developers and fellow CTOs alike. Joel offers a human perspective and real practical advice on the challenges and opportunities facing every Modern CTO. ― Christian Saucier | Entrepreneur and P2P Systems Architect
I've really come to respect what Joel is doing in the community. His podcast and book are filling a much needed hole and I'm excited to see what else the future has in store. ― Don Pawlowski Chief Technology Officer at University Tees
Modern CTO Everything you need to know to be a Modern CTO. Developers are not CTOs, but developers can learn how to be CTOs. In Modern CTO, Joel Beasley provides readers with an in-depth road map on how to successfully navigate the unexplored and jagged transition between these two roles. Drawing from personal experience, Joel gives a refreshing take on the challenges, lessons, and things to avoid on this journey.
Readers will learn how Modern
Manage deadlines Speak up Know when to abandon ship and build a better one Deal with poor code Avoid getting lost in the product and know what UX mistakes to watch out for Manage people and create momentum … plus much more Modern CTO is the ultimate book when making the leap from developer to CTO.
Kindle Formatting issues resolved 5/13/18. Thank you for the feedback.
146 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 13, 2018
202 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 22, 2018
There's nothing specifically wrong with the "book", except that there is hardly any of it. I feel annoyed that I spent $25 on this "book", which turned out to be about 1 hour of reading. It is more like a dozen blog posts than a book.
Also .. the formatting on the kindle edition is a mess. The font size for example is huge.
Also .. the formatting on the kindle edition is a mess. The font size for example is huge.
November 3, 2021
A few nuggets of wisdom which are mostly common knowledge. Surrounded by Beasly impressing upon us that he instinctively discovered all of these processes. Some very bizarre recommendations that are wholly irrelevant to the role of CTO (like platform and technology recommendations?). Reads like an advertisement for Elon Musk.
March 30, 2021
Short but quite OK'ish book. Lots of things in a book are quite simple and already known to me. But that does not make a book bad. Tips and tricks that Joel uses, insights are interesting and I will use some of those. I liked that everything comes from his own experience and laid out in a simple way. Focus on code quality and simplicity is what I also enjoyed.
Although I think intro was way too long. It does not deliver much value. I also missed more references to a books / articles / blog posts to dig deeper (as most of the things here just scratches the surface). Moreover a tone sometimes becomes really unpleasant as you can feel Joel saying "this is like that because I know it!" or "do it this way because I do it and I know that it works".
I rarely say this, but I think the content I read is not worth the price I paid for the book. If you can get it with some deal of 50% then 1 hour read is worth it.
Although I think intro was way too long. It does not deliver much value. I also missed more references to a books / articles / blog posts to dig deeper (as most of the things here just scratches the surface). Moreover a tone sometimes becomes really unpleasant as you can feel Joel saying "this is like that because I know it!" or "do it this way because I do it and I know that it works".
I rarely say this, but I think the content I read is not worth the price I paid for the book. If you can get it with some deal of 50% then 1 hour read is worth it.
April 17, 2018
Kindle edition is riddled with errors.
In the kindle version, paragraphs just end, and pick up somewhere later, and it’s unclear what you missed and how much. Not sure if this is a unique issue to the kindle version or the editor just missed stuff.
Overall there was some good nuggets of information, ideas and strategies on being a CTO in a very fast paced and competitive landscape.
There were certainly areas where I felt a deeper dive would have been beneficial.
There were many instances where I felt the topics were glossed over, mostly an excuse for a personal story that briefly gives you some insight into the value of the idea, but mostly felt like an opportunity to pat him self on the back.
Then another topic would have many examples and great insights that made me think man that’s a great idea, so glad I picked this up.
Would have been four stars if the formatting wasn’t so bad in the kindle version. Recommended but try the paper version.
In the kindle version, paragraphs just end, and pick up somewhere later, and it’s unclear what you missed and how much. Not sure if this is a unique issue to the kindle version or the editor just missed stuff.
Overall there was some good nuggets of information, ideas and strategies on being a CTO in a very fast paced and competitive landscape.
There were certainly areas where I felt a deeper dive would have been beneficial.
There were many instances where I felt the topics were glossed over, mostly an excuse for a personal story that briefly gives you some insight into the value of the idea, but mostly felt like an opportunity to pat him self on the back.
Then another topic would have many examples and great insights that made me think man that’s a great idea, so glad I picked this up.
Would have been four stars if the formatting wasn’t so bad in the kindle version. Recommended but try the paper version.
October 19, 2018
More philosophical than technically focused, this short read is covers a dozen aspects of being a CTO based on Joel's personal history.
Reading this book isn't enough to make you a CTO or a better CTO. There are no real actionable takeaways. But if you're buying it you're probably looking for leadership *inspiration* like I was and it throws enough ideas in the air for you to work out the next steps on your own.
It's only an hour read, the font is stupid large, there aren't many pages and it's certainly audience/value priced.
Reading this book isn't enough to make you a CTO or a better CTO. There are no real actionable takeaways. But if you're buying it you're probably looking for leadership *inspiration* like I was and it throws enough ideas in the air for you to work out the next steps on your own.
It's only an hour read, the font is stupid large, there aren't many pages and it's certainly audience/value priced.
December 6, 2018
"Everything you need to know, to be a Modern CTO?" No, definitely not.
Rather some important points that actually look quite random (like collected scribblings of valuable, yet unstructured thoughts ;>). That's not such a big deal - in fact there's even no universal definition of the CTO role that will fit everywhere. But IMHO this book will serve better someone who already has quite a shaped opinion (vision) of this position, not a person who's looking for such a path.
Still - short yet quite useful. 3.5-4 stars.
Rather some important points that actually look quite random (like collected scribblings of valuable, yet unstructured thoughts ;>). That's not such a big deal - in fact there's even no universal definition of the CTO role that will fit everywhere. But IMHO this book will serve better someone who already has quite a shaped opinion (vision) of this position, not a person who's looking for such a path.
Still - short yet quite useful. 3.5-4 stars.
January 24, 2022
Terse but good advice
Generally good advice. Some of it felt a bit more designed for a particular type of consumer app company but it’s easy to extrapolate the advice in a meaningful way. The book provided a good and clear definition of the charter of a CTO which is good validation of what I’ve observed across peers and friends.
Generally good advice. Some of it felt a bit more designed for a particular type of consumer app company but it’s easy to extrapolate the advice in a meaningful way. The book provided a good and clear definition of the charter of a CTO which is good validation of what I’ve observed across peers and friends.
March 28, 2024
Not worth it at all, I gave up half way as this book lacks any from of substance or perceived value. It may have been worth something before having read Think like a CTO, although I sincerely doubt that.
It feels as it’s mostly random and incoherent thoughts or ideas so blindingly obvious a toddler would figure them out.
It feels as it’s mostly random and incoherent thoughts or ideas so blindingly obvious a toddler would figure them out.
July 24, 2021
Quick read but repetitive stuff
Short read and you can quickly glance it through. If you have been a software developer for long you may not find anything new in this book.
Short read and you can quickly glance it through. If you have been a software developer for long you may not find anything new in this book.
June 3, 2022
Good book for young CTOs.
October 23, 2022
It's just a set of ideas from CTO experience of different things to care about in this position.
December 8, 2022
Leadership for introverts
April 14, 2023
Good takeaways
A bit "look at me" but overall, some good points. Wrote down a few nuggets for use in the future and some highlights to review again later.
A bit "look at me" but overall, some good points. Wrote down a few nuggets for use in the future and some highlights to review again later.
May 2, 2021
This was at best a collection of blog posts, which took about 60 mins to read. It was very male gender focused and the advice was superficial and lacked nuance. It made me angry reading it.
May 21, 2018
Can I give a book lower than a one star? I can’t believe I paid $30 for this. No substance whatsoever that hasn’t already been covered hundreds of times elsewhere. I think this book is simply a marketing device for the author to promote his consulting company.
October 14, 2019
Not worth the money for the six or seven nuggets of valuable information that it contains. Read some blog posts instead. In fact, I think this book reads like a collection of blog posts.
June 15, 2021
Good, practical knowledge. Joel Beasley clearly talks and shares experiences from real-life problems he has encountered. Good stuff.
December 26, 2022
This book should be called "Everything a newbie software engineer should learn in 3 starting years of their career". Nothing to do with work of CTO.
December 26, 2022
This book should be called "Everything a newbie software engineer should learn in 3 starting years of their career". Nothing to do with work of CTO.
July 15, 2023
Incredibly shallow and unconsidered, perfectly reflects the spirit of most executives.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews