Becoming a Better Leader

How can you be a great CTO? Leadership - Expertise - Innovation - Teamwork - Relationships - Passion In the 21st century, every company that is going to be a leader in its industry needs an executive who is focused on identifying, tracking, developing, and profiting from new and emerging technologies. Google, Facebook, Amazon, General Electric, Intel, Microsoft and hundreds of other major firms bring technology awareness into the executive ranks and the strategic decision-making process. Modern business cannot be performed without leveraging the new technologies that are being created around the globe. In this book you will learn the role and responsibilities of the Chief Technology Officer. You will meet seasoned CTOs who bring a unique flavor to the position. This is the only book that explores all six of the leading types of CTO roles in large and small organizations. Every prospective CTO must read this book and apply its lessons in their organizations.

Innovation leads to change, sometimes subtle and sometimes drastic, but always impactful to the organization, its leaders, its followers, and its partners. The business landscape is always facing new challenges and responding to innovative ideas. The internet age has now given rise to the age of artificial intelligence which is forcing all businesses to rethink their strategies and to redesign their business models. This trigger may be new, but the process of change has been constant for decades or even centuries. Inspiration and insight for dealing with these challenges can be found in dozens of different industries. The essays in this book explore the current impacts of AI as well as the equally important historic emergence of coffee houses in Europe, the formation of the Royal Society of science, the disruption of the art world in the 1960's, the transformation of baseball recruiting in the 1980's, and dozens of other situations like these. Innovation and transformation happen everywhere all the time, offering a wealth of lessons and insights. For over 300 years, the guiding motto of the Royal Society of scientists and mathematicians has been the Latin phrase "Nullius in Verba" or "Take nobody's word for it." This insistence on questioning established beliefs, testing new ideas, and seeking new knowledge has sparked of the Age of Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the Information Age, and the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Leaders who are blazing new trails will find insightful, informative, and stimulating perspectives on innovation theory, practice, culture, and leadership. These essays have been the most popular column in one of the leading research management journals for ten years. They are now collected into a single volume. “Thinking About Innovation” is a guidebook for inspiring leaders who are faced with new and unique challenges that require a change to their traditional perspective.