Fun from Red Canary

One Red Question: What advice would you give to a young graduate starting a tech career?

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:52:51 GMT

6 months ago a young college or university grad would have licked their lips at the prospect of waltzing into Canada's talent-starved technology sector. Now, with many companies on a hiring freeze and older IT workers seeing their retirement savings shrink, opportunities are harder to find...and may stay that way for a while. What advice would you give to today's graduate? Would it differ from the advice you would have given 6 months ago? Is technology a viable career in Canada, how does a junior break into the industry? Should they look to join a large or small company? Is it better to look for jobs in Toronto or try one of Canada's many thriving tech hubs, including Calgary, Ottawa or Waterloo Region?

Halloween Quiz!

Trevor Stafford — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:03:30 GMT

By Trevor Stafford

Product Management Survey and Work | Life results!

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:44:51 GMT

Welcome to Red Canary’s Product Management Survey and Work | Life results

Please note that you must click the work | life button to see the bandwidth-hogging goodies contained therein.

2008 Survey —Product Managment —Overall
Discipline	Years of Experience	Salary (in '000s)
		Avg.	Low	High
Product Management	0-5	103	40	200
	5-10	116	70	245
	10+	126	80	245

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2008 Survey —Product Managment — Regional
Discipline	Years of Experience	Kitchener/Waterloo/Guelph			GTA			Toronto
		Avg.	Low	High	Avg.	Low	High	Avg.	Low	High
Product Management	0-5	90	60	125	103	40	150	112	60	200
	5-10	101	80	120	119	85	160	119	60	115
	10+	138	125	160	110	80	150	144	130	150

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2008 Survey —Product Managment — Responsibility
Discipline	Years of Experience	Individual			Manager			Executive
		Avg.	Low	High	Avg.	Low	High	Avg.	Low	High
Product Management	0-5	92	40	175	104	55	150	148	90	200
	5-10	107	77	140	132	70	245	132	100	160
	10+	127	100	150	126	74	150	148	92	245

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2008 Survey —Product Managment —Discipline Breakdown
Discipline	Region	Product Managers			Product Marketing			Technical Product Managers
		Avg.	Low	High	Avg.	Low	High	Avg.	Low	High
Product Management...	Kitchener	116	100	125	97	85	108	91	75	108
	GTA	107	77	140	159	70	250	132	100	160
	Toronto	127	100	150	126	74	150	148	92	245
	Other - Canada	145	90	245	120	77	200	156	74	254

	Region	Generalists
		Avg.	Low	High

...Continued	Kitchener	95	65	150
	GTA	114	40	160
	Toronto	107	90	126
	Other - Canada	153	74	254

Looking for specific details on disciplines or regions? Use the charts below and manipulate this data to your heart's content.

One Red Question: If you had one job-related wish, what would it be?

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:19:49 GMT

Everyone has a stockpile of 'Genie in a bottle' wishes. But what would you wish for if you had to restrict your desires to what you do for a living? In the spirit of transparency, my wish would be to spend more time thinking about Red Canary's direction and less time slugging it out in the content/survey/graphic/design trenches.

INTERACTIVE Rank Canada's top 20 'Web 2.0' companies

Trevor Stafford — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:02:27 GMT

Backbone magazine recently selected the following 20 Canadian companies as their "Web 2.0 Winners" A panel selected these companies from an open nomination process. Red Canary is giving you the chance to rank them yourself. If you don't know enough about these companies to rank them, you can choose the top 5 option or simply view the ranking table.

Say what? Collected quotes from two+ years of canary duty

Trevor Stafford — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:39:26 GMT

Finding my favourite quotes in Red Canary was a lot like going through the shoebox of orphan photographs I keep in my closet.

That battered, polaroid-choked carton invokes a mix of grins and groans – and I felt the same rueful nostalgia while flipping through two years of articles.

But just as fashion 'indiscretions' slide into 'style', editorial right angles ultimately get hammered straight. And I think this iteration of Red Canary has found its voice. If I can offer any proof, it's in this selection of bon mots, as collected from interviews, comments, and individuals both more articulate and credible than myself.

Enjoy.

And always.

Thank You for visiting.

Humour

"The job candidate was waiting on the couch in reception…there was a fruit bowl on the little table in front of him. He took a piece and bit in…but it wasn’t what he had in mind, so he put it back."
Anonymous
10 Interview Horror Stories

"Rule number one: I don’t work with assholes"

Stowe Boyd
'Advisory' Capital

"I chose poorly when I got my first computer, a TRS80. I had to type in 50 pages of code to play hangman."
Craig Fitzpatrick, CEO, Devshop
Devshop: Shoeing the Shoemakers

"General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters"
Guide to Hiring Women, 1943

Start-up Lessons

"With technology now, your competition isn’t just coming from Mississauga or Scarborough, it’s worldwide. You don’t know half of your competition because they can’t be Googled. You think that you only have a few competitors and you just get smashed."
Bryan Kerdman
Smooth Ex-operator

"The final fight is in software. Apple is experimenting with a new business model. It could change how applications on the mobile platform will be distributed and monetised."
Tim Tang
iPhone, BlackBerry, and the Android

"Don’t ever underestimate the role that luck plays in your life...I’d be very happy to say that all of this is my own doing, but I can’t. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to meet the people I did (in the early days) my career could’ve gone in a completely different direction."
Leila Boujnane, CEO, Idee
Picture perfect: A profile of image-recognition company Idee

"Get out from behind John A. MacDonald’s skirts and get onto the world stage. Use a global yardstick not a "provincal" one!"

Jim Murphy
One Red Question - greatest tech challenge

"There’s a lot of lessons learned in that first 30 months and a lot of mistakes made too. You have to make them and you have to learn by them, and adjust."
Kevin Dwyer
Interview: Kevin Dwyer

"Bear in mind that VCs spread their risk across several companies. You, on the other hand, only work for one company at a time. They’re not necessarily smarter than you—they just get to make more bets."
Mario Laudi
Know Thy VC

"A start-up is essentially an Agile business – you wake up every morning and never know what fire you’ll have to put out or what change of plans you’ll have to make"
Craig Fitzpatrick
Agile as a management method and organizational philosophy

"I think the Canadian headspace is that commercialization is viewed as a dirty thing whereas pure research is clean"
Charles Plant
INTERVIEW: Charles Plant, Advisor, Market Readiness Programs, MaRS

"Shut up and execute."

Roy Pereira.
Startup success: People, money and opportunity (Part I)

"I’m not so foolish to think that a website is the only aspect of technology marketing, but if the public face of your company looks like Jimmy Durante, then I have doubts about the efficacy of everything else you’re doing."
Trevor Stafford
290,307 reasons why this is the best marketing I've ever seen from a Canadian technology company

People

"Imagine a hill with two tigers, extraordinary players come with extraordinary expectations and extraordinary egos."
Ashok Kalle
Ashok Kalle: Benevolence and good business on the 'Pathway' to success

"Hire intelligent, creative, kickass people. You shouldn’t care about what language they know or whether you have a position that’s right for them."

Brad Sim, COO, Sandvine
The Sandvine Way

"90% of technology job descriptions are a lot like a bad blind date. They say the same things – in the same vaguely selfish way"
Trevor Stafford
It's not you, it's me: A blind date guide to job descriptions that don't suck

"Don’t shy away from uber-talent because of compensation. If Michael Jordan wanted to play for you, would you pay him for it? What’s winning worth to you?"
Mario Laudi
7 hiring tips for startups

"You cannot hire masses of asses and you can't settle for second-best."
Scott Broder
Mr. What's Next

"We’ve really used the mafia theory to hire: somebody needs to vouch for you...and then they’re responsible for you doing well."
Dave Wessinger CTO, PointClickCare
Profile: PointClickCare

"The raw material of technology products (whether services, software or hardware) is time. The product can only be as good as the raw material – the time and creativity of the people building it." Its best to start with great raw materials – which means hiring the right people"
Colin Toal
One Red Question - greatest tech challenge

"The cost of losing a first-year sales hire is more than $120,000. 60% of sales hires don’t make it past their first year."
Theresa Spengler
Startup Sales Talent: The Good, The Bad, The 2.0

Careers

"Because programmers don’t usually think in terms of careers, they often get blown from job to job like a leaf in a gale, until they find themselves in a dead end job with nowhere to go, and wonder 'how did I get here?"

Bruce Taylor
Career Plan for Devs? What's that?

"How drunk I am on weekends (as surmised by photos on Facebook) does not have anything to do with how I perform on the job"
Anonymous
Can you be Googled?

To Benin and Back

Kristy Minor — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:50:16 GMT

Kristy Minor is an environmental engineering graduate working in Ghana as part of an Engineers Without Borders initiative. Currently working with Community Driven Initiatives for Food Security (CIFS) she is co-ordinating projects and helping to build the capacity of local government and its sub-structures. Kristy will continue to share her experiences and challenges on Red Canary In order to extend a Ghanaian Visa you have to physically leave the country and then return. In Africa that's the way it is. It turned out to be quite an adventure.

We entered a country where we don’t know anyone, don’t speak the language, and are gunning towards an unknown destination while wearing jeans and a t-shirt and holding a passport and $50

Togo, to go.

I chose to renew my Visa in Togo, as I was close to the country's border and spectacular mountains. I was excited to get closer to them and maybe get a peak inside a country I knew relatively nothing about. I set out with a friend on the back of a motorbike to the border, wondering if I would survive the 30 minute ride on a very rough road. We flew to the border and, sore from the ride, stumbled over to meet some very friendly Ghanian Immigration personnel. There was a problem, I needed a Togo Visa. No problem, I thought, I could pay for the VISA at the border, enter, and return to Ghana. Easier said than done, at this border (Natchamba) they didn't issue Visas (apparently the demand is not high, since who really crosses this way except traders and food trucks who pass freely). We try to go and see if they will just give me the in and out stamps I need.

A false start

We walk across the border and find a translator, since none of us speak French. The Togo Border police say “ C’est Impossible! No Visa, no entre” which my basic French does not want to understand. What option do I have now? Apparently just one. There is another border post that issues VISAs. Hurray! Only I will have to enter Togo (which they will allow, go get the VISA and come back). It's 25 km away. My friend says its too late and we should come back early one morning and try. I agree, not wanting to travel back in the dark, nevermind into Togo. We head home on the bumpy road arriving just as the orange sun sets.

25k becomes 110k

3 days left on my VISA, and a few days spent trying to get back to Zabzugu (nevermind Togo)

We have no money to get back to Ghana if I give him the 20,000 CFA. No money for fuel or water, which is more important I don’t know. Without either I am sure we can not make it back.

That morning we convince some unlucky person from work to take me to the border and see what we can do about getting this VISA. We meet the same friendly immigration personnel and story at the Togo border. So, we will go to the other place and get the VISA. How do we get there? In broken English and French - Go to Kara, then Ketao, then arrive a la Kajerimerda. That sounds far, how much time to reach? He does not know. He has never been. Ok, how many kilometers? “quatre-vingt-cinq”. I draw on the wall slowly eight and then a five. Oui- 85 kilometers to Kara! Then vingt-cinq to Kajermida. Mill-dix. 110 km straight as he points down the road. I say to the other side of Togo! Oui, Oui - Togo/ Benin border. Our jaws both drop and I see the predicament I am in: 2 days left on my VISA and a far away Burkina Faso border. They won’t seem to budge or ask for a bribe to use the stamp I can see sitting on the desk. We finally agree what the hell let’s go and try. But now the problem is lack of funds, we turn back to Ghana and manage to get together 20,000 CFA (400,000 Cedis or $53 CDN) which is supposed to be 10,000 for the VISA and 10,000 for extra insurance. We cross over and start driving literally across Togo on their perfectly tarred road. 110 kilometers to go. We pass village after village, bush and tarred road. The sun is beating down on us and it sounds like the desert as portrayed on television with the sound of burning and buzzing. I think to myself, we just entered into a country wearing nothing more then jeans and a tshirt, my passport and $50, into a country where we don’t know anyone, we don’t speak the language, and are gunning towards an unknown destination.

Don't leave home without h2o

But our biggest mistake was having no water. We had no water. We went along and I started to feel the burning on my shoulders, my lips and throat dried. We passed mountains which were covered in trees and natural rock outcrops, villages that resembled Ghana only more spread out, cattle herders and boreholes, women wearing no shirts and many children and youth wearing tan school uniforms. Kara 85, 65, 45, 20, 10, 5. Kara! We enter this large city only fast enough to leave it behind, another seemingly endless 25 kilometers and we reach the Togo/ Benin border. We are happy and I know I am exhausted, burnt and dehydrated.

An International financial crisis

The border officer speaks some English. He takes my passport and says 15,000 CFA for Visa. I am happy I brought extra and hand over the money. Then he says, You are Canadian? Yes, Then you must pay 20,000 CFA. Shit. We have no money to get back to Ghana if I give him the 20,000 CFA. No money for fuel or water, which is more important I don’t know. Without either I am sure we can not make it back. After arguing with the police, the commander comes and we settle that I will pay 18,000 CFA and they will pay the extra 2,000 CFA so we can get back to Ghana. We accept, take the VISA and passport and fly back to Kara, get a litre of fuel and a litre of water, costing us 1,000 CFA. We fly back to Ghana side faster than we came and wave to people who have helped us along the way. We get back to the Togo / Ghana border after 5 hours, with some very sore bottoms. They use the stamp I wanted to steal and stamp me OUT of Togo, we walk over to the other side, where they stamp me back IN to Ghana. We use the last 30 minutes to travel back to Zabzugu over our rough road, and reach home in time for the District Assembly to listen to our story.

One Red Question: What are your favourite technology-related bookmarks?

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:47:45 GMT

Simple question this week, I know. But a relevant one in a million-channel infoverse. So where do you go for your tech fix?

Crayon Physics demonstration (VIDEO)

Trevor Stafford — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:40:07 GMT

I don't really have any justification for posting this beyond it being cool, intriguing, and possibly genre-changing in terms of both educational and entertainment games. Ok, so I do have justification. Thank you to blog.pmarca.com for the heads up.

It's not you, it's me: A blind date guide to job descriptions that don't suck

Trevor Stafford — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:06:54 GMT

This is a fabricated blind date between a job description (JD) and a potential candidate (TS). TS: Hi there! I'm Trevor, nice to meet you JD: Yes it is. Before you sit down I have a list of things you need to be able to do. TS: Sorry? (reads bulleted list of responsibilities) Uh, well I can do all of these things. I even... JD: Wonderful. As part of your dating obligations you'll be expected to take care of my essential needs -- creativity and innovation are important to me. You also need to work hard, because I'm the best date that you're going to find. I'm such a knockout that I don't even shave my legs. TS: So that's what was in my drink. You know, I'm really looking for a relationship where I can build on what I've learned and explore some new ideas with the right partner. JD: Don't worry, I'm incredibly dynamic, fast-paced and challenging. It says so right on my t-shirt. TS: You know, you remind me of an ex of mine... JD: That's hardly the positive attitude I'm looking for. This relationship requires a 'can-do' approach and great communications skills. You need to innovate and be creative while you work independently in a team. TS: You said some of that already. JD: It's important that you understand my needs. TS: Your needs sound like everyone else's. What about me? How will we grow and what will we share? JD: This isn't about you. I'm a stunning success story, haven't you heard? I just put out a press release! TS: That's great, but what are you like JD: Look, you'll love meeting my demands. Please show me your qualifications. TS: Oh hey! I forgot about my double root canal, I have to run. JD: When you come back we'll evaluate your suitability. Do you have strong problem-solving and communication skills? TS: Cheque please! (runs away) JD: Call me! (shouting) On second thought, just send an email to this generic address!

Sound familiar? It should, because 90% of technology job descriptions are a lot like a bad blind date. They say the same things -- in the same vaguely selfish way. In fact, the impression I get from most job descriptions is that I'd be joining a work gang in service of the great leader. My guess is that a parallel of this scenario plays out out on tech job boards and career pages across the country. Viewers click. They scan. They leave. It doesn't have to be this way.

Four ways to improve your job ads • Write down what your role offers the ideal person. Create a paragraph with that information and call it 'The opportunity' • Don't say what you want them to do. Say what they will get to do • Speak in second-person (you'll) so that they can visualize themselves in the role • Talk positively about your company and its recent wins or product developments

What HR can learn from Advertising There are headlines left, right and centre about Canada's technology talent shortage. So how do you succeed in a lean market? By differentiating. Most technology job descriptions do not differentiate, they ignore three golden rules of advertising: 1) Identify your ideal (target) candidate 2) Put yourself in their shoes 3) Speak to their specific needs and desires (make it more about them and less about you) And if I might add my own pet peeve: 4) Speak well But a job description isn't advertising! Yes, it is. Particularly when there's slim pickin's in them thar fields. A job description is the first (and usually only) contact between your company and your 'perfect' candidate. It's an advertisement for the position and indirectly for your entire company. If you were to have a conversation with a candidate, would you read a job description aloud to them? Of course not. You'd tell them what they'd be working on, introduce them to who they'd be working with, and generally try to help them feel positive about the role. Why don't job descriptions do that? Most technology jobs ads read like instructional movies from the 1950s. Just substitute a toothy 'hey, that's swell!' grin with 'we're fast-paced, dynamic and challenging', and add shiny phrases like 'problem-solving' and 'written and verbal communication' skills and you have half a tech description. How to turn what you've got into something they want You don't need to be a combination of Hemingway and Seth Godin (would that be Sethingway?) to write a good job description. I write 90% of the jobs you'll find on Red Canary and most of the time I'm able to excavate the interesting bits of a job from the sediment. Things get even easier when I know something about the company. My approach? Take that doughy, 'roles and goals' doublespeak and squeeze out the opportunity. Exhibit A Here's an example of a Senior Product Manager role for CiRBA. The original job description is actually pretty decent, I'm merely using it here as an example of how 'decent' can very quickly become 'compelling'. All it took was a visit to CiRBA's website and some interior decorating. Old Description

This privately held, VC-backed vendor of Systems Management solutions has a growing number of Global 3000 clients. Serving industries as diverse as Financial Services, Telecom, Oil & Gas, Technology and Managed Services, CiRBA enables cost-effective virtualization and consolidation. We are seeking a Product Manager to join the Product Management Team. As product manager, you will articulate product features from existing ideas, and help to develop new ideas based on your consolidation and virtualization industry experience, and your contact with partners, customers and prospects. You must possess a unique blend of business and technical savvy; a big-picture vision, and the drive to make that vision a reality.

New Description

Put your stamp on a sizzling product and company that isn’t simply leading its market, it's shaping it. This role blends long-term vision, strategic decision-making, and hands-on tactical savvy. Your industry experience will give you perspective; feedback from partners, customers and prospects will help turn perspective into ideas, and your expertise will turn ideas into well-executed success. It’s the kind of job that has you racing to work on a Monday morning. There are a dozen reasons why CiRBA has been recognized as the #1 virtualization vendor to watch in 2008. Your gusto, big-picture vision and tactical skill could be reason 13. About the Company Few companies are hotter than CiRBA right now. With another round of funding behind it and top-tier partners lined up alongside, this company is out-thinking and out-executing the competition. The executive team are proven veterans and the company expects to grow by almost 100% in 2008. Serving industries as diverse as Financial Services, Telecom, Oil & Gas, Technology and Managed Services, CiRBA’s cost-effective, optimized virtualization continues to attract global interest.

What changed? Where this job description said 'you must', I helped it say, 'you get to' at a company where 'you want to'. The old description told the candidate that they would be joining a team. The new one says they will be valued. I asked myself "what would the right candidate get, career-wise, from this job?". The answer: they get to take a young product to market for a hot company. If I was a product manager I'd be drooling. Why? Because this is the kind of role that would prep me for an even more senior or executive-level job. Bottom line: a description shouldn't hand the reader a ransom note with a list of demands. It should get them excited about the opportunity in front of them.

The single-best reason to write a good job description Chances are good (especially on Red Canary!) that the person reading your job ad is gainfully and even happily employed. Some of them will be 'A-league' talent that's not really looking, but might be curious if the job could improve their career or offered a challenge. Your description needs to be extra enticing if you're going to get even a glimmer of interest from what could be an excellent candidate.

The Counter-Argument Section But we'll be swamped with unqualified applications if we lower our standards! Just because you demonstrate why a job is great doesn't mean you can't also be stringent about what you're looking for. Good candidates want to know they will be challenged. If the job is technically demanding, say so! Besides, would you rather receive 50 resumes that are terrible and one that's perfect, or 10 resumes that hover between rotten and average? But this position is dull! So what! Is the company dull? Is the group dull? Are the customers dull? Is there no room for promotion or professional growth? There's always something about a job that's cool or promising. For example: • Would a junior find growth and professional development in this role? • How much responsibility and/or autonomy would they have? • Would a developer be building from scratch? Would a sales person benefit from a strong support team or good comp plan? Would a product manager get to own a roadmap? • Would they get to work with a particularly accomplished mentor? (Note that young musical prodigies are often described as having 'studied under Maestro so-and-so'.) • What's great about your team or product or methodology? • How is the company doing? Is there job security? • How many people have you hired recently? • Is there a good chance of promotion? • Do you have an example of someone who has moved up fast? Can they comment on the position? Are all jobs sexy? God no. Do all jobs have aspects that might tantalize the right candidate? Absolutely. I don't want people who think we owe them something It's possible that you think your company shouldn't have to write attractive, candidate-focused job descriptions. It's possible that you think people should earn their jobs and that applicants are lucky to be accepted as employees in the first place.

Don't let your job description grow up to be vapid and self-serving

Go ahead and feel that way. I'm challenging some fundamental assumptions about the nature of this whole work-for-pay thing, I admit that. I also think you're dangerously wrong. If you're saying 'but we're so-and-so company and everybody wants to work here' and your company name doesn't rhyme with frugal or dapple then I think you've been dipping into the company kool-aid.

It isn't difficult to re-write a job description. I can do it in less than an hour and my guess is that you could do a much better job with insider information. If that hour is the difference between a great candidate and one who thinks that your company is demanding and self-centred, then it is time well spent.

Red Canary's 'webpaper' 2008

Trevor Stafford — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:01:35 GMT

Canada is home to a thriving technology industry that doesn't celebrate or recognize itself as often as it should. How typically Canadian of us, eh? I hope this 'webpaper' continues to serve as a reminder of our industry's vitality and diversity, and of Red Canary's effort to shine a much-needed spotlight on great Canadian technology companies. -Trevor

If you'd your like your logo seen here, please link it in a comment below, or email it to me at editor@redcanary.ca

CTO Handbook -- How to care for and feed your CTO

Jeff Fedor — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:26:08 GMT

Borrowed with permission from Jeff Fedor, a startup veteran who writes Buzz Pressure, a bloggy blend of tech wisdom, moxy, and irreverence

. . . the VP Dev is crankier than even the crankiest of CTOs. That’s because Veeps keep it real, they shelter developers from the CTO and other C-types and in really productive cases they’re a great reality check for the CTO.

I changed the title of this article about 50 times. Some losing candidates: • Driving your VPs crazy for fun and profit - true but fenced me in too much • ”You got vision in my technology!”- with apologies to the good folks at Reese’s. A bit esoteric and again not enough latitude. • “What would you say you do around here?” — with apologies to Mike Judge (please don’t sue me!). This was a tough call but I’ll learn to love again… In both my personal and professional life I get a lot of questions around what a CTO is, exactly. Everyone knows what a CEO does (mostly). COOs execute on vision through operations. CMOs do, ah something, yeah I’m sure they do something… with uh (capital ‘M’) Marketing. That means not the t-shirts or ball caps. [Easy Biff, I’m only joking] CFOs have it easy with the lack of ambiguity in that whole finance thing. Sadly it isn’t so cut and dry for CTOs. Probably because we’ve been our worst enemies. We like having fingers in *every* pie and are slow to give up those pies. Mmmm pie. I threw this post together to try to explain what it is CTOs do, why we do it and how you need to manage a CTO up and down. Obviously this is only my personal views from being a CTO and from commiserating and hanging out with other ones, your mileage will definitely vary.

“Typing” Your CTO

You need to know what breed of CTO you’re caring for. Each of the following has different characteristics, preferences and personality traits. Although there are other “species” out in the wild, in North American software you’ll likely have one of the following beasts: • The Technical Founder - the person that wrote the code that got the company off the ground. Has sweated to give the alpha/beta/product life and as a result any criticisms are effectively received/interpreted as “Your baby is ugly! Now where’s your Corn Flakes so I can piss in them too!” Is never far from code. • The Visionary - sometimes seen as the flake without any “real” deliverables. Is never far from a whiteboard. Can write code but shouldn’t. • The Figure Head - parachuted in, probably did or was associated with something impressive in a semi-related industry. Doesn’t know most of the company but is on a first name basis with most flight crew. Is never far from PowerPoint. All of the above are neither nocturnal nor diurnal but more typically work almost all the time. A CTO tends to segment their day into multiple sessions — this is because they’re overly concerned about “flow”. This peculiar trait is challenging for the CTO both in terms of their expectations of other’s availability and similarly their responsiveness. Also unlike developers, CTOs are typically very social animals but their odd self-imposed schedules prevent ‘normal’ socialization outside of technical circles. Ironically this social trait does not translate to excellent management skills which most CTOs lack.

Related Species

VP Dev/R&D/Engineering - often confused with CTOs, VP Devs are a different breed entirely. You can typically distinguish a VP Dev from CTO from the CTOs ability to match markets with problems with game changing technology coupled with their capacity to speak coherently about deeply technical things at a level that business people can understand all the while retaining credibility with the technical folk in the room. VP Devs on the other hand can be determined by their freakish level of attention to detail and love of process (again freakish). They worry, a lot, about executing on the nutty crap their CTO (particularly “The Visionary”) just cooked up and possibly presented to a large audience and you’ve got to love them for it. As a result the VP Dev is crankier than even the crankiest of CTOs. That’s because Veeps keep it real, they shelter developers from the CTO and other C-types and in really productive cases they’re a great reality check for the CTO. Sometimes CTOs unnaturally camouflage themselves as a VP Dev until they are unconvincing in either role. CEO - strangely the CTO and CEO are allies though cross-breeding is rare. Often they travel together on migratory patterns to key customers and events and plot “vision-y” things on cocktail napkins. This drives the organization crazy but is a really, really good thing.

Daily Habits

The Technical Founder CTO largely lives their day the same way as they did when they bootstrapped the company. Although both the coffee and the food has gotten better, the Technical Founder spends less time in code which can lead to a general crankiness. Prolonged exposure to a 3 monitor setup and some uninterrupted flow makes everything good for everyone. The Visionary has 2-4 good whiteboard sessions per day all focussed on market dominance and shaking up the status quo. They then proceed to confuse everyone in the company with ad hoc discussion of their germinating ideas. They stare off to space during other conversations as they process even more tangential ideas. Visionaries get cranky where their days get stale or repetitive and need frequent trips to customers, standards body sessions or opportunities to speak at large venue conferences. The Figurehead is constantly on the “circuit”. They attend 2-4 conferences and events per month. They’re excellent golfers and they spend *a lot* of time with customers and analysts. As a result have little time for anything else. They direct the development of ghost written whitepapers and blog postings and they appear in multiple, preferably pre-recorded webcasts. The Figurehead can get a meeting with anyone — no seriously they can. The Figurehead is happiest when left to run in the wild and then and only then will the company will reap the rewards.

CTO Language

With possibly the rare exception of the CTO Technical Founder, CTOs in general think, act and speak in the big picture. Although typically they’ve plotted things out at a fairly fine grained level, they consciously generalize details. They have to do this to serve the various audiences that CTOs interact with on a daily basis. Although it may appear that they’re glossing over details, they really aren’t they just haven’t needed or more likely had the opportunity to disaggregate at a finely grained level yet. Still I haven’t met a CTO yet who hasn’t felt their latest brainchild wasn’t entirely possible but not without risk. You should know that CTOs do worry about risk but they also find risk thrilling and will naturally be drawn towards alpha and beta software (nightly builds preferred) like a moths to flame.

CTO Time

Because of the CTO’s “big picture” context, their notion of time isn’t the same as most of the organization that puts up with them. When a CTO says “Take a look at technology/concept X” it’s honestly not an immediate thing. Rather it is a topic they’re currently noodling and they want your thoughts on the subject and are testing the validity of the ideas. Remain calm and know that this is why you have a VP Dev and Product Management to shield you from the tear in the CTOs time-space continuum that makes them temporally ambiguous.

Final Guidance

In summary, a CTO is the source of big picture technical and product strategy in an organization. This is often expressed during whiteboard deathmatches or through prototypes that they quietly whip up and surprise the company with. In short, they drive innovation often while frustrating the rest of the organization. CTOs are typically the external technical voice of the company and crave inspirational contact with the external world. They thrive on variety and find solace in chaos. CTOs should not be mistaken for CIOs — a self-respecting CTO would never worry about rolling Exchange out. [Ok again, I kid.] Similarly they’re not VP Devs who actually do something tangible in an organization. Lastly CTOs are not product management though they typically do drive product strategy.

1943 Guide to Hiring Women

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:06:49 GMT

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The best of Red Canary: Editor's Picks, 2007

Trevor Stafford — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:03:58 GMT

2007 has been a great year for Red Canary. The site received a new look and vastly improved user experience in July, and over 9000 software professionals now hear from us monthly. Bells and whistles aside, a magazine is only as good as its content. In a world that's fit to burst with information (and the carnival barking that passes for marketing) I hope that Red Canary delivers on its mandate: to provide a friendly window on Canada's software industry. Here are my favourite articles from the past year. Please add yours in the comments area below. 1. Soccer, startups and fire-in-the-belly Mario Laudi makes a strong point about the kind of people who help startups succeed. 2. The Sandvine way Born in the ashes of the dot-com crash, Waterloo-based Sandvine has a unique beginning and perspective on talent. Scott Valentine tells their story well. 3. Ashok Kalle: Benevolence and good business on the 'Pathway' to success Jessica Lam crafts a fine piece about a fine human being who led Pathway communications through ups and downs and continues to give new Canadians opportunities in technology. 4. Teching the plunge: Going from a large company to a small one Three professionals talk about why they love the startup life. This article should be required reading for anyone who's considering joining a young company. 5. 290,307 reasons why this is the best marketing I've ever seen from a Canadian technology company The writer is clearly a hack, but it's hard to cloud the fact that when it comes to web-savvy marketing, Bluecat is in a class by itself. Enjoy the videos. 6. Hiring Software Testers in an Information Age Paul Carvalho presents a well-written and comprehensive document here. Even if you aren't a testing professional, this piece will give you insight into the discipline's complexity. I'm honoured that Paul shared it with Red Canary.

Talent on thin ice (or, how not to hire like the Toronto Maple Leafs)

Mario Laudi — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:57:57 GMT

I love comparing emerging companies to sports teams, and when the Globe & Mail ran this great article explaining why the Maple Leafs can't win a Stanley Cup, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to draw some parallels. The article's author, Alex Shprintsen, thinks there's a good reason why the Leafs have been so mediocre for so long: They really don't have an eye for talent. He goes on to prove that in spite of having roughly the same number of first round picks over the last 20 NHL seasons, the Buds have drafted more under-performers than any other team. His remedy is pure common sense:

"…the Leafs' simplest solution is to spend their money to raid the scouting staffs of the most successful teams."

In other words, change the people who choose the players. BUILD TO WIN IN HOCKEY -- AND IN TECH Assembling the best team, whether for a hockey club or a software company, is a matter of recognizing intangibles and potential. Many first-round NHL picks don’t become stars or even regular players, while some late-round or undrafted ‘projects’ become Hall-of-Famers. Regardless of the product, winning organizations have the ability to 'see' people in a different light. Take a moment to think about your company. How many people have enough hiring experience to know a winner when they see one? How is talent scouted and evaluated? Are you a slave to cost-per-hire? Let me paraphrase Mr. Shprintsen’s argument. “… [your company]’s simplest solution is to hire people who know how to spot talent” DONT FOLLOW GOOD PICKS WITH BAD: From where I sit, many tech CEOs hire like the Leafs: they recruit their big, executive guns based on ROI and evaluate the rest based on cost. For example, they'll pay a headhunter to find a VP (a free-agent signing) then ask that VP to make do with whoever the recruiting department digs up. If you want to build a winner, don't just say that people are your most important asset. Walk the talk. Revisit not only 'who' does your hiring, but 'how' and you'll separate the winners from the rest of the pack. Whether you're talking about depth charts or org charts… the competitor with the most talented team usually wins. Go Leafs!

Fun from Red Canary

One Red Question: What advice would you give to a young graduate starting a tech career?

Halloween Quiz!

Product Management Survey and Work | Life results!

Welcome to Red Canary’s Product Management Survey and Work | Life results

One Red Question: If you had one job-related wish, what would it be?

INTERACTIVE Rank Canada's top 20 'Web 2.0' companies

Say what? Collected quotes from two+ years of canary duty

Humour

"Rule number one: I don’t work with assholes"

Start-up Lessons

"Get out from behind John A. MacDonald’s skirts and get onto the world stage. Use a global yardstick not a "provincal" one!"

"Shut up and execute."

People

"Hire intelligent, creative, kickass people. You shouldn’t care about what language they know or whether you have a position that’s right for them."

"Don’t shy away from uber-talent because of compensation. If Michael Jordan wanted to play for you, would you pay him for it? What’s winning worth to you?" Mario Laudi 7 hiring tips for startups

Careers

"Because programmers don’t usually think in terms of careers, they often get blown from job to job like a leaf in a gale, until they find themselves in a dead end job with nowhere to go, and wonder 'how did I get here?"

To Benin and Back

Togo, to go.

A false start

25k becomes 110k

Don't leave home without h2o

An International financial crisis

One Red Question: What are your favourite technology-related bookmarks?

Crayon Physics demonstration (VIDEO)

It's not you, it's me: A blind date guide to job descriptions that don't suck

Red Canary's 'webpaper' 2008

CTO Handbook -- How to care for and feed your CTO

“Typing” Your CTO

Related Species

Daily Habits

CTO Language

CTO Time

Final Guidance

1943 Guide to Hiring Women

The best of Red Canary: Editor's Picks, 2007

Talent on thin ice (or, how not to hire like the Toronto Maple Leafs)

"Don’t shy away from uber-talent because of compensation. If Michael Jordan wanted to play for you, would you pay him for it? What’s winning worth to you?"
Mario Laudi
7 hiring tips for startups