# Modern CTO 2022-01-23 | `leadership` `team-management` `software-design` `communication` > 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. --- 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. These are the topics you'll find in the book: #### A Modern CTO knows... - Developers are not CTOs - The spaghetti code MVP epidemic - Over-engineering is a problem - Whether to hire, buy, or out-build their competitor - How not to scale prematurely - How to solve any problem - How to work with programers when you aren't one - UX mistakes to watch out for - When to speak up - When to hire & fire consultants - How to analyze failure - How to bounce back from unforeseen constraints - Answer the question: "How difficult is it to code...?" - How to avoid the "bottom of the ninth" guy - When to respond to feedback - How to validate an expert in any field - How to effectively communicate complex ideas ### Favorite quotes > If I rest on past achievements, I'll never grow. > LEVERAGE OTHERS' EXPERIENCE Books condense a lifetime of experience into a few hours' read. Powerful right? > There are only two reasons you write bad code: > > 1)You know how to write good code, but you choose to write bad code. > 2)You don't know how to write good code. And both suck. > As the CTO, you must have a business focus. > Always return to your core goals. [...] I make sure each core goal has a clearly defined "why?" behind it, this way > if I ever get lost, I go back to my "why." -- Reference to "[Start with Why](/readings/start-with-why)" by Simon Sinek. > When you're the boss, remember this golden rule: Ask people what they think instead of telling them what to do. > If I can't asses the human component, I can't lead a team. [...] Team composition carries as much or perhaps even > greater weight than programming expertise. > As CTO, if you can't explain value simply, it means you don't understand the business value behind your technology.