How CTOs and CEOs Should Negotiate Technical Trade-Offs
Why does a sprint report hide what matters?
A status report answers whether the feature is done and the sprint is on track. That is a transient signal. A state report answers whether the technical asset is getting healthier or sicker, and whether the company's capacity to change is increasing or decreasing. The CTO who only reports status leaves the CEO operating on incomplete information.
How should a CEO and CTO negotiate a feature that carries Sync Tax?
The CEO hired experts to say what the technical boundaries are, not to be overridden. Put the full price on the table: if a feature costs $10,000 in direct work and $40,000 in Sync Tax, the CEO decides whether that feature is worth $50,000, not $10,000. The Sync Tax multiplier is the shared language. A CTO who cannot say no is a tax on the company's future.
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