The CTO Playbook
By Adam Horner
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Episodes: 73
Description
Join Adam Horner, a CTO with over 30 years in the tech industry, on The CTO Playbook — the podcast dedicated to helping CTOs excel. Perfect for CTOs and tech leaders navigating the complexities of their roles, each episode offers clear insights, innovative strategies, and practical advice from top leaders in tech.
With Adam’s extensive experience mentoring engineers and tech leaders, and over a decade as a CTO, you’ll gain the tools and knowledge to build and refine your own CTO playbook. Whether you're tackling complex projects, fostering innovation, leading teams, or shaping your company's tech strategy, this podcast is your go-to resource.
Adam’s journey from engineer to strategic CTO was challenging. He learned through the school of hard knocks, making avoidable mistakes and facing countless challenges. Often out of his comfort zone and wishing for more guidance, he created this podcast to provide the support and advice he once lacked.
Tune in for engaging interviews, leadership tips, and the latest in technology strategy. Each episode is designed to help you lead with confidence and level up as a CTO.
Listen now to start your journey with The CTO Playbook and build your own playbook to excel in your role.
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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73: How Avalanche Rescue Taught Me to Lead Calmly in Crisis | Leadership Lessons for CTOs
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Dec 09, 2025 |
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72: Why OKRs Fail — and What to Use Instead (with Radhika Dutt)
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Dec 02, 2025 |
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71: The Real Reason Digital Transformations Fail — It’s Not Technology or People
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Nov 25, 2025 |
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70: A Better Way to Explain Your Platform to Non-Technical Executives
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Nov 17, 2025 |
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69: Breaking Free from Vendor Lock-In: A New Playbook for Modernising Legacy Systems
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Nov 10, 2025 |
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68: Startups, AI, and the Funding Reset: What Investors Really Want in 2025
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Nov 04, 2025 |
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67: People, Process, Technology: The Leadership Formula Every CTO Needs
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Oct 28, 2025 |
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66: CTO Playbook: Leading Change Without Chaos — Giorgia Prestento
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Oct 20, 2025 |
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65: Unrealistic Planning, Broken Collaboration — and How to Fix Both
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Oct 13, 2025 |
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64: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There — CTO Leadership with Catherine Stagg-Macey
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Oct 06, 2025 |
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63: How Corey Hart Scaled a Crisis Team Fast — Without Losing Trust
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Sep 29, 2025 |
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62: Tech Debt Is Killing Your Team — Here’s What to Do About It
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Sep 22, 2025 |
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61: Why I Coach CTOs: Lessons from Avalanches, Startups, and Rebuilding Teams
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Sep 15, 2025 |
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60: What Do You Do When No One’s Watching? The Truth About Proactive Leadership
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Sep 08, 2025 |
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59: The Future of the CTO: Etienne de Bruin on Leadership, Liquid & Lasting Impact
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Sep 01, 2025 |
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58: You’re Not Leading If You’re Not Listening – Wesley Eugene on Empathy and Influence
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Aug 25, 2025 |
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57: Why Leaders Fail to Grow — Even When They’re Doing Everything ‘Right’
|
Aug 18, 2025 |
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56: 14 Things Great CTOs Stop Doing (And You Should Too)
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Aug 11, 2025 |
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55: CTO Leadership Secrets: The Power of IQ, EQ, and FQ with Faris Aranki
|
Aug 04, 2025 |
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54: CTO Secrets to Scaling Fast: Lessons from COVID, Culture & Code with Peter Wong
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Jul 28, 2025 |
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53: Why Most Tech Managers Fail at Feedback (and How Top CTOs Fix It)
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Jul 21, 2025 |
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52: How to lead with presence: 5 habits every technology leader needs
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Jul 14, 2025 |
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51: Leadership, Change & Stillness: What Tech Leaders Can Learn from Hiking
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Jul 07, 2025 |
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50: From Chaos to Clarity: Using KPIs to Protect, Persuade, and Prioritize as CTO
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Jun 30, 2025 |
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49: What’s the Point of Your Tech Team? Why Most CEOs are Missing the Signals
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Jun 23, 2025 |
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48: Why great CTOs slow down to think, and see what others can’t
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Jun 16, 2025 |
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47: The Future of Distributed Architecture and Durable Execution with Temporal CTO, Maxim Fateev
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Jun 09, 2025 |
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46: The CEO’s Playbook for Hiring the Right CTO with Warren Beazley
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Jun 02, 2025 |
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45: From Crisis to Clarity: Rob Kalwarowsky’s Playbook for Transformational Leadership
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May 26, 2025 |
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44: The tech behind the scenes at The CTO Playbook
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May 19, 2025 |
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43:The CTO’s Guide to Performance-First Architecture with Victor Nicollet (Lokad CTO)
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May 12, 2025 |
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42: From Chaos to Clarity: 9 Principles for Leading in a World of Citizen Developers
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May 05, 2025 |
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41: Steel Thread, Event Storming & Target Architectures — Zac Beckman's Guide to Predictable Delivery
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Apr 28, 2025 |
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40: Mastering the Art of Influence: How to Get Executive Buy-In for Your Big Ideas
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Apr 21, 2025 |
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39: Preparing for the Jump From CTO to CEO with Andre Louca
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Apr 14, 2025 |
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38: Why Cultural Transformation Fails (And How CTOs Can Get It Right) with Eric Johannsen
|
Apr 07, 2025 |
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37: Scaling, Strategy & Survival: The CTO Playbook for Large Enterprises with Sarah Greasley
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Mar 31, 2025 |
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36: The CTO’s Guide to Managing Large Engineering Teams Effectively
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Mar 25, 2025 |
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35: Why Scaling a Company Feels Impossible (And How to Do It Anyway) with Kevin Howren
|
Mar 18, 2025 |
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34: The Five CTO Archetypes: Which One Are You?
|
Mar 11, 2025 |
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33: The Fractional CTO Formula for Success with Dan Gwalter
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Mar 04, 2025 |
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32: How to Run 1:1s That Actually Improve Performance
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Feb 25, 2025 |
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31: The Fatal Flaw of 10x Developers (Here’s What Actually Matters)
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Feb 18, 2025 |
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30: How to Align Data, Teams, and Strategy for Business Success: Ritavan's Framework
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Feb 11, 2025 |
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29: How to Scale a Developer-First Startup with Daniel Jarjoura
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Feb 04, 2025 |
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28: The No.1 Reason Startups Fail and How to Avoid It with Dr. Georgios Christou
|
Jan 28, 2025 |
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27: How to Stop Hiring the Wrong People with Stephan Schmidt
|
Jan 20, 2025 |
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26: Microsoft Insider Reveals The Biggest Leadership Mistakes with Dave Wascha
|
Jan 14, 2025 |
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25: Step-by-Step Guide to Hiring and Onboarding
|
Jan 07, 2025 |
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24: War-Time Lessons Every Startup Leader Must Know with Roman Labunsky
|
Dec 31, 2024 |
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23: Two CTOs Face Off in a Christmas Showdown
|
Dec 24, 2024 |
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22: The Secret to Leading Diverse Tech Teams with Alena Ipanova
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Dec 17, 2024 |
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21: 4 Steps to Becoming a Leader Worth Following with Adrian Stanek
|
Dec 10, 2024 |
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20: How to Master Communication for Effective Leadership
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Dec 03, 2024 |
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19: Tech Leaders Need Empathy, Not Just Code with Gareth Thomas
|
Nov 26, 2024 |
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18: Coaching Managers for Excellence with Zach Goldberg
|
Nov 19, 2024 |
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17: Funding Success Made Simple with Thorgeir Einarsson
|
Nov 12, 2024 |
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16: How to Build an Engineering Strategy that Scales Without Wasting Resources
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Nov 05, 2024 |
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15: The Hidden Threats Facing Product And Tech Leaders with Todd Zino
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Oct 29, 2024 |
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14: Blueprint for Growing Global, Remote-First Engineering Teams with Magnus Lenngren
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Oct 21, 2024 |
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13: How To Network and Build Powerful Connections with Zoe Cunningham
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Oct 14, 2024 |
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12: Upgrade Your Bitcoin Knowledge (2024 Edition) with Adem Bilican
|
Oct 12, 2024 |
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11: The Parable of the Firefighter CTO
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Sep 30, 2024 |
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10: The Five S's for Delivering Technical Presentations with Dipak Mistry
|
Sep 23, 2024 |
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9: How Being a Friendly Leader Could Be Stifling Your Innovation with Carol Palombini
|
Sep 16, 2024 |
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8: How to Cross the CTO Chasm (and Why Most Don’t Make It Across!)
|
Sep 09, 2024 |
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7: How Empathy Drives Change (Innovation Tips for CTOs) with Daniel Walters
|
Sep 02, 2024 |
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6: Strategies for a Healthy CTO-CPO Relationship with John Broome
|
Aug 26, 2024 |
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5: What Kind of CTO are YOU?
|
Aug 19, 2024 |
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4: The 2 Most Critical Components of a CTO Career with Andy Skipper
|
Aug 12, 2024 |
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3: 5 Steps to Land Your Dream CTO Role with Warren Beazley
|
Aug 05, 2024 |
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2: The Key Relationship That Drives Startup Growth with Steven Renwick
|
Jul 29, 2024 |
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1: My Story on How I Learned to Thrive as a CTO
|
Jul 11, 2024 |