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Let's exploit the fact that this article goes out on Christmas for a light read about the 𝐂𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐞. Did you become a grumpy tech leader? Without planning it, you've ended up in a position you don't really like? Let's quickly see how it happens to many good people.

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DRY is a rule every engineer knows, but so many leaders forget. We get stuck in loops, going through the same mistakes and wrong moves, expecting the same action to have a different result. Let's discuss DRY leadership.

- Why “vibe-based leadership” is dangerous - How to ask for evidence of problems and solutions - What metrics and signals actually matter - 4 underused types of evidence every exec should rely on https://t.co/QbzkUiXELp

In this video, I break down how evidence-based leadership can transform your decision-making and force your team to level up their thinking too.

We run organizations based on gut feelings, hand-wavy statements, and alignment theater. “Morale is low.” “Tech debt is killing us.” “We need to hire.” Cool story. Where’s the evidence?

Italian progress: actually made people laugh this week, including a pun in Italian! Love it when I'm able to use a bit of my humor. Also, always glad when I find the right word/idiom and people are positively surprised. Piano piano!

Stiamo imparando come giocare i giochi italiani di carte come briscola e scopa. Devo chiedervi: gli italiani davvero calcolano la primiera a scopa quando giocano a casa?

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Working with tech executives, one thing becomes obvious very quickly: the CEO relationship is the most important one you have, second only to Product. And yet, it’s often fragile, strained, or quietly dysfunctional. Even among co‑founders. It doesn’t have to be that way.

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A surefire way to set tech leaders to fail, whether you are one or manage one, is not defining what the role actually entails. "CTO" is essentially a wildcard title by now, though the rest aren't much better. Let's be deliberate about what you DO.

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Of course you care about the team, but sometimes we let that care get in our way. We confuse caring for them with coddling and overprotection, which results in teams that happily and calmly go on their merry paths for mediocrity (or worse). More in this week's podcast!

Lighting the first candle, last night at Piazza Barberini, Rome. One day, we'll be able to do this without dozens of police officers locking us behind barricades for protection, my daughter repeatedly asking if it's safe, and people discussing where it's less risky to stand. 🕎🇮🇱

Trigger Warning ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️ This is what ‘globalize the intifada’ looks like.

5 months into this Rome move, I still get stuck in front of an aisle at the supermarket trying to make sense of a shelf of a type of sausage, cheese, snack, etc. I've never heard of. I need Hello Fresh but just with a weekly interesting local recipe to try at home myself.