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Tag: ctobook

  • The Evolution of the 50/25 Meeting Format: Why Starting Late is the New On-Time

    Introduction: An Updated Perspective on Time Management In a continuous quest to boost workplace effectiveness, it’s useful to revisit our approaches. Ten years ago, while working as CTO at The New York Times, I advocated the 50/25 Meeting Format. The premise was straightforward: shave off a few minutes from each meeting to enhance focus and…

  • From Vision & Concept in 2017 to Reality in 2023: The Evolution of AI in Journalism

    How AI can help with news storytelling In 2017, I shared my vision of how AI could revolutionize journalism by empowering journalists to create personalized storytelling experiences for readers. Back then, as chief technology & product officer at The Wall Street Journal, I envisioned AI crafting customized versions of a news story for different reader…

  • Why Vector Databases & Embeddings Used for Prompt Context are Limited for Personalized AI Assistants

    As an artificial intelligence enthusiast who has been working in the technology and media industries all my career, I have seen the rise of personal AI assistants and their increasing popularity. In May 2023, I developed and released Ragbot.AI, an open source AI assistant powered by large language models. Like other AI assistants powered by…

  • Roles and Responsibilities for Digital Product Development Teams

    Roles and Responsibilities for Digital Product Development Teams

    I’m writing this article to share some insights on a topic that’s been crucial throughout my professional journey – Roles and Responsibilities in Digital Product Development. Over the years, I’ve been part of numerous product development processes in media companies and startups, which has helped me understand the integral role of structured processes and well-defined…

  • The Neural Network Revolution: Why AI Will Make Traditional Databases Obsolete

    The Neural Network Revolution: Why AI Will Make Traditional Databases Obsolete

    The evolution of data storage and management has seen a significant shift in recent years. Traditional databases like relational and NoSQL have long been the backbone of data-driven industries, but as we enter the era of artificial intelligence, the limitations of these systems are becoming clear. Drawing upon my own experiences at companies like The…

  • The Many Hats of Product Managers: Their Indispensable Hands-On Roles as Individual Contributors

    Introduction Throughout my career at large companies and startups, I’ve worked closely with many talented product managers and leaders. Their dedication and expertise have been invaluable in driving the success of our products at companies including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal where I worked as CTO and CTO & Chief Product…

  • Activities, Outputs, and Outcomes — A framework for your job

    This is a framework for understanding, describing, and performing your job duties, roles, and responsibilities. You can use this as a template to create a useful job description that you would actually use while you are in a job. It divides a job into three categories: activities, outputs, and outcomes. To be successful in your…

  • An Example of Respectfully Declining a Meeting at Work That is Already in Your Calendar

    Here is an example of how to respectfully decline a meeting to make time to work on a higher priority. We occasionally find ourselves in meetings when our time could be better spent doing something else of greater value. I previously wrote about how to respond to and politely decline meeting invitations. This post is about…

  • The Future of Journalism: How AI Can Assist Journalists and Create Compelling Storytelling Experiences

    The future of journalism is approaching, and it will be powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Throughout my career in news media, I’ve explored how AI can enhance journalism to create captivating storytelling experiences that not only engage readers but also encourage them to become paying subscribers. The Traditional Approach to Journalism Traditionally, journalism has followed…

  • Management & Technical Career Growth Tracks (v3)

    In follow-up to earlier work on a) versions one and two of these technical and related career tracks, b) pathways for career development in product engineering, c) job titles, and d)  employee evaluation & career development, here is an updated version three of the career growth tracks. This version 3 includes software engineering & architecture,…

  • How to be an effective CTO

    How to be an effective CTO

    A CTO’s job combines Culture, Technology, and Operations. Each of the three is necessary; a field of knowledge, experimentation, and learning in itself; and interdependent with the other two. To be successful as a CTO, you need to work on and continually master all three areas. If you’d like to see the responsibilities of a…

  • 90 Day Plan for a CTO in a New Job

    90 Day Plan for a CTO in a New Job

    This is a checklist for a new CTO, head of Product, or leader in a similar role starting in a new job. It is meant to kickstart continuous improvement in your product engineering organization. I encourage you to take a scientific test and learn approach to everything you do. You should customize this template based…