DZone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
Refcards Trend Reports Events Over 2 million developers have joined DZone. Join Today! Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile Manage Email Subscriptions Moderation Admin Console How to Post to DZone Article Submission Guidelines
View Profile
Sign Out
Refcards
Trend Reports
Events
Zones
Culture and Methodologies Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Partner Zones AWS Cloud
by AWS Developer Relations
Culture and Methodologies
Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering
AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture
Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding
Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Partner Zones
AWS Cloud
by AWS Developer Relations

Should the CIO Know How to Code?

Steven Lott user avatar by
Steven Lott
·
May. 02, 12 · Interview
Like (0)
Save
Tweet
Share
12.77K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free
Read this Computerworld posting: Should the CIO know how to code?

The answer is "Yes."

The examples of "well-functioning non-technical CIOs" are people as rare as hen's teeth.  "These are leaders who know what they don't know. They are good at asking the right questions, probing for further insight, and then re-framing the answers in such a way that the business side will understand".

I'm sure there are people like this.  In the last 35 years, I've met very, very few.  Two actually.

Larry and Chuck are the two examples.

Larry knew what he didn't know.  He took the time to actually sit with actual developers and actually watch them work.  It was weird the first time he sat and watched you type.  But without deep knowledge, he couldn't be sure the projects would get done.  So he allocated an hour or more each day to sit with key developers and learn.

Chuck did essentially the kind of thing.  He sat with each developer individually every single day.  He did not have all-hands meetings that lasted hours.  He did not have an "around the table" where everyone spent 20 minutes boring the entire rest of the team with irrelevant details.

Could they code?

Essentially, yes.  They looked at code over a developer's shoulder.  They participated in a form of "pair programming" where they watched code happen.  By themselves they couldn't code much.  As pair programmers, however, they could work with another programmer and get stuff done.

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Popular on DZone

  • Multi-Cloud Integration
  • gRPC on the Client Side
  • Container Security: Don't Let Your Guard Down
  • Steel Threads Are a Technique That Will Make You a Better Engineer

Comments

Partner Resources

X

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Send feedback
  • Careers
  • Sitemap

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Become a Contributor
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 600 Park Offices Drive
  • Suite 300
  • Durham, NC 27709
  • support@dzone.com
  • +1 (919) 678-0300

Let's be friends: