Modern CTO

Here's what decisive AI leadership ACTUALLY looks like in practice. Today, we're talking to Dan Cardinal, CTO at Beghou, about how he's using tools like Blitzy to achieve 80% autonomous project completion at scale. We discuss how caution in sensitive industries like healthcare shapes AI adoption, why human-in-the-loop controls are non-negotiable for production AI at scale, and how one skeptic went all-in on AI-powered development and came out a believer. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! To learn more about Beghou, check out their website here. To learn more about Blitzy, check out their website here.

It’s not just the bad guys who need to hide anymore. Today, we're talking to Guy Kawasaki, legendary Apple evangelist and Chief Evangelist at Canva. We discuss why everybody has something to hide in the digital age, how metadata reveals far more than most people realize, and why Signal is the most practical step you can take to protect your privacy and security right now. Email Guy at everybodyhassomethingtohide@gmail.com for a free copy of the book! All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! To learn more about Guy's latest book, check it out here.

Things are changing faster than ever, but don’t let it affect your team. Today, we're talking to Ashley Goodall, leadership expert and bestselling author. We discuss why the management obsession with change is harming the people it's meant to help, how constant reorganization leads to learned helplessness and quiet quitting, and why the real goal should never be just change. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast!

From chip design at Bell Laboratories to…the world's #1 Venn diagram comedian?? Today, we're talking to Don McMillan, comedian and former chip designer at Bell Laboratories. We discuss how burning out in Silicon Valley led him to pursue stand-up comedy full time, why having an engineering mindset made him a better comedian, and how a random radio caller unknowingly changed the entire trajectory of his life. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! To learn more about Don and his tour schedule, check out his website here

The biggest lie we were ever sold: hard work alone gets you the promotion. Today, we're talking to Rob Kalwarowsky, bestselling author and leadership coach. We discuss why writing down your goal increases the probability of achieving it to 43%, how the people above you can't promote you for a job you've never told them you want, and why working hard and letting the results speak for themselves is the biggest lie you've ever been taught. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! To learn more about Rob's work, check out his website here.

This theory explains how AI agents can make promises and build trust… with other agents. Today, we're talking to Doctor Mark Burgess, the originator of Promise Theory, and Tony Davis, Senior Director of Agentic Strategy at A&I Solutions. We discuss why command-and-control fails with autonomous AI agents, how agents respond to peer rejection instead of human disapproval, and why Promise Theory is the backbone of governing agentic workforces. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! Thank you to A&I Solutions for sponsoring this episode. To learn more, check out their website her

The man behind NVIDIA is unlike any other leader today. Today, we're talking to Stephen Witt, author of The Thinking Machine. We discuss how he lied his way into six interviews with Jensen Huang, why NVIDIA operates like a company that's thirty days from bankruptcy despite being worth trillions, and how Jensen's decade-long bet on the $0 market created the backbone of the AI revolution. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! To learn more about Stephen Witt and to buy his book, check out his website here.