Jozua Velle

At the end of last year, I embarked on the Digital MBA for Technology Leaders at CTO Academy. My primary learning goal for this year is to complete the program and earn the certificate. A big thank you to Itineris for supporting me on this incredible learning journey. Today, I reached the 50% completion mark, making it a perfect time to reflect on what I’ve learned so far. Firstly, the format of micro lectures combined with additional reading materials makes this course manageable even with a busy schedule. It allows me to start experimenting with the new knowledge in my daily life and work right away. So far, I’ve completed the following modules and gained key insights from each. Leadership & Team This module covers various aspects of leadership and team management, including strategic thinking, team building, effective communication, self-leadership, decision-making, empathy, crisis management, and change management.  Key Insights Leadership is not just about technical skills but also about strategic vision, interpersonal skills, and understanding perceptions. Effective communication and empathy are crucial for building trust and motivating teams. Self-leadership is essential for personal growth and encouraging others to take ownership. Decision-making should balance intuition, data-driven analysis, and collaboration. Psychological safety and a diverse, inclusive environment are vital for team success and innovation. The Business This module covers various aspects of business strategy, including commercial strategy, CEO and investor interests, growth importance, top-down drivers, innovation, business continuity and disaster recovery Key Insights Competitive Analysis: Understanding Porter’s five forces and SWOT analysis is crucial for assessing market competition and identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats Valuation Methods: Different methods like times-revenue and earnings multiplier are used to determine a company’s value, with EBITDA being a common metric Organizational Culture: Building a strong internal brand culture fosters better relationships, attracts and retains talent, and ensures employees share the company’s vision Compliance: Adhering to rules, regulations, and ethical practices is essential for maintaining business continuity, reputation, and safeguarding employees Tech Strategy and Business Goals This module outlines the alignment of technology strategy with business goals. It emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision, mission, value network, and strategy to guide the company’s actions and decisions Key Insights Vision answers why the company does what it does in a resilient, inclusive, inspiring, concise, and service-oriented way Mission answers what the company does (goals) Strategy answers how the company will achieve its goals (roadmap) Common mistakes include not giving enough time to understand the strategy, not adapting to its morphological nature, setting unrealistic goals, and overly detailed plans that inflict confusion Personal Development This module emphasizes the importance of continuous personal development and growth for successful people and effective leaders. Key Insights Tiny Gains and continuous improvement: Making small changes (the 1% rule) and improvements every day with the expectation that those small improvements will add up to something significant Self-Reflection: Reflecting on personal development priorities and impactful areas that need focus Overcoming Barriers: Identifying and overcoming common reasons that hold individuals back from making changes, such as self-doubt, fear of failure, and imposter syndrome Five more modules to go! #letsdothis Note: Feel free to message me if you’re interested in experiencing the same journey. I can provide you with a referral link that offers a 10% discount.