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The Rapid Evolution of How We Interface with Models (And The Elephant Paths We Tread)

On Elephant Paths, AI-models and The Unfolding Mystery of How We Will Eventually Interface with Them.
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Improving OKRs
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How leaders should invest their time: Walters' Lever of Improvement
 • Daniel Walters
A CTO's Guide to Time Management
 • Daniel Walters
OKRs vs. KPIs: How CTOs Can Leverage Both for Lasting Improvement
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Recent posts

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When the AI Behemoths Stumble, AI-Assisted Development Will Still March On
Even if the AI giants fall, AI-assisted development won’t—because the real shift is in how we build, not who powers it.
 • 
Daniel Walters
Stop Pretending Your Code Is a Stradivarius
Most code isn’t crafted for the symphony—so why are you still carving it by hand?
 • 
Daniel Walters
Should CTOs stop hiring and focus on AI?
I've had this question from several CEOs. In some cases they shrunk in last year's tough economy. In other cases they have new funding but are deciding…
 • 
Daniel Walters
Rethinking the Advice: When CTOs Should Stay “On the Tools” in the Age of AI-Assisted Development
What if the smartest move for today’s CTO isn’t stepping away from the code—but stepping back into it, strategically?
 • 
Daniel Walters
3
Reclaiming Focus: Why SaaS Fatigue Is Fueling the Rise of AI Agents
Drowning in logins, scattered SaaS tools, and overpriced subscriptions? Here’s how AI agents are quietly dismantling the old software stack.
 • 
Daniel Walters
1
Has AI Finally Made Fred Brooks' Surgical Team a Reality?
What if one developer could outperform a team—not by working harder, but by working with AI as their surgical support crew?
 • 
Daniel Walters
Wondering How to Support AI Adoption? A Guide for Leaders.
Not everyone is exploring how AI can help them improve productivity or enhance products or address entirely new market opportunities. How can an…
 • 
Daniel Walters
Paid Subscribers Only: When Budgets Are Tight – A Leader’s Guide to Amplifying Software Product Engineering Impact
In the past year, rising interest rates and shifting market confidence have created a cost-conscious environment, pushing organisations to do more with…
 • 
Daniel Walters
Is AI-assisted Coding About Augmenting or Replacing Devs And Does the Distinction Even Matter?
There's rhetoric I've heard a lot recently where well-meaning people seek to clarify that AI-assisted development is about augmentation not replacement…
 • 
Daniel Walters
You Can't Assess AI-assisted Development Through Theory Or Tyre-kicking Alone
I see people forming views about the impact of AI-assisted development with a primarily theoretical lens or from early experiences using AI development…
 • 
Daniel Walters
What Principles Might Change In AI-assisted Software Development?
Some firmly held notions in software development may break as the automation promises of AI take hold. Let's explore some of these and take some…
 • 
Daniel Walters
A response to 'By what means? Management without objectives'
Readers may have noticed that I had been having a discussion with Martin Chesbrough about OKRs. You may have missed a long comment of mine on his blog…
 • 
Daniel Walters
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The Rapid Evolution of How We Interface with Models (And The Elephant Paths We Tread)
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Great CTO - Dedicated to helping CTOs thrive.
Great CTO - Dedicated to helping CTOs thrive.
A resource for tech leaders: Be a more helpful leader by giving teams the context they need to do their best work: practical advice and proven practices for CTOs by an experienced CTO and CTO Coach.

Leadership

View all
The Rapid Evolution of How We Interface with Models (And The Elephant Paths We Tread)
On Elephant Paths, AI-models and The Unfolding Mystery of How We Will Eventually Interface with Them.
 • 
Daniel Walters
When the AI Behemoths Stumble, AI-Assisted Development Will Still March On
Even if the AI giants fall, AI-assisted development won’t—because the real shift is in how we build, not who powers it.
 • 
Daniel Walters
Should CTOs stop hiring and focus on AI?
I've had this question from several CEOs. In some cases they shrunk in last year's tough economy. In other cases they have new funding but are deciding…
 • 
Daniel Walters
Rethinking the Advice: When CTOs Should Stay “On the Tools” in the Age of AI-Assisted Development
What if the smartest move for today’s CTO isn’t stepping away from the code—but stepping back into it, strategically?
 • 
Daniel Walters
3
Has AI Finally Made Fred Brooks' Surgical Team a Reality?
What if one developer could outperform a team—not by working harder, but by working with AI as their surgical support crew?
 • 
Daniel Walters

Focus with goals (OKR etc.)

View all
A response to 'By what means? Management without objectives'
Readers may have noticed that I had been having a discussion with Martin Chesbrough about OKRs. You may have missed a long comment of mine on his blog…
 • 
Daniel Walters
Multiple Points of Coherence can Help People be More Confident They are Aligned
In performance measurement and goal setting, the pattern of separating the goal from the evidence of progress has another benefit: testing and…
 • 
Daniel Walters
'Are OKRs Management Malpractice?' Part 5: How practitioners and OKR experts recommend OKRs be practised is poorly understood outside those…
There's been an evolution of OKRs are recommended to be practiced over the last decade but this shift is more apparent within the OKR practitioner…
 • 
Daniel Walters
2
'Are OKRs Management Malpractice?' Part 4: It strongly depends on what you hire OKRs for—management vs alignment.
OKRs appear to present a solution for two distinct needs of executives. One enables the empowerment of their teams, and the other is something much more…
 • 
Daniel Walters
'Are OKRs Management Malpractice?' Part 3: The worst forms of OKRs may be the most popular.
The growth in OKR's popularity attracts the certification industrial complex and tool vendors keen to cash in on the interest. Bad managers reach for…
 • 
Daniel Walters

Temperate AI - posts that cut past the hype through to practical application of AI

View all
Stop Pretending Your Code Is a Stradivarius
Most code isn’t crafted for the symphony—so why are you still carving it by hand?
 • 
Daniel Walters
Should CTOs stop hiring and focus on AI?
I've had this question from several CEOs. In some cases they shrunk in last year's tough economy. In other cases they have new funding but are deciding…
 • 
Daniel Walters
Rethinking the Advice: When CTOs Should Stay “On the Tools” in the Age of AI-Assisted Development
What if the smartest move for today’s CTO isn’t stepping away from the code—but stepping back into it, strategically?
 • 
Daniel Walters
3
Reclaiming Focus: Why SaaS Fatigue Is Fueling the Rise of AI Agents
Drowning in logins, scattered SaaS tools, and overpriced subscriptions? Here’s how AI agents are quietly dismantling the old software stack.
 • 
Daniel Walters
1
Has AI Finally Made Fred Brooks' Surgical Team a Reality?
What if one developer could outperform a team—not by working harder, but by working with AI as their surgical support crew?
 • 
Daniel Walters

CTO

View all
The Rapid Evolution of How We Interface with Models (And The Elephant Paths We Tread)
On Elephant Paths, AI-models and The Unfolding Mystery of How We Will Eventually Interface with Them.
 • 
Daniel Walters
When the AI Behemoths Stumble, AI-Assisted Development Will Still March On
Even if the AI giants fall, AI-assisted development won’t—because the real shift is in how we build, not who powers it.
 • 
Daniel Walters
Should CTOs stop hiring and focus on AI?
I've had this question from several CEOs. In some cases they shrunk in last year's tough economy. In other cases they have new funding but are deciding…
 • 
Daniel Walters
Rethinking the Advice: When CTOs Should Stay “On the Tools” in the Age of AI-Assisted Development
What if the smartest move for today’s CTO isn’t stepping away from the code—but stepping back into it, strategically?
 • 
Daniel Walters
3
Has AI Finally Made Fred Brooks' Surgical Team a Reality?
What if one developer could outperform a team—not by working harder, but by working with AI as their surgical support crew?
 • 
Daniel Walters
Wondering How to Support AI Adoption? A Guide for Leaders.
Not everyone is exploring how AI can help them improve productivity or enhance products or address entirely new market opportunities. How can an…
 • 
Daniel Walters
Paid Subscribers Only: When Budgets Are Tight – A Leader’s Guide to Amplifying Software Product Engineering Impact
In the past year, rising interest rates and shifting market confidence have created a cost-conscious environment, pushing organisations to do more with…
 • 
Daniel Walters
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