Modern CTO

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 best managers are the ones who never wanted the job.

Today, we're talking to Rajeev Rajan, CTO at Atlassian. We discuss why developer joy outperforms productivity as an engineering goal, how the best managers are the ones who never wanted the job, and why every leadership playbook you've built stops working the moment your team grows.

All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! 

To learn more about Atlassian, check out their 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.

Before you open another Google Docs, you need to hear this episode.

Today, we're talking to Anand Narasimhan, CTO at S Docs. We discuss why organizations pay $94,000 in compliance penalties due to documentation errors, how 57% of employees bypass official tools when under deadline pressure, and why automation must come before autonomous AI in enterprise workflows.



All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! 

Thank you to S-Docs for sponsoring this episode. To learn more, check out their 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