I had to develop these skills to be successful as a manager and a leader.

I knew if I want to be a CTO, a chief technology officer,

that didn't simply mean I was a good programmer.

In fact, I'm a worse programmer today than when I spent most of my week coding.

But I needed to learn how to hire people, how to lead people, how to create a budget,

how to explain complex ideas to non-technical people.

I needed to know conflict resolution and team building and negotiations.

All these skills they never taught me in school.

So I began to develop these skills.

And then when I was hiring, I would look for these skills and other people.

Now, if I asked them an engineering question, I'd get an engineering answer

or accounting or marketing.

But when I asked what makes someone a good leader, I would get a blank stare.

Because no one else learned this either.

I'm Srinie Rao and this is the unmistakable creative podcast.

Where you get a window into the stories and insights of the most innovative and creative minds

who've started movements, built thriving businesses,

written best-selling books, and created an insanely interesting art.

For more, check out our 500 episode archive at unmistakablecreative.com.

Mark, welcome to the unmistakable creative.

Thanks so much for taking the time to join us.

Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

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