As CTOs, we’ve seen our role evolve from being purely technical to becoming strategic business partners. But once you’ve translated company objectives into technical initiatives, how do you organize your thinking? How do you ensure you’re covering all the bases that matter to your business? That’s where the four sentinels come in.
The CTO Sentinel Framework redefines how we think about the CTO’s role. Instead of organizing our work by technology domains or project phases, we organize it by the business outcomes that technology enables. Think of these sentinels as watchtowers—strategic vantage points from which you keep watch over how technology helps achieve company objectives.
These four sentinels are:
Speed: Driving delivery and unblocking the organization
Stretch: Looking beyond current capabilities to future possibilities
Shield: Protecting the company from threats and risks
Sales: Growing the business through influence and empathy
What I love about this framework is how intuitive it is. When I present my initiatives organized by these four sentinels, suddenly my CFO, CEO, and other executives can immediately grasp the business value of what my team is doing.
The Speed Sentinel is all about velocity, efficiency, and removing obstacles. It answers the question, “How quickly can we deliver value through technology?”
Speed isn’t just about coding faster; it’s about organizational throughput. It’s about making sure that good ideas can move from concept to production without unnecessary delays.
When we identified that our deployment process was a major bottleneck, we implemented automated CI/CD pipelines that reduced deployment time from days to minutes. This wasn’t just a technical win—it transformed our business agility, allowing us to respond to market changes much faster than our competitors.
The Stretch Sentinel is about expanding possibilities and building for the future. It answers the question, “How are we growing our capabilities to meet future needs?”
Without stretch, technology organizations stagnate. You might be moving fast, but if you’re not also growing your capabilities, you’ll eventually hit a ceiling.
At one organization, we dedicated 10% of our engineering time to exploration projects. One team used this time to experiment with a new database technology that eventually allowed us to handle 10x our previous transaction volume—something we needed just six months later when a major partnership opportunity emerged.
The Shield Sentinel is all about protection and risk management. It answers the question, “How are we safeguarding our business, data, and users?”
Shield is often underappreciated until something goes wrong. It can be challenging to demonstrate value for prevention, but it’s crucial.
We once had a major client ask for a security review before signing a multimillion-dollar contract. Because we had invested in our shield capabilities, we passed their review with flying colors. Our competitor failed that same review and lost the deal to us. Shield directly impacted our bottom line.
The Sales Sentinel is about growth and influence. It answers the question, “How is technology driving business growth and enabling others to succeed?”
Many technical leaders think, “Sales isn’t my job,” but that’s a limited view. As CTO, you’re constantly selling not just products, but ideas, priorities, and approaches.
When we noticed our sales team was struggling to demo our product effectively, we prioritized building a demo environment that sales reps could spin up in seconds. The result? Demo-to-close rates increased by 40%. That wasn’t just a technical improvement; it was a direct business growth driver.
These four sentinels work together as a system. They’re not isolated categories, but interconnected aspects of technology leadership:
- Speed without Shield creates fragility
- Stretch without Speed leads to theoretical exercises without practical value
- Shield without Stretch becomes rigid and outdated
- Sales without the other three has nothing substantial to offer
The magic happens when you find the right balance for your specific business context.
When I started organizing my thinking and communication around Speed, Stretch, Shield, and Sales, something amazing happened. My C-suite colleagues became more engaged in technology discussions. They could see clearly how our technical initiatives connected to business outcomes they cared about.
Remember, great technology leadership isn’t just about what you build—it’s about the outcomes you enable for your business.
Etienne de Bruin
