Stop Being the Tech Department's 911 Service

Hey there,

Ever feel like you're running a technical emergency room instead of leading a technology strategy?

I recently spoke with a fractional CTO who described his typical day as "putting out fires with a water pistol while trying to build a sprinkler system."

Sound familiar?

Here's the thing: As long as you're in reactive mode, you'll never have the space to do the strategic work that creates real, lasting value.

The solution isn't to work harder or faster. It's to fundamentally change how you engage with problems.

Here's the shift that needs to happen:

FROM:

• Jumping on every "urgent" request

• Being the hero who saves the day

• Fixing symptoms as they appear

TO:

• Triaging issues based on strategic impact

• Building systems that prevent fires

• Addressing root causes

One of my clients was trapped in this cycle. Every week brought a new "emergency" that demanded immediate attention. Their tech team was exhausted, morale was low, and strategic initiatives were permanently on hold.

Here's how we turned it around:

1. Create a clear escalation framework. Not everything that feels urgent is actually important. We established clear criteria for what constitutes a true emergency.

2. Build self-service solutions. We documented common issues and created playbooks so the team could handle routine problems without escalation.

3. Implement proactive monitoring. Instead of waiting for things to break, we set up systems to flag potential issues before they became emergencies.

4. Schedule regular system reviews. By blocking time for preventive maintenance, we reduced the frequency of emergencies dramatically.

The result? Within three months, emergency escalations dropped by 70%. The team had breathing room to focus on strategic work. And most importantly, the CEO started seeing me as a strategic partner rather than just a technical firefighter.

Remember: Your value as a fractional CTO isn't in how many fires you can put out. It's in preventing fires from starting in the first place.

How are you shifting from reactive to proactive in your engagements? Hit reply and share your strategies - I'd love to learn from your experience.

To leading, not managing,
Lior

Lior Weinstein 
Founder & Head Coach, CTOx