[mmilano]

Forget about the skills you need to become a better CTO, I think the headline here is how to successfully stroke the ego of your interviewer.

[bdmac97]

There could have certainly been some of that but it didn't feel like it in the context (which I realize I didn't provide). I read the question as sincere but admit there's a chance it wasn't.

At any rate, I tried to answer him honestly with what I'd have told myself and it didn't have any bearing on the outcome one way or another.