-– By Jan Willem Klerx, CEO, BonCode
In every leadership team I’ve worked with – technical or not – there’s always been tension when it comes to software quality: how much does the CEO need to know, and how much should the CTO or CIO reveal?
Often it’s easiest to default to a position of trust: “Everything’s running fine,” the CTO or CIO says, “No red flags.” And usually that’s enough – until it isn’t.
Then something breaks: a missed deadline; a critical bug in production; a spiraling cost to fix a legacy system no one’s touched in years. Suddenly, that quiet trust turns into finger-pointing: “Why didn’t we know about this sooner?”
That’s where the software ‘circle of trust’ comes in.
Building a circle of trust
If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘Meet The Parents’ starring Robert De Niro, you’ll remember the concept. De Niro’s character, Jack Byrnes, makes it very clear: once you’re in the circle, you’re trusted. Step outside it, and the trust evaporates. It’s comical on screen, but in a business context, it can have serious consequences.
The reality is this: most leadership teams operate with a partial or outdated view of the health of their custom-coded systems. Sometimes the CTO genuinely doesn’t know the risks lurking deep in the codebase. Sometimes they do – but choose not to share, because with knowledge comes responsibility.
And responsibility, in corporate environments, can sometimes be politically inconvenient.
The whole software picture
Over the years, I’ve seen both sides of the coin:
- CTOs who are great communicators, full of polished reports – but running custom, business critical systems on crumbling software – and even hardware infrastructure.
- Brilliant engineers who dislike reporting, but whose systems are humming along because they’re quietly doing everything right.
So, how do you build a true circle of trust around your software systems?
You measure. You monitor. And you fact-check.
Just as misinformation erodes trust in global politics, assumptions erode trust in software engineering teams. That’s why at BonCode, we advocate for independent, specialist insight into your software portfolio – using tooling and techniques that uncover the full picture of hotspots, technical debt, code complexity, maintainability, – all the hidden risks.
Independent insight builds trust
We don’t come in to replace your team. We come in to shine a light. Think of us as independent auditors – not to catch anyone out, but to bring clarity.
That’s because when everyone can see the same data, visualized clearly, trust stops being a feeling and starts becoming a shared reality.
Here’s the plain truth: you can’t manage what you can’t see. And you definitely can’t lead a business confidently if your core systems are a mystery to the people who rely on them.
Step inside the software circle of trust
If you’re a CTO, CIO, or software manager, ask yourself: am I truly in control of my custom codebase – or am I just hoping everything is okay? And if you’re a CEO, ask this: What would happen if it’s not?
It’s time to bring visibility, accountability, and trust back into your software leadership. Want to see inside your codebase with expert clarity? Let’s open the circle, and talk!
