It is necessary but not sufficient to be a legitimate 10x technical subject matter expert. Most organizations lack the expertise but they also lack effective le

It is necessary but not sufficient to be a legitimate 10x technical subject matter expert. Most organizations lack the expertise but they also lack effective leadership and organization to apply the expertise even if they have it. Part of the job of being a highly paid “10x engineer” is to fix the organization so that the organization can fix the technical problem. The former will consume 90% of your time. Some 10x engineers have legitimately exceptional technical abilities that stand on their own, but the critical skill for many (most?) is being really good at smoothly fixing broken engineering processes and organizations from first principles. A handful are good at both. The main benefit of hiring a consultant is that management can blame them for uncomfortable changes.