If you have a team of decent developers then I think the article has a point. But imagine you're in a situation where 90% of the developers on your team are out

If you have a team of decent developers then I think the article has a point. But imagine you're in a situation where 90% of the developers on your team are outsource contractors with below junior level of aptitude who have been up-marketed by talent agencies as "senior architects" and "technical leads." Now 10x makes a bit more sense. Organizations with poor technical leadership fail to quality control hires and accumulate imposters. In this setting the lucky hire of a merely average developer creates the appearance of a 10x (or 100x) unicorn.