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As I get older, and maybe because I worked at a company whose product is “talent optimization”, I think a lot of the “10x” thing is just a function engagement a

As I get older, and maybe because I worked at a company whose product is “talent optimization”, I think a lot of the “10x” thing is just a function engagement and passion. That is to say it’s not entirely skill or “intelligence”. You could take the best programmer but if you point them at a project they don’t give a crap about they’ll phone it in. Point them at something they’re passionate about and they’ll have absurd impact. They’ll think of more novel solutions, test and refine those solutions, and crank out the whole thing in record time. If you want a 10x engineer, give them work they love.

hnbad 5y ago
I'd also qualify it by saying that a 10x engineer is not a 10x engineer for long if you burn them out or even if life just happens. I've met a lot of spunky young college grads/drop-outs who felt like 10x engineers but had no family, no hobbies outside programming and no social life outside meetups, conferences and work. I've also met people I'd confidently describe as 10x engineers who had all of that but in turn spent far fewer "productive" hours at work than the former. There's a common misconception that you need to find "young talent" and make them work maximum productive hours (who needs to do chores when you have a work-provided luxury cafeteria and laundry service?) to get the most value out of them like they're top athletes. Well, most top athletes retire before they hit 40. If that's your plan, you're not looking for 10x developers, you're just looking for more meat for the grinder.
octorian 5y ago
This. Very much this. I've probably fallen into the "10x" camp myself at certain points in my career, and it was absolutely due to these factors. I should also add that having a general expertise of the problem domain and environment are enormous boosters as well. Of course the moment I'm considered "fungible" and moved to a project I'm not passionate about at all, I'm pretty sure this evaporates entirely.
hu3 5y ago
Yep. I've seen 10x engineers become -1x when shoved into projects they hated. Their contribution became net negative to the project. And then return to 10x when transferred back to projects they enjoyed.
mwcampbell 5y ago
But there's so much work that just has to be done, whether anyone loves it or not. For that, I think reliable mediocrity is a fine objective.

hnbad 5y ago

I'd also qualify it by saying that a 10x engineer is not a 10x engineer for long if you burn them out or even if life just happens. I've met a lot of spunky young college grads/drop-outs who felt like 10x engineers but had no family, no hobbies outside programming and no social life outside meetups, conferences and work. I've also met people I'd confidently describe as 10x engineers who had all of that but in turn spent far fewer "productive" hours at work than the former. There's a common misconception that you need to find "young talent" and make them work maximum productive hours (who needs to do chores when you have a work-provided luxury cafeteria and laundry service?) to get the most value out of them like they're top athletes. Well, most top athletes retire before they hit 40. If that's your plan, you're not looking for 10x developers, you're just looking for more meat for the grinder.

octorian 5y ago

This. Very much this. I've probably fallen into the "10x" camp myself at certain points in my career, and it was absolutely due to these factors. I should also add that having a general expertise of the problem domain and environment are enormous boosters as well. Of course the moment I'm considered "fungible" and moved to a project I'm not passionate about at all, I'm pretty sure this evaporates entirely.

hu3 5y ago

Yep. I've seen 10x engineers become -1x when shoved into projects they hated. Their contribution became net negative to the project. And then return to 10x when transferred back to projects they enjoyed.

mwcampbell 5y ago

But there's so much work that just has to be done, whether anyone loves it or not. For that, I think reliable mediocrity is a fine objective.