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My story? 10x developers don't exist. I've worked with incredibly smart people -- geniuses, even -- who contributed ideas and value that I never could, but the

My story? 10x developers don't exist. I've worked with incredibly smart people -- geniuses, even -- who contributed ideas and value that I never could, but they weren't "worth" or performing at 10 times the rate of an average developer. They were valuable in their own ways, but never irreplaceable, and certainly came with their own problems; e.g. antisocial behaviors, inability to collaborate well, inability to document and explain their code so that others could maintain it. Don't chase 10x developers; chase people with soft skills who can work as a team. A team of five people working well together is worth far more than any hypothetical 10x dev.

joshstrange 4y ago
I think I agree overall and I'll take it a bit further: developers aren't an anything-x, they are a range based on the task and their current mental/emotional/physical state. I know as programmers/people interested in tech we can fall into the trap of thinking of people like we do machines but it's a deeply flawed approach (one that I've fallen into MANY times). For years I wanted to slot people into boxes and think of them the same way I might think of a server. I wish I could go back and slap the earlier version of myself. Like you say, the soft skills are 1000x more important to me now. I won't suffer a "10x" developer if they are an ass nor will I dismiss someone just because I have some misguided idea that they should be performing better. Of course, all of this has a number of exceptions, I wouldn't be happy with someone who is not pulling their weight but I've realized there are more important things to optimize for, team cohesion being a top priority. If I can communicate with you well and you are enjoyable to work with then I'll look past, what a younger me would have considered, "your flaws". I've witnessed in my self and others what I like to call "team multipliers". In that the output of 2 or more people is higher than what either could do individually. Those "multipliers" can result in better output from a bunch of "5x"ers (again, this is a silly measurement) verses the same number of "10x"ers who don't work well with others/together. I know it's been tried (and it sounds like it kind of failed) but I really love the idea of hiring a group of people instead of individuals. At my current company I've helped get 2 people I previously worked with jobs because I know they are both assets to the team and that they make me better. "As iron sharpens iron", and all that.
somethoughts 4y ago
I've worked indirectly with two 10x developers - sequentially. They worked fast and late into the night. They added every feature the product management asked for and more. When the product management team rotated and the new PMs added more feature requests, they obliged whether the feature was really necessary or not and even if the other devs had pushed back on the feature. They also handled all uptime issues no matter what hour of the day. The rest of the team tried to help out but by that time the code base was too complex for 1x developers to support. Then after a few years with the company, they each ended up getting tired of doing all the leg work and moved on and the remaining team members figured out the bare minimum to kick the server when needed and promptly started on version 2.0 at a 1x pace with only the core features and more bus factor built in. That said I do think 10x devs have a sweet spot in a startup thats still trying to find product market fit and overthinking/over documenting can mean the startup never gets off the ground.
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mbrodersen 4y ago
I think you have been unlucky. I have worked with more than one 10x developer. They do exist but are not common.

joshstrange 4y ago

I think I agree overall and I'll take it a bit further: developers aren't an anything-x, they are a range based on the task and their current mental/emotional/physical state. I know as programmers/people interested in tech we can fall into the trap of thinking of people like we do machines but it's a deeply flawed approach (one that I've fallen into MANY times). For years I wanted to slot people into boxes and think of them the same way I might think of a server. I wish I could go back and slap the earlier version of myself. Like you say, the soft skills are 1000x more important to me now. I won't suffer a "10x" developer if they are an ass nor will I dismiss someone just because I have some misguided idea that they should be performing better. Of course, all of this has a number of exceptions, I wouldn't be happy with someone who is not pulling their weight but I've realized there are more important things to optimize for, team cohesion being a top priority. If I can communicate with you well and you are enjoyable to work with then I'll look past, what a younger me would have considered, "your flaws". I've witnessed in my self and others what I like to call "team multipliers". In that the output of 2 or more people is higher than what either could do individually. Those "multipliers" can result in better output from a bunch of "5x"ers (again, this is a silly measurement) verses the same number of "10x"ers who don't work well with others/together. I know it's been tried (and it sounds like it kind of failed) but I really love the idea of hiring a group of people instead of individuals. At my current company I've helped get 2 people I previously worked with jobs because I know they are both assets to the team and that they make me better. "As iron sharpens iron", and all that.

somethoughts 4y ago

I've worked indirectly with two 10x developers - sequentially. They worked fast and late into the night. They added every feature the product management asked for and more. When the product management team rotated and the new PMs added more feature requests, they obliged whether the feature was really necessary or not and even if the other devs had pushed back on the feature. They also handled all uptime issues no matter what hour of the day. The rest of the team tried to help out but by that time the code base was too complex for 1x developers to support. Then after a few years with the company, they each ended up getting tired of doing all the leg work and moved on and the remaining team members figured out the bare minimum to kick the server when needed and promptly started on version 2.0 at a 1x pace with only the core features and more bus factor built in. That said I do think 10x devs have a sweet spot in a startup thats still trying to find product market fit and overthinking/over documenting can mean the startup never gets off the ground.

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mbrodersen 4y ago

I think you have been unlucky. I have worked with more than one 10x developer. They do exist but are not common.