> he only wants to chain existing solutions, rather than trying to imagine how we can make things better. You have to meet in the middle. Nobody wants to reinv

> he only wants to chain existing solutions, rather than trying to imagine how we can make things better. You have to meet in the middle. Nobody wants to reinvent the wheel - it's not good faith to accuse someone of laziness for trying to suggest a realistic product roadmap. If you're more caught up on the current SOTA in your field and feel that there's a better solution, the onus is on you to write that code. Your employee could still be a 10x engineer if you delegate meaningful work to them, but right now it sounds like you do have unrealistic expectations for them. You shouldn't expect to find anyone more passionate about your product than you are. I'm not sure if you can focus on "other projects" while paying someone to invent your Magnum Opus for you.