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.
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.