lots of people are viscerally angry at this thread, including me. you can read their posts for the fight, but upon further reflection, i am not here to call out @skirani or this stereotype. instead, i want to encourage thoughtful discussion around great engineers. thread:
2. timing in the office doesn't seem relevant to being a "10x engineer." i will never be able to work 9-5 because i go to doctor's appointments every other day. but some people need to work 9-5. others love being alone in the office for productivity's sake. point is: who cares.
4. i was initially angry because i want to be a "10x engineer," but i never want to know every line of code in production. but you know what? some engineers *want* to know this, and i'm being unwelcoming by hating on this point.
3, 5, 6 & 7: ridiculous statements. not going to defend. there are plenty of incredible engineers that defy such statements.
8: i think it's exaggerated that "10x engineers" are "languages ahead" of the company, but i do believe they are, in a sense, ahead. this may be picking up the latest technologies, investing in mentorship, expanding the team, motivating others, or something else.
9. "10x engineers" can be great mentors or poor mentors. i know plenty of prolific coders that don't communicate well. i don't suggest we celebrate this, but it's unhealthy to hate on them. teaching and mentoring is a *learned skill.* we should offer trainings on this.
10. code quality is important, agreed. but "at most one design doc" can be ridiculous sometimes.
11. if you come across ANYONE who adds value to the company, celebrate them.
11. if you come across ANYONE who adds value to the company, celebrate them.
in summary, it's important to recognize a "10x engineer" can take many forms. the stereotype offered in the thread isn't inherently toxic. the problem here in the thread is the implication that such a stereotype is the only form of "10x engineer."
the public discourse on this thread reminds me of the Google memo from 2 years ago -- where we lashed out at the words we disagreed with. as a result, we only leaned further into our biases. i'm not sure if anyone's minds were changed re: diversity. i don't want this to repeat.
when we publicly hate on @skirani's statement of a "10x engineer," we become less inclusive. instead, i want to see more threads on different types of "10x engineer," all with the underlying statement that *awesome engineers take many forms.*
thank you for coming to my ted talk
thank you for coming to my ted talk
Loading suggestions...