Normally that role is called a "manager".
How to be a -10x Engineer
41–50 of 514 posts
Re: How to be a -10x Engineer
#42Bike shed the crap out of everything in pr review (I have been guilty of this)
I find it is always best to keep reviews minimal, and any review comments should generally be "this isn't ideal - consider doing it this other way next time - but LGTM".
Sure, the end result is a less perfect codebase. But considering code isn't the end goal - a working product with happy users is the end goal - imperfect code can be the right way to achieve that.
And besides, all code that is still in production in 5 years is probably due a rewrite anyway - now that the company has pivoted a few times, the product has evolved, and the use cases aren't what they originally were. The computing landscape will also have evolved (eg. new language versions, new library versions, new hardware with different strengths and weaknesses, etc)
Re: How to be a -10x Engineer
#43A lot of toxic negativity in that post. Sure bad engineers exist, but you know what is even worse than the -10x engineer: the contagious jerk. https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/studies-being-a-jerk-is... Yep being an asshole spreads like a disease within organizations. Avoid these guys like the plague.
I disagree.
For me this outlines the caveats and pitfalls of software development and management.
There is real truth to some of the authors points showing real paths that emerge naturally.
If you're going to gaslight him by inferring anyone who is critical is an asshole, maybe you should ask yourself why you're taking the article so personally...
Re: How to be a -10x Engineer
#44"Explain code in private messages. Write wikis that nobody uses." What the reasonable alternative though? What's the happy medium?
When a coworker does not understand what a function call does, you add a verbose enough comment directly to the code.
Re: How to be a -10x Engineer
#45Nice conceptual bulwark against the mythical negative engineer. It makes sense to balance out the normal 10x tropes.
Re: How to be a -10x Engineer
#46> To ensure developers are context-switching, recompilation should take at least 20 seconds. I'm now wondering what languages and projects the author has worked on if they expect compilation to take less than 20 seconds. Maybe small-ish golang projects? I don't remember the last time I worked on something interesting where recompilation was always under a minute...
Anything written in interpreted languages like Javascript/Typescript. UI stuff usually has hot reloading where you get "compilation" times measured in milliseconds, and from experience restarting even a complex typescript server is a few seconds max. This applies to mobile apps as well when using React Native.
What about Gulp, NPM, Yarn etc. running in the new build of UI stuff? Those take up a bunch of time.
Re: How to be a -10x Engineer
#47A lot of toxic negativity in that post. Sure bad engineers exist, but you know what is even worse than the -10x engineer: the contagious jerk. https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/studies-being-a-jerk-is... Yep being an asshole spreads like a disease within organizations. Avoid these guys like the plague.
Author here. I don't want to empower jerks. Anything particular I should change? Or is the structure of the essay too cynical overall?
Nothing. Your essay exists solely to be criticized, and honestly you’re on a bad / useless path and should get out now and completely rethink your life.
We are HN. We are legion. Expect us.
When I got on the site, btw, I immediately saw your choice of font and I didn’t actually read your essay.
PS: This is satire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law)
Re: How to be a -10x Engineer
#48> Ask your team to perform tasks that resemble work. Common examples include presentations, diagrams, and ticket management. I'm as salty as the next guy, but in my experience it has been the sub-par employees who are the ones that don't do this. Ticket management is not busy work, it's a necessity for everyone to keep updated. Presentations and diagrams are tools to communicate. I can safely say that by far the most…
I think there is a balance but yeah it isn't good if no record of "where we are" exists.
Re: How to be a -10x Engineer
#49>>> inconspicuously waste others’ time, write lengthy messages/documents and share as widely as possible. Welcome all opinions and aim for engagement.
Mostly spot on but I am not sure of this one - well written notes / emails about technical issues and some of the trade offs or desired outcomes are really useful - they actually help "align" people. Think more "Linus rant" than "CEO powerpoint" but the idea is there
Re: How to be a -10x Engineer
#50A lot of toxic negativity in that post. Sure bad engineers exist, but you know what is even worse than the -10x engineer: the contagious jerk. https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/studies-being-a-jerk-is... Yep being an asshole spreads like a disease within organizations. Avoid these guys like the plague.
The contagious jerks are often results of working with -10x engineers. At some point you become as such, if you don't quit the company before that. There are "bad engineers" and then there are -10x engineers, it is a real problem if the company keeps such engineers
You should try working with -10x engineers and see how your feedback is being ignored as tech debts are piling up, products are continue to under deliver and missing deadlines.