Robert Roskam

The stories about 10x engineers never include:
• Adding meaningful test coverage
• Updating outdated README sections
• Mentoring junior engineers
• Listening to burned-out coworkers
• Improving on-call runbooks

No glory in these things, but those that do them are the ones you desperately want to keep.

They plant trees they don't expect to sit under.

Jun 27, 2025 at 1:00amPubler
Show threadColinJun 27, 2025
@raiderrobert 10x is just a term for "will be gone when the consequences of your bad decisions become apparent". It's pure distilled short-termism and I loathe it.
Show threadAndroidDreamerJun 27, 2025
@abstractcode @raiderrobert To good old me, this ressembles "full stack" way too much. How to hire good people with imposter syndrome at the wrong positions, while ignoring your team's real needs. I have more than one story about "human resources management" ; none of which cast any superhuman character. Not a coincidence.
Show threadmcpowerJun 27, 2025
@raiderrobert this is being glue: https://www.noidea.dog/glue
Being Glue — No Idea Blog

Slides and notes for the Being Glue talk.

No Idea Blog
Show threadPxl PhileJun 27, 2025

@mcpower @raiderrobert there it is! I just thought of this post.

Highly recommended

Show threadFunky BobJun 27, 2025

@raiderrobert I'm far more in favor of the 1.1x engineer.

That person who amplifies every developer about them by 10%.

Show threadViraptorJun 27, 2025
@raiderrobert it's a bit like I keep commenting about the "huge savings" blog posts: Everyone wants to read about saving $$$ by changing the architecture, few want to read about doing ongoing planning and not wasting $$$ in the first place.
Show threadMichael StrasserJun 27, 2025
@raiderrobert
That reminds me of The Worst Programmer I Know by @tastapod
Show threadKevin RussellJun 27, 2025

@raiderrobert

They plant trees they don't expect to sit under.

Show threadEric HustvedtJun 27, 2025

@raiderrobert at some companies you get promo-driven development:

1) Launch
2) Promotion
3) Leave

There are no incentives to stick around. There are no incentives for sustaining engineering.

Show threadMichael WymanJun 27, 2025
@hustvedt @raiderrobert and watch that incentive structure go exponential with LLMs.
Show threadLisa MeltonJun 27, 2025
@raiderrobert This. 💯
Show threadkatch wreckJun 27, 2025
@raiderrobert one of my old coworkers used to say, "until it's documented, you really haven't done anything" :)
Show threadDavid MikalovaJun 27, 2025
@raiderrobert sadly the people doing all the inglorious work are the ones who come up short on performance reviews and are then PIPed and RIFed. The myth of the 10x engineer is self perpetuating because of this.
Show threadgkrnoursJun 27, 2025
@raiderrobert the other day my boss complained to me that when I complete a task, I don't do what he expects me to do and do whatever I want. The example he used was "fixing the tests"
Show threadOliver SchafeldJun 27, 2025

Plant a tree
You yourself
Would like to sit under.

👨‍🌾🌳🧘‍♂️ that goes in my book. Thanks for sharing 😊

Show threadTim SerongJun 27, 2025
@oliver_schafeld I can't see this without stacking it up against "move fast and break things", which makes the latter look almost infinitely hollow and pathetic by comparison
Show threadity [unit X-69] - VIOLENT FUCKJun 27, 2025

@raiderrobert am I a 10x engineer - most of my stuff comes with extensive docs, tests where useful, and also with some hours teaching others how w/e I made works

Then again I do FOSS instead, so.

Show threadMitsuneeJun 27, 2025
@raiderrobert past-me wrote a bunch of weird functions I could never understand if it wasn't for documentation and comments. I don't even know how I knew about JSDOC comments before learning JS (I found some in some ancient PHP code)