&gt;So how do you make a 10x environment on purpose?<p>I think there are two necessary parts:<p>1. A high level, well-known, agreed-upon plan. Everyone needs to know what they&#x27;re working towards, why they&#x27;re working on it, and how they&#x27;ll do it. This lets people work largely autonomously but towards the same goal, reducing friction. I&#x27;ve been a 0.5x engineer because my manager told me what I needed to build but not why. So, I&#x27;d build something, and the feedback would be &quot;no, that&#x27;s not exactly right, just do it this way&quot;. What could have taken an hour would take days while I slowly figured out what he was imagining.<p>2. As few blockers as possible. Use tools and languages the whole team knows or can learn well. Create a collaborative environment where people can ask questions instead of spending hours working through tiny issues. The manager should make removing external blockers one of their highest priorities.<p>This is what allows people to work at peak efficiency. I think when there&#x27;s nothing holding them back, most good engineers are &quot;10x&quot; engineers.