The 10Xer: Entering Ludicrous Productivity Mode

In a bittersweet season finale, the sixth season of the popular HBO comedy "Silicon Valley" concluded on Sunday evening. The series follows a group of software engineers as they struggle to find success in the suburbs of San Francisco.

While the show channels the ethos of a usual screwball comedy through the regular antics of its characters, it does accurately represent many of the themes and day-to-day activities actually encountered in the technology industry. An example is the title of "10Xer" that is often bestowed upon the show's leading character Richard Hendricks.

Richard is an incredibly productive and effective software engineer, who seems to create noticeably larger quantities of high-quality code than his colleagues. As a result, he is often referred to as a 10Xer.

What is a 10Xer?

Simply put, a "10Xer" is someone who is literally 10 times more productive than the average person in the same role. Traditionally, this title has applied to the world of software engineers, where it is fairly common to see enormous variations in productivity between two people working in the same capacity, at the same time, in the same place. However, I'd argue that it is possible for a person in any profession to become a "10Xer", lapping other contributors and delivering enormous value to the business.

So, why are 10Xer's so much more effective?

It's a combination of technical skill, time management, communication abilities, and problem-solving. In many cases, people can become a 10Xer without even being the most talented software engineer in the room!

What separates the 10Xers is the ability to analyze the work that needs to be done, prioritize it based on impact and value to the business and users, allocate appropriate amounts of time and effort to performing the work, recognizing and communicating impediments, and solving for the right problems. In a nutshell, these folks work smarter instead of harder.

Becoming a 10Xer in Your Life

Contrary to what many folks may say, becoming hyper-productive doesn't require going and getting a doctorate in engineering or acquiring a project management certification. It mainly requires personal discipline, accountability, awareness, and autonomy:

Discipline: Training yourself to do things the right way the first time, including completing less exciting work such as creating documentation and writing unit tests. Additionally, this includes eliminating procrastination and distraction from your working environment.

Accountability: There are no excuses. If your work is blocked or you are unclear of the expectations, it is your responsibility to communicate the issue to the right parties and move forward with another task while the impediment is being cleared. Ask for feedback regularly from colleagues and customers, applying constructive criticism to sharpen your skills and tactics.

Awareness: Paying close attention to the needs of your business and your team while identifying your own strengths and weaknesses. If it would be more effective to have another resource on your team perform a certain task due to their expertise or the task can be accomplished using any existing tool, delegate the work instead of trying to figure it out yourself.

Autonomy: Always actively identify opportunities for improvements without direct guidance from the business so that you can continue to make meaningful progress even when typical work slows down. Additionally, utilize some of the many available productivity tools to automate your workflow so that you can be contributing in more than one place at a time.

What are you waiting for? It's time to enter Ludicrous Mode.

About the Author:

George Orlin is the Chief Operating Officer for Intelligent Transactions. He has over ten years of experience in helping retail brands drive brand engagement through the implementation and usage of software, process, and culture.

As a co-founder of several QSR-focused SaaS software startups, George has worked with many international and domestic restaurant brands to drive ROI and business results through the implementation of user-centered technology.

Intelligent Transactions is a technology consultancy with a track record of helping mature brands take back the controls to their enterprise technology architecture by crafting future-proof technology strategies.

Feel free to reach out to George by messaging him on LinkedIn or emailing him at [email protected]