Building our team - 10X

I want to share the epiphany I had choosing the title of this article. Its read as Ten X. However did you notice that the roman way to writing 10 = X and that's why the cover image speaks about 10X which means X is embedded in 10

I found this interesting while picking the image for this topic, Now let's get to work.

Photo by Cole Ankney on Unsplash

Whenever I speak about 10 X Software Programmer, I see resistance and doubt from my team or other programmers I have spoken to in the past. These are the common questions I get from them

• Does that mean I should be working 10 times my current hours?
• Does it mean I should have 10 times my billable hours?
• Does that mean I need to put in 10 times more effort?
• Must I become a 10X programmer?
• Does becoming a 10X programmer means I have to be a workaholic?

The answer to all the above questions is a BIG NO.

TOP 5 recommendations to become a 10X Programmer

I will start with the most abstract concepts first and then go through some more popularly know ideas. I have tried to keep it a shortlist but will give examples to make sure you get the concept easily.

1) Understand Value

Value is more expensive than price

Value is often defined by the client. The one who creates the product does not decide the value. The value you bring to the company with being the key to make you a 10X developer.

• Strengths You have to be aware of the strength you have. Be it technical, mental or emotional. Double down on your strength this hack alone can make you a 2X programmer in few months. Pick the tasks and targets that are aligned with your strengths and deliver them with complete confidence. Build next traits of skills around your core Strengths.
• Opportunities Develop an eye for spotting opportunities. This can be difficult for many because it needs the skill to imagine. I told skill which means you can develop it. See when your managers are happy due to the results? or what are their common complaints? Start with low hanging fruit like see the error message across applications and create a plan to improve them a little, add one additional information that could help the user. Another example could be to study the support tickets of the previous month and see if there is any change you can suggest that could completely remove the chance of someone raising a similar ticket again. I feel many programmers miss a chance here.
• Possibilities This one is a tough one. But it starts with the most challenging and profitable task of the company. Something that the team is struggling to make happen. You can also ask the managers the least challenging yet profitable task and start with it. You have to ask questions like, which tasks could save a lot of time for the team? or Which features in the product could be showcased as innovative or highly useful? or Which feature can completely remove or reduce a task for users or the operations team?

2) Find Leverages

Leverage simply means the ability to do more with less

Software by its design is created to leverage the delegation of repetitive tasks. It's the primary USP why the IT Sector has been booming for the past two decades.

• Automation This is one of my favourites because I can put high-end machine with high-speed internet to do it faster and round the clock. I will share a few of the contributions I initiated for 73bit. Adding Tests (TDD), Probench Bot for survey manipulation, Continous Integration, Recording Coding Dojos to name a few.
• Assets This one is more powerful because you can brag about it for the rest of your career. It creates opportunities on its own and will reap benefits for years. Some examples of assets are the Probench help, Building Chart Services, Script to calculate code coverage, On-Boarding Videos for Clients, Collation 200 Global Initiatives, even these articles (you can help hiring make easy for your company that would be a great asset, a simple action like sharing this post if you found it useful)
• Acceleration The velocity of the team is what mays it different from the rest. It is different from speed because it also has a direction. Your acceleration has to be in the direction of companies goal. If you trust your leadership then you should be aware of their goals and targets. You know in the world of business acceleration and growth will take you places. Adding a sense of urgency to the things you already are great at will help you add speed to the direction of your choosing

3) Be an Enabler

Technology is an enabler. It?provides the means to create and make a difference, which ultimately brings lasting progress and radical transformation.

You have the skills to create the Technology of your choice. That's why your thinking process has to be an enabler in every context.

• Intention You can always project your intention to be someone who is curious to raise the standard and the quality of your work. You can simply do that by following the simple expectations of your day to day job with a positive attitude.
• Initiative It can be a simple initiative like if your team lead tells you the library to use and points you to the piece of code which already been implemented using the library. You do the research and finish the task with minimum to no help.
• Ideation This one can be difficult for many. However, I will suggest doing one simple exercise. Write 3 new ideas daily by converting problems that you faced, heard, saw or read within your work product or team

4) Eliminate Waste

Muda (無駄) Muda means?wastefulness, uselessness and futility, which is contradicting value-addition.?

This concept is from Toyota lean manufacturing, which later was used as inspiration for Lean Startup. There is a study that 80% of features in software is never used by the user.

• Time This one is easy you have to reduce the time taken for the task you have already done in the past. A good detail time log is a great investment for your career. I have heard stories where people have kept the logs as old as a decade back to see analyse them
• Cost This one is counterintuitive. You have to upskill and use cutting edge technology to make the cost to create the software cheaper every sprint. This can also be achieved if you can draw more value from a single feature or repurpose some of the features.
• Scope You can use clean or minimal design to remove unnecessary weight from the feature. Try to give a feature with multiple versions starting with the minimum viable product. Design a version that brings the exact results but with less scope of work.

5) Set a?Goal

What get measured gets improved

Having a deadline for your goal is what many miss while setting the deadline. Your goal becomes your compass, not your buried treasure. The goal is your direction, not your destination

• Metric You have to measure different tasks that will be of high priority to make you 10X programmer faster. You have to define it well before you embark on the journey of becoming great at what you do. It has to be balanced and no more than 25% can be coding. Remember we are trying to become 10X in ROI.
• Feedback Set the right expectation with your manager. Ask them good questions like, How much value do I bring to the company 0.5X, 1X, 2X or 10X? What results when you achieve would make you a 2X or 5X programmer? If I bring 10X value will you double my salary next year?
• Milestones If you are starting this journey take baby steps. Focus on the process and set smaller milestones like improving 5% every month on a metric or becoming a 2X programmer by next year.

You will find some of them working well for you and you may end up becoming a 2X or 3X programmer but this is an infinite game. You will eventually be able to sell your boss with hard numbers that you have become a 10 X Programmer. You will learn more about your strength and find avenues to leverage the most out of it effortlessly.

Let me give an example of how our product Probench gives 10X value to the client

1. Core features of Collecting, Organizing, Analysing and Reporting Data = 2X
2. Saves yearly at least team's collectively two months in communication = 1X
3. Never manually write any Company Report/Scorecards = 1X to 2X
4. It brings in funders who are happy to pay for the tool = 1X
5. Automate/Change the scoring methods and avoid rework = 1X to 2X
6. Digital Scorecard increases more charge per participant = 1X to 2X
7. Creating Interactive Dashboard for Investors = 1X to 4X
8. Easy onboarding & year-on-year data collection to increased participation = 1X to 3X
9. Second-year the setup of the cycle takes less than a week = 1X to 10X

When you add it all up it comes around 10X to 17X in value. Every client may not agree with it but you get the idea of How it could work?

Here is a small self-assessment to measure if you are a 10X programmer

• Each multiple of revenue you generate as compare to your salary for the company is X
• Complete a task in 1/2 time as compared to the previous month is an X (1/4 time is 2X)
• Save your monthly target billable hours collectively for the team is another X
• Keep the number of bugs in your code close to zero every month is another X
• Thinking and Executing ideas to add/replace features that delight clients are another X
• Billable hours you save for clients by giving alternative solutions is another X
• Your team and leaders can count on you in time of crisis is another X
• Your initiatives and ideas transformed into a brag-worthy feature for the company is X

A 10X programmer has discovered the skills to get one or more outcomes from the above on-demand basis each month. That's their superpower. I am sure you already know a 10X Programmer gets jobs easily, can ask for specific projects, starts a company and makes their life exciting and successful. We can help you to become a Rockstar programmer, join us in our journey to transform programmers into rockstar programmers. We are hiring. Click this link to register yourself for the interview process.

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