If you've been in the industry long enough to experience working on a variety of different projects and teams it's an easy sell to understand the concept of a 10x programmer, but the 10x programmer also isn't as exciting or "sexy" as we make them to be.

They aren't mythically smart and intelligent and can recite api features off the top of their heads.

No, the 10x programmers I've mostly encountered are "boring":

* They write solid code that's maintainable and relatively bug free. Fixing bugs is an incredibly time consuming activity. A developer who can reduce their bug rate is incredibly efficient not just for themselves but for the entire team and project.

* They aren't going to prematurely optimize in terms of code or design. How many of us have seen development grind to a halt due to an incorrect use of a design or architectural pattern? The worst grievances I've seen are using Microservices when it's not needed...leading to huge slowdowns of productivity due to overhead costs. And that's just one example.

* They understand the value of good software engineering practices that lead to long term success of the product/project/team. Many of those practices are "boring" but are necessary such as writing effective automated tests.

I guess another way to put it, many of the 10x developers I've seen are ten times more effective because they can avoid common mistakes that the average developer makes.