Productive software engineers aren't "exceptional". If you focus on removing obstacles, you can make most software engineers productive.
The point is learning from those who've succeeded before you, instead of claiming it's just magical chemistry happening. Or worse, starting again from first principles.
No, that won't produce product-market fit, nor does it open up once in a lifetime opportunities, but it allows teams to execute well. The belief that productive software engineers are unicorns, however, and need to be valued above all else? That's what destroys companies.
There are reasons why terms like 10x engineer, Rockstar engineer, Ninja engineers are thrown about in the industry.
Google paid Anthony Levandowski $120 Million to lead their autonomous car project, before he went to Uber and the legal troubles. Uber was paying him more than Google.
Facebook paid $16 Billion for What's App, which only had around 50 engineers at the time. Facebook was buying the IP and the productive software engineering members of the team.
There are countless other examples.
No amount of management process can create productive software engineers. That's why companies recruit productive software engineers from other companies. That's why companies buy other companies that has productive software engineers with proven products.
Productive Software Engineers are exceptional. Their work are worth Trillions of dollars and generates Billions of dollars in revenue every year.
The point is learning from those who've succeeded before you, instead of claiming it's just magical chemistry happening. Or worse, starting again from first principles.
No, that won't produce product-market fit, nor does it open up once in a lifetime opportunities, but it allows teams to execute well. The belief that productive software engineers are unicorns, however, and need to be valued above all else? That's what destroys companies.