I think it's clear what easy things not to do to avoid being a 0.5x engineer, but in the tech world there's this hallowed reverence with regard to to these people. Is it aptitude, speed, organization, communication skill?
What really is it that makes these people just so much more valuable?
But to the extent that nuanced sensibilities matter, I would add (alongside the sibling post):
- An ability to think about things intrinsically, combined with a hidebound indifference to hype, trends and groupthink of any sort.
- And synthetically, across disparate areas such as product design, usability, economics, social context, etc.
- A certain appetite for risk when it is most beneficial (e.g. in spotting people who have significant potential but who don't fit the expected mold); and correspondingly, a distinct aversion to risk in areas where it matters most (e.g. backups, unethical behavior, etc).