[duke_sam]

I'm also pretty sure this is why software houses run as widget factories will produce sub-standard solutions. The hierarchical structure gives more weight to the ideas of the people managing. This works if the manager is an expert (or at least as knowledgable as their reports) in their field but with software it results in the most informed opinions being ignored or devalued especially if the costs/benefits are not immediate, so lots of technical debt. If you are managing a team of good developers your role is one of administration and occasionally cat herder (someone has to call time on yak shaving arguments).

I've seen a bunch of government software contracts go down this road, they all try to use the same "tried and trusted" solution even when the assumptions that underpin it have changed wildly (developers are just looking to play with fancy toys and so can't be trusted). They hire based on cost, 3 developers being paid 20k are worth as much as one developer being paid 60k and generally won't fight to retain staff. I find this incredibly ironic since government projects are often challenging and novel, they are dealing with scales or activities that businesses (mostly) don't touch. It always struck me that the area crying out for a creative, original solutions implemented by a film crew team.

[Joeri]

Apple is a widget factory run by an expert. When Jobs left the company, it took a nose-dive. He came back and immediately things started improving. The man is a dictator, but he knows his stuff. However, if I were an apple shareholder, I would be very worried about his medical condition. Because when he leaves, apple will dive again.

[bitwize]

If he's not stupid he would have prepared for this contingency, and arranged for competent lieutenants who know how to do things "the Jobs way" to take over when he kicks off.

Of course the thing about power-mad dictators is that power-madness interferes with the ability to seriously consider transfers of power.