[u678u]

I've worked for up or out companies most of my career. I get it can be uncomfortable but there is a good reason there is forced ranking. Most managers hate giving bad reviews to people that aren't doing well. If someone on the team is doing some work but not doing much its easier to say they meet standards and be nice to them. My current job is like this, there are a bunch in the team that do very little but manager is too nice and I think the firm suffers.

[RankingMember]

I think this ignores the value of long-haulers who are reliable contributors but don't necessarily want to be in management roles. I could see an up-or-out environment without significant allowances essentially ending in an organization full of Peter-principled managers who would've been more solid contributors at their old positions.