[famousactress]

Likewise, I apologize if I took too much from tone.. I think the bottom line is that we disagree here:

"... there are many people who just aren't that productive..."

I don't think that's the case. I think the steady-state for most people is working (hard). People who aren't productive are generally frustrated that they're not productive. I get it though, there are people who require very little from the outside world to move forward. They'll "GSD" as you put it without much outside influence. I've worked with people who score high on that metric, and I'm genuinely humbled by their ability to make forward progress even in less than optimal conditions.

That said, I think it's tempting to value them above resources that are more sensitive to their context but I'd warn against missing an opportunity. In my experience the developers your talking about will absolutely 'GSD'.. Even when all you ask them to do is 'S'.

I frankly like surrounding myself with people whose motivation falters when they don't feel connected to the problem we're solving for our users, or when we're calling too many bullshit meetings, or when they don't believe in what we're doing. Keeps us honest. Those employees are your canary in the mineshaft. I think where their interest goes, our market is likely to follow.

After all, if my team isn't excited to build it who the fuck do I expect to pay me for it?