> Sometimes you just want to be able to make choices based on instinct, forgoing deep analysis when you need to move fast and fully accepting that the wrong direction could be the end of the road for the project.

I've come to believe that this is why a lot of people are attracted to starting something of their own. While "bureaucracy" and "red tape" is indeed excessive and detrimental in many organizations, some amount of it is inevitable when an organization gets large and successful enough.

I think a lot of engineers never fully appreciate this. Listening to stakeholders and getting buy-in can make the process feel too slow, but the human components of product management and software development are important. Success usually isn't just about pushing code; it often depends on having listened to stakeholders, obtained buy-in, etc.

Of course, every entrepreneur is forced to understand this if their baby takes off because there are very, very few organizations that don't become slower and more bureaucratic when they achieve a certain level of success.