What many people don’t realize is that some large corporations actively manage for mediocrity. Oh, they won’t say that is what they are doing, but it is the outcome of things like micromanagement, constant meetings interrupting flow, high levels of process bureaucracy.

But there is a rational reason for it. It reduces risk and makes output more predictable. If you have a 10x developer who is actually producing 10x, how do you plan for that? What if he leaves? If you reduce him to 2x or so, it’s much more likely he can be replaced.