Great story, and Joel has always been a very keen observer of tech and management.

The thing is - not everything that works on another situation will work on your situation.

That’s why management talent is so rare — and valuable.

Because everything depends on the situation.

How Hard Could It Be?: How I Learned to Love Middle Managers — Fog Creek Software — Small Business Advice

A final thought: You have to be careful when it comes to embracing the latest business idea. A single anecdote filtered through the eyes of a journalist about a new cool philosophy for running a company has to be considered in the light of other evidence, such as the way thousands of other companies are set up and operate.

The lesson is, Don’t believe everything you read in a business magazine. Not even this one.