[somestag]

I'm continually shocked at how well companies can continue on despite serious internal problems. I do think it usually catches up with them though, and there are a lot of "terminally ill" products out there that are going to die eventually. I've seen those projects first hand, and I've seen the slow decay of the product that happens when a company loses control of its tech stack. It can take years.

I think that cuts both ways though, because I think even the business people would be shocked at how well things can seem to work despite serious dysfunction. If an entire team dies off but 3 months later things seem "fine," the business types will just assume everything is as good as it ever was. I know it's popular these days to say that good tech and good business are not always the same thing, but I do think that many of those same businesses would be a little worried if you actually convinced them that their tech was coming off the rails and was only going to get worse. Some businesses just want to be acquired and don't care what happens after that, but not every business thinks they're on a clock.

If you're big enough, like say you're a trillion dollar megacorp, then important teams folding up and being reborn is just part of your ecosystem. I've seen big tech power through churn for years with nothing but human wave tactics until the business climate changed enough that the team in question became less critical, and that's when they let it die.