The problem with the Newcomb solution is that it is aimed at the high-end of tech companies, which are ultimately willing to pay very high portion of the compan

The problem with the Newcomb solution is that it is aimed at the high-end of tech companies, which are ultimately willing to pay very high portion of the company worth for the top talent. Most companies employing programmers today are not such companies -- they cannot possibly hope to hire A+ employees, but they are trying to build a solid team of B- or C-level programmers, just hoping to keep the F-level out. As far as I know, this is a total crapshoot and the ones succeeding in it do so mostly by luck.