Not a counter-example precisely, but it's a truism in software that something always goes wrong. Sometimes the hero comes from mismanagement and bad planning, b

Not a counter-example precisely, but it's a truism in software that something always goes wrong. Sometimes the hero comes from mismanagement and bad planning, but sometimes they're a response to 'natural' problems. I've seen a few heroes at largish companies who do this fairly sustainably by floating around different projects and teams. They're not necessarily the most brilliant engineers around, but they're a bit less subject to the tyranny of Brooks' Law than most people; they pick up new projects fast and are willing to work crunch hours to contribute. In most companies, I think the presence of someone in that role would be inherently unhealthy, but there seem to be a few places where it's a workable response to the general schedule slip of software development.