There is this magic process which always surprises me (really, I can't get used to it): the process of melting a well-performing team of strong and motivated in

There is this magic process which always surprises me (really, I can't get used to it): the process of melting a well-performing team of strong and motivated individuals (not only software developers, but also including bizdevs, sales, etc.) into a monolithic sluggish disgusting structure promoting acquiescence and submission where you more value your payroll and pension plan than the actual work your doing every day. It is really, really sad seeing these transformations affecting nearby companies almost every month. And it can be really sudden, it may take even 6 months to change your software think tank into a wannabe-corporation with timesheets and firewalls. And I ask myself each time - is there a way to avoid this? I understand we need to standarize "the business" at some point to make it scalable but is it the only way? Can't we build seperate team of strong individuals and just allow them to do their best giving them some financing and office, and let them grow to a specific point of splittage? Wait, isn't it actually similar to what YC is doing? What do you think? Don't we all dream of building a giant soul-eating monster at the of the road?