I think open allocation is a key focus which derives from "Management as servant leaders" which is very rarely the case in many organizations (not just big ones

I think open allocation is a key focus which derives from "Management as servant leaders" which is very rarely the case in many organizations (not just big ones). I've seen plenty of small startups where the CEO-as-king was taken quite literally ("Change the icons to cornflower blue"). Ultimately open allocation comes from a view that upper management (provided you're not Steve Jobs) are not the "deciders" any more than everyone else are. "We should do X because I said so" no longer happens because that's not in your company DNA. Yes, I suppose there will be a stratification of those who can lead and those who can't (as you've written about) but isn't that how it should be? Once you get around that, awesome things tend to happen. Which is why companies that can do that will continue to kick the crap out of those that can't.