I think the point you're making is that autonomy alone won't produce a high-quality product. You're right. There are dangers in giving too much autonomy, which

I think the point you're making is that autonomy alone won't produce a high-quality product. You're right. There are dangers in giving too much autonomy, which is probably why google-time is fixed at 20% and not 90%. The point I was trying to make was that giving developers more control over what they work on better suits the problems they are trying to solve and allows the business to harness some of the passion developers have. You're certainly right that there are aspects that never appeal. It's not a black-and-white case of "more autonomy = more results", but in some areas can be rewarding for both developer and business.