There's a good comment down-thread about 20% time. You don't have to say "go and do whatever you want." It can be about "non-billable" R&D. Perhaps this deve

There's a good comment down-thread about 20% time. You don't have to say "go and do whatever you want." It can be about "non-billable" R&D. Perhaps this developer sees an issue, or a potential optimization, or even a new product or service, but never has time to develop it. This arrangement allows both of you to get what you want. As far as "special treatment" goes, why not extend this to all the leads? It seems reasonable to have these folks pushing the technical boundaries for the company.