"This is a closed world where almost everyone is working only for other Googlers, and the feedback loop is based on what your colleagues and managers think of your work."
That is no divergence, in other words: div u = 0, no influx or outflux, a self contained, closed system.
The bane of such organisations, not mentioned in the article, is groupthink: a powerful force that pulls you into the center of mediocre sameness. Imagine if IRS solicited feedback from yoir neighbors to determine how much taxes you pay. A religious neighbor across the street knows that you don't go to church, so he writes a negative feedback to IRS. Eventually, you're either forced to behave, or the group kicks you out. That's groupthink.
That is no divergence, in other words: div u = 0, no influx or outflux, a self contained, closed system.
The bane of such organisations, not mentioned in the article, is groupthink: a powerful force that pulls you into the center of mediocre sameness. Imagine if IRS solicited feedback from yoir neighbors to determine how much taxes you pay. A religious neighbor across the street knows that you don't go to church, so he writes a negative feedback to IRS. Eventually, you're either forced to behave, or the group kicks you out. That's groupthink.