Re: If you would just hire
One could wish you weren't so close to the truth, Charlie.
An attitude shift and where the money goes is required, and those are HARD.
Which is why all sorts of gimmicks are tried instead. Which is hard, but like the saying goes, "always time to do it over, never time to just do it right".
If there was a good way, other than earned reputation (too slow) to tell the good developers from the so-so, and reward them accordingly - this wouldn't be such an issue, people would strive to be in that good group, and things would take care of themselves.
I'm unaware that there is such a good way to tell. I only started getting the rewards due my own skill after a few gimmes and building a reputation. If there was a shortcut, I didn't find it.
Certainly no MBA or PHB is going to look past the next quarter's numbers in the current setup.
VC's are actually *more* patient than that crowd about that one - some will wait a year or more.
They have other flaws - money that needs returns and few obvious places and ways to achieve that in this economy.