It's always going to be a pyramid. But you have to value and trust those whose daily decisions have the biggest impact on the customer's experience. Whether that's in product design, tech support, customer service or sales. It's de-motivating when you're working for managers who don't understand what that means. Joel is right but he's a bit harsh on Steve Jobs. I'm sure Steve Jobs was a pain in the *ss to work for but Steve did value designers more than any other company and he did value the people at the Genius bar more than any other retail company ever did. And I think that's exactly what Joel's article is about.