"Successful" tech companies are designed, structurally, for growth at every size. Startups grow to fill a market, large companies grow to expand into new markets. The currency of power internally is headcount — so everyone's pushing for bigger teams, more scope, etc.
For larger companies, hiring is a huge machine that takes time to change course. So, executives are trying to predict the future — what might the economy look like? what businesses will be successful?
When times are good and capital is cheap, incentives aside, this sort of culture might make sense. Google and Amazon have demonstrated that you can keep compounding far longer than anyone imagined,... (read more)
Echoing some sentiments said in other answers:
"Successful" tech companies are designed, structurally, for growth at every size. Startups grow to fill a market, large companies grow to expand into new markets. The currency of power internally is headcount — so everyone's pushing for bigger teams, more scope, etc.
For larger companies, hiring is a huge machine that takes time to change course. So, executives are trying to predict the future — what might the economy look like? what businesses will be successful?
When times are good and capital is cheap, incentives aside, this sort of culture might make sense. Google and Amazon have demonstrated that you can keep compounding far longer than anyone imagined,... (read more)