The part about how companies destroy autonomy demonstrates a lack of understanding of one's place. What they are describing is what people expect in a leadership position, not an individual contributor position. Expecting the construction worker to have the autonomy to decide the design of the house is simply moronic. That's the difference between being a developer and being the product owner. Granted, the product owner needs to know what they are doing, which is the actual problem they are not identifying in this article. It's all about leadership, and people starting as individual contributors who first learn to lead themselves and their egos, growing in their role through the five levels of leadership, being mentored and becoming a mentor before becoming someone with the power and authority to be a product owner. Know it all developers haven't mastered level 1 yet, let alone their egos. They are simply the kid who wants to horde all the toys and haven't learn to respect the toy owners let alone that the toys aren't theirs.