I see your point but don't really agree with your argument -- in my experience engineers who consciously know what a good or a bad engineering decision for the future is will make the good decisions regardless -- it's the terrible engineers who don't know any better you need to worry about.
In either case, given an extended exercise window both are sitting around collecting value indefinitely after leaving. They don't need to contribute anything to the next "generation" of work but they still collect the rewards. I'd expect that in most high-growth companies the impact of individual contributors quickly gets washed away after they leave.
In either case, given an extended exercise window both are sitting around collecting value indefinitely after leaving. They don't need to contribute anything to the next "generation" of work but they still collect the rewards. I'd expect that in most high-growth companies the impact of individual contributors quickly gets washed away after they leave.