The Power Of One (or Two)

I'm surprised that software managers do not take (more) advantage of the fact that on most software teams, one or two members do the work of several moderately good developers each. I believe they know about this, but the salary band for developers remains relatively narrow - why? If you can pay 1.2 times the competitive salary rate and get a top notch person who does 2-3+ times the work of a single developer, it's clearly worth it. Similarly, with some extra effort you can find quite smart (though not as experienced - think graduates from good universities with 3.7+ GPAs) developers for significantly less than competitive rates for experienced developers. When they're directed by the strong technical leadership of the top notch experienced guys/gals, chances are good they'll produce the work of a much more experienced developers in 6 months. You'll pay .6 times going rates for 5+ year experienced developers and get junior developers who'll be nearly as productive with the right leadership, especially given their added motivation to prove themselves early in their careers.