It isn't a matter of allowing or not, if the engineers can't get results from the path they've taken and cannot find a better one its not directly the CEOs fault. There are fewer industries more tedious, and even those in far more straightforward lines of business blatantly screw up with end products, even while under great pressure to compete.

Nvidia had far less to excuse itself for the NV30 line than ATI has if the R600 doesnt turn out great, and that didn't stop the FX from happening.