I agree, but insulting Valve is pretty much a recipe for disaster online due to all the worship they get. I understand that yes, they do still work on TF2, Dota 2, and CS:GO, but for someone who likes Valve because of Half Life and Portal, it just doesn't work for me. It's like they've totally abandoned their original fanbase in favor of the competitive eSports scene, something I have zero interest in. Gabe made a comment a while back about single player games dying and it really frustrates me how they seem to have taken that absolutely flawed view to heart.
And that flat organization structure is obviously flawed, yet people continue to act like it's great. If there's no pressure to get anything done, let alone done on time, then of course it's going to lead to what we see: them floundering around with half baked ideas but lacking the commitment and drive to actually see them through to the end. Management and structure exists for a reason; they're just wasting time and money on developing stuff that's never finished. But no, look at all the FREEDOM the employees have! Clearly being able to slack off and abandon ideas just because you don't feel like working on it is worth the lack of progress.
Also yes I find it absolutely hilarious that despite gamers' frequent hate of micropayments they then go on to worship Valve who has mastered the art of the micropayment. You can't even say it's all cosmetic anymore now that you can buy guns and stuff just as easily as hats.