HLA Hart wrote The Concept of Law as a series of lectures for undergraduates; Joseph Raz produced his greatest work while carrying a full teaching load largely in areas outside his research focus. We kid ourselves in supposing we can engineer the writing of great philosophical works by giving hand picked individuals copious amounts of research leave. A "picking winners" fallacy. Better to create a stimulating and egalitarian academic environment focussed on excellence, not outputs, impact, activism, or narcissistic brand-building.