First, for extremely talented, highly individually motivated people it's important that they have the flexibility of process to figure out what works best for them. Chances are that such folks will do good work pretty much regardless of any formal process, but working out a system that maximizes their productivity, reduces their stress, and increases their job satisfaction can be very important. Often these tend to be "non-traditional" systems or even unique solutions depending on the various traits of the individual, sometimes people have different ways of working. These are the sort of 99th percentile workers that would be running their own startup if they weren't working with you, they work because they love it and they are not just cogs they are artists, their work is creative and creative work often requires non-traditional work environments and hours.
Second, for individuals with average talent and average individual motivation process tends to be more important. Indeed, process is often a critical element in the success or failure of teams that are primarily composed of average workers, whether developers or otherwise. Many of the non-traditional work environments and work rules that translate into success for 99th percentile workers will result in catastrophic failure when applied to groups composed mostly of average developers.
This is what makes generic advice so difficult. Advice that applies to one group will frequently cause consternation and failure in the other. The advice of Jason Fried, coming from 37signals, often applies only to the first group. Both Jason's advice and this critique from MetaLab are perfectly valid but neither is suitable as blanket advice for every developer across all skill levels and in any organization.
People need to first understand that there is no one-size-fits-all process that will maximize developer productivity in every situation and that different processes are necessary for different skill levels, personalities, and levels of individual motivation. Once that is understood then they can move forward towards figuring out what sorts of work environments and schedules work best for each individual.