Not doubting his greatness, but It's definitely a lot easier to be motivated to work harder and faster when it's your own idea/project. I assume for the team of developers it was just another project their employers were asking them to work on, with all the expected nonsense (rituals) that come with it, and so why would they want to bust a gut / work 20 hour days / care more than they are being paid to care, to get it done in 4 days.