 Why did Kalvin commit to Piltdon’s unreasonable deadline?
"But Mr. Piltdon," remonstrated Feetch unsteadily under his employer's glare, "don't you remember? I want it completely developed, engineered and tooled-up, ready for production. "But Mr. Piltdon, four months is hardly time enough for development, even with an adequate staff. Twenty-five years of your life you put in with Piltdon, and he'd fire you just like that if you don't do the impossible. Several days later, however, Piltdon himself charged into the drawing room and slapped Feetch heartily on the back, causing him to break a pencil point. Receiving no satisfactory explanation from Piltdon, they set up their own research. Competitors found the patent impossible to circumvent, for any departure from its exact specifications nullified the effect.
 He didn’t want to lose his job.
 He felt challenged to develop creative solutions.  He didn’t want to lose his job.  He wanted to earn recognition.  He was able to hire more staff.