Positive sum versus zero sum. In tech, you make money and influence on the upside, so casting the net wide and consistently filling the funnel with new people and ideas is incentivized and rational. Being too protective of network or capital means you miss the big one, and consistent big ones is power. In Washington, every two years the board shifts. Elections are zero sum, and you have to fight for every vote. Casting the net wide will break alliances and threaten orders or coalitions that have been built over decades. Everyone responds to their incentives, but best to know where you play best. People who excel in positive sum games are usually pretty bad at zero sum.