I agree with the gist of the author's point, but often when managers say they don't want the details, they really meant that they do want the details, just to some unspecified level, that you must divine. Give them less, and they aren't satisfied, and you risk damaging their trust in your expertise. So I've learned to give enough details until they tell me the magical phrase. Perhaps if I were better at reading people, and managers are better at managing, then there would be fewer misunderstanding, and less annoyance, from both sides.
