I don't want the details
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
An SVP's 'I don't want the details' can signal trust and a focus on systemic change.
Michael Heap recounts a call where an SVP cut off his explanation of an incident, saying the details would be reasonable but lead to no change. The SVP instead asked what would be changed to prevent a similar failure. Heap argues that postmortems often focus on understanding why something happened, which can make behavior seem reasonable and reduce urgency to fix systems. He advocates asking 'What are we changing?' and ensuring fixes don't depend on people remembering past conversations. He notes that not every failure requires a new process, but accepting risk must be conscious.
What commenters are saying
Comments split over the SVP's approach. Some agree it shows trust and forces systems thinking, with one noting that 'if a director and SVP are discussing technical details, you have an organizational issue, not a technical issue.' Others argue a leader needs some details to evaluate proposed changes, and that skipping them entirely risks superficial fixes. One commenter observes that 'the behavior of an organization is the sum of the actions of the people in it,' so an individual can start asking the right questions regardless of company culture.