Insist on talking only about the "what" and make the "how" a non-negotiable? That doesn't tend to fly when you're a techie in a tech-environment with a manager

Insist on talking only about the "what" and make the "how" a non-negotiable? That doesn't tend to fly when you're a techie in a tech-environment with a manager who usually has a tech background -- typically 10 years in the past, but not stopping them from thinking that they know the day-to-day better than the people who actually do the day-to-day. Now being a techie in a non-tech environment is different (see other subthread).