To the moon

I met with a very wise person the other day who'd been involved in building/managing/selling/IPO'ing several significant internet businesses over the last twenty years.  Like me, he is someone without a technical background.  I asked him if he had any advice about communicating with technical people.  He said to me: 

"I think of it like making a car.  Sometimes I need a car that can take be back and forth from the train station.  Sometimes I need a car that can get me from here to Denver.  Sometimes (but not often) I need a car that can get me to the moon." 

It's often more interesting to work on a car that can get you to the moon from an engineering standpoint, but that's usually not what you need.  You just need to be able to get to Denver. 

Make sure when you're talking to your engineers you're clear about where you need the car to take you.  And don't be afraid to say, "I just need a ride to the train station."