When my direct subordinates report to me I expect results, not raw process details. I don’t want to assemble the pizza—I want it served, ready to eat. Updates should focus on outcomes, timelines, and solutions, not backstory. This mindset ensures that leadership stays focused on decisions and forward motion, not on sorting through unnecessary ingredients to make the pizza themselves.

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There’s a principle I try to reinforce with my teams: when you’re reporting to the upline, bring the pizza—not the ingredients. I don’t want the ingredients. I aant the pizza.

When I ask for a status update, I’m not asking for a recount of the raw materials that went into the process. I don’t need to know about the internal frictions, the back-and-forth, or the personal hurdles that cropped up. That’s part of the work—but it’s not the update.

The update is the outcome: are we done or not? If not, when will it be done? Is there anything blocking progress that I specifically need to help with? And if so, what do you recommend?

In a recent hiring follow-up, I was given a flood of backstory—who spoke to whom, who didn’t, the conflicts that popped up, and so on. But that’s the equivalent of someone bringing me flour, yeast, tomatoes, and cold cheese when I ordered a pizza. It’s not my role to assemble it—I just need to know whether the pizza is ready, and if not, when it will be.

That doesn’t mean those details aren’t important—they absolutely are, to the people doing the work. But the upline isn’t the place for raw ingredients. The upline needs the finished product, or a clear, structured brief that helps us move forward without having to sort through the kitchen inventory.

This isn’t about ignoring problems or downplaying challenges—it’s about framing communication at the right level for the audience. If there’s a challenge you can’t solve, surface it with a proposed path forward. But don’t just serve the mess.

What I expect from my team is simple: deliver the outcome, or make it clear what’s needed to get there—without the baggage of the process. That’s the pizza principle. And it keeps things moving.

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