The different view of developers and managers

I think Steve Mcconnell nailed the reason for friction between developers and non-technical managers:
"many programmers have found that the best way to ensure something works is to be hyper-conscious of all the ways it might break. For people who aren't used to that orientation, it can seem pretty negative.
As you move up in an organization, top executives tend to be much more focused on possibilities than on problems, as well as being more concerned with the big picture than with pesky details."