{
  "id": 9720857,
  "title": "Project leader thought his team understood the plan, ended up fixing their 'interpretation' of it",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/project-leader-thought-his-team-understood-the-plan-ended-up-fixing-9720857",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-25T06:37:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register",
    "slug": "the-register",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/networks/2026/09/25/project-leader-thought-his-team-understood-the-plan-ended-up-fixing-their-interpretation-of-it/5298754"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the late 1990s, Antonio, a project leader for a multinational financial services company, was tasked with overseeing the launch of a new reverse proxy in Hong Kong. Antonio gathered his 25-person tech team for a town hall meeting, introducing the project and detailing its configuration. Recognizing that some team members were more comfortable speaking Cantonese, Antonio apologized for predominantly speaking English and inquired if everyone understood the plan. The team responded with beaming faces and vigorous nods, and work commenced without issue.\n\nHowever, as the implementation weekend approached, Antonio noticed discrepancies in the configurations. Upon investigation, he found that the production environment elements were not as he had intended. Key parts, including load balancers and routers, were \"out of whack.\" It took Antonio four days to identify and rectify the issues. He organized a debrief to understand the breakdown and the reasons behind the subtle tweaks to the production build that seemed to comply with the original plan but failed nonetheless.\n\nDuring the debrief, a solemn team member explained, \"Our way is better.\" Antonio, visibly surprised, countered that their alterations were incorrect because they broke the system. He reiterated that he had asked if they comprehended the migration plan, and each member affirmed their understanding. Antonio pressed further, questioning why they claimed to understand the plan yet proceeded differently. The team reiterated their understanding, to which Antonio responded, \"That was the question you asked, not whether you would follow it. Your plan was different. Your plan was better.\"\n\nAntonio sought to explain his perspective, concluding that while technical skills were important, understanding local culture was equally crucial. He shared his thoughts with On Call, noting that \"Tech is easy. People are hard.\" Have you encountered challenges in making technology work across different cultures? If so, feel free to share your story with On Call for a future Friday feature.",
  "summary": "Malicious compliance crosses cultural barriers",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register Science",
        "title": "Project leader thought his team understood the plan, ended up fixing their 'interpretation' of it",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/project-leader-thought-his-team-understood-the-plan-ended-up-fixing",
        "published": "2026-09-25T06:37:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}