On the topic of What and How

This quote comes from a source that might be unexpected; general George S. Patton, Jr., Commander of the United States' Third Army during the battles in Europe in 1944-45 - but nevertheless, it's an interesting quote:

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

It's interesting because it does not only have military relevance; in fact, this is the case in most situations: if you tell people how to do things; well, they might do just that - but what if they had better ideas, which they simply keep in due to reverence towards your authority or similar reasons?
Of course, you can give people your opinion if they ask how to do things done - but it would in any case be a good idea to encourage them to come up with their own ideas on how things should be done. They might actually surprise with their ingenuity, and come forward with suggestions you never imagined.
(Translated from Noget om hvad og hvordan, originally published July 25th, 2013)