> this is definitely not it.

> is probably because

I don't mean to be contrary, but these statements stand in opposition, so I'm not sure why you are so confidently weighing in on this.

Also, while I'm sure you've "been in senior engineering management", it doesn't seem like you've been in an organization that doesn't do engineering as it's product offering. I think this article is addressing the 99% of companies that have some amount of engineers, but does not do engineering. That is to say: "My company does shoes. My senior leadership knows how to do shoes. I don't care about my engineering prowess, we do shoes. If someone says I can spend less on the thing that isn't my business (engineering) then yes, I want to do that."

>> this is definitely not it.

>> is probably because

> I don't mean to be contrary, but these statements stand in opposition

No, they don't. It's perfectly consistent to say one reason is certainly wrong without saying another much more likely reason is definitely right.