You can always tell managers that used to be programmers in a previous life.  Sometimes you'll stumble into their field of previous expertise and suddenly they start busting out technical terms and opinions in a way that's totally different from what you normally expect.  As it turns out, Tony Goodman, our studio head, was a database programmer before he founded Ensemble Studios.  I'd always known this, but it was definitely reinforced when in the middle of a discussion about database organization (of the kind that we use in Ensemble Studios Online), and suddenly he busts out a huge list of bullet points about proper database normalization structure. 

I think most of his details were lost on the non-technical designers he was talking to, but it was still good stuff.  I think the mindset of a programmer is something that never leaves you...