好的产品经理/糟糕的产品经理Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager

By Dai Yusen

Success/Failure

A good product manager pours everything into making the product succeed
A bad product manager finds every excuse for why the product failed

Goals
A good product manager spends most of their time on “what to build”, and on managing how it gets built
A bad product manager spends most of their time on the details of “how to build it”

A good product manager focuses on what should be done
A bad product manager focuses on what could be done

A good product manager focuses on winning the competition
A bad product manager focuses on getting things finished

A good product manager thinks first about user scenarios
A bad product manager thinks first about system logic

A good product manager cares most about users and business goals
A bad product manager cares most about what the competitors just did

A good product manager defines what their own work and achievements are
A bad product manager always hopes to be told what they should do

A good product manager always knows what the next most important thing is
A bad product manager easily gets new priorities shoved in, because the old priorities were never thought through

A good product manager reaches consensus with the boss on priorities
A bad product manager complains that the boss keeps dreaming up new requirements to squeeze in

A good product manager focuses limited resources on the few things that most advance the product’s goals
A bad product manager writes blog posts analyzing whether buttons should really have borders

A good product manager steams plain buns for the poor and lays out an imperial feast for the rich
A bad product manager steams plain buns for the rich and lays out an imperial feast for the poor

A good product manager sees first the hope that the product might succeed
A bad product manager sees first the potential failures and difficulties

Ways of working
A good product manager foresees the problems that may arise and has solutions ready
A bad product manager digs holes and spends every day busy filling them

A good product manager, after making a mistake, builds rules and processes so the same mistake never happens again
A bad product manager finishes filling one hole and moves on to fill the next

A good product manager predicts, before launch, how the numbers might move, and instruments the points that will need analysis ahead of time
A bad product manager is startled by the numbers after launch, and discovers the places needing deeper analysis were never instrumented.

A good product manager says the data should look like this, because XX, XX and XXX
A bad product manager says let’s run an A/B test and see what the data does

A good product manager sets the product’s marketing direction and plan, and weaves them into the product design
A bad product manager thinks marketing is entirely the marketing department’s job

A good product manager builds their own reputation and builds their own team
A bad product manager complains the company won’t hire people for them

Communication
A good product manager lets the boss clearly see the return on the resources invested
A bad product manager complains the boss won’t give them resources

A good product manager can clearly define goals, decision processes and key resources in words and diagrams, and makes sure every party involved understands them correctly
A bad product manager communicates casually by word of mouth, assuming everyone will naturally know what they are thinking

A good product manager becomes a real working partner and friend to the related departments
A bad product manager mostly stays inside their own department

A good product manager builds an excellent product together with the engineering team
A bad product manager leaves engineering with no idea what they are doing

A good product manager persuades the designers to think in terms of the product’s goals
A bad product manager stands behind the designers, pointing and decreeing