Good PM, Bad PM

03-31

最近所有的文章都是11年前寫的文章，主要是因為百度空間沒有了，所以一點點的移植到知乎中，這篇文章是我自己翻譯了，目前互聯網流傳的版本都應該是這個版本。

【小小財神】：評價加翻譯。這個文章是微軟產品經理對產品經理的認知。雖然我認為微軟對產品團隊的重要性比較忽視，看到這篇文章，微軟對產品經理還是比較重視的，只是微軟的產品經理是個small business unit ceo的概念，涵蓋了組織、協調、戰略、規劃、設計、營銷和市場多方面的工作，這樣的人才在國內特別稀少。國內的產品經理多是講用戶需求、體驗和微創新，國內互聯網企業也組織了比較大的產品團隊，裡面所有的人都叫產品經理，實際上如果按照本文的認知，國內的產品團隊只有個別人可以叫做產品經理，多數人只能稱為助理產品經理。

我翻譯這篇文章的時候也思考了很多，外企多使用精英型的產品經理模式，包括google，對產品經理的要求非常高，甚至要求必須是技術出身；國內互聯網多使用產品團隊模式，兩種模式的好壞以後再說。大家理解的時候先將文章中的PM理解為整個產品團隊，而不是一個人。

Good product managers know the market, the product, the product line and the competition extremely well and operate from a strong basis of knowledge and confidence. A good product manager is the CEO of the product. Good product managers take full responsibility and measure themselves in terms of the success of the product. They are responsible for right product/right time and all that entails. A good product manager knows the context going in (the company, our revenue funding, competition, etc.), and they take responsibility for devising and executing a winning plan (no excuses).

Bad product managers have lots of excuses. Not enough funding, the engineering manager is an idiot, Microsoft has 10 times as many engineers working on it, Im overworked, I dont get enough direction. [Netscape CEO] Barksdale doesnt make these kinds of excuses and neither should the CEO of a product.

好產品經理非常了解市場、產品、產品線和競爭，並基於強大的知識基礎和自信進行產品運營。好產品經理是產品的CEO，他對產品全權負責，並依據產品的成功衡量個人的成功。他們為推出正確的產品、掌握適當的時間以及由此引發的一切問題負責。好產品經理了解進入的背景（公司，收入，競爭等），他們承擔制定和執行一個成功的計劃（沒有借口）。

壞產品經理有很多借口：沒有足夠資金；研發經理像一個白痴；微軟在同樣的項目上投入了10倍多的工程師；我們勞累過度；我沒有得到準確的方向知道。巴克斯代爾[網景公司總裁]不會使用這些借口，所以產品經理也不應該。

【小小財神評】產品CEO的概念，實際上是對產品經理最高要求，要求對每個方面都有清晰的認知。

我覺得最主要的是產品經理心態問題，積極心態是產品經理必有的特質，控制自己可以控制的事情也是產品經理的思維特性。不找理由，不遷怒於人，是一個產品經理基本的心態要求。

Good product managers dont get all of their time sucked up by the various organizations that must work together to deliver right product right time. They dont take all the product team minutes, they dont project manage the various functions; they are not gophers for engineering. They are not part of the product team; they manage the product team. Engineering teams dont consider Good Product Managers a "marketing resource." Good product managers are the marketing counterparts of the engineering manager. Good product managers crisply define the target, the 「what」 (as opposed to the 「how」) and manage the delivery of the 「what.」 Bad product managers feel best about themselves when they figure out 「how」. Good product managers communicate crisply to engineering in writing as well as verbally. Good product managers dont give direction informally. Good product managers gather information informally.

好產品經理不回使他們的時間被項目組中各個部門「吸干」，他們是要合理組織正確的時間交付好的產品。他們不會去做所有的產品組的會議記錄，他們不會幫助職能團隊進行項目管理，他們不是工程師的信息檢索工具（Gopher，參見WIKI）。他們不是該產品團隊的一部分，而是去管理產品團隊。研發團隊不應當簡單認為好產品經理是「營銷資源」，產品經理應該是研發經理與市場的夥伴和介面人。好產品經理清晰確定目標，確立目標是「什麼」（而不是「如何」），同時管理以確保可以交付。壞產品經理往往想「如何」（how）做一個東西，而且得意忘形。好產品經理清晰地和工程師團隊進行口頭和書面溝通。好產品經理不給非正式的方向信息，但好產品經理非正式地收集信息。

【小小財神評】好的產品經理解決的是發現問題，確立重點，而不是解決問題，如果產品經理集中在解決問題則是本末倒置。

Good product managers create collateral, FAQs, presentations, and white papers that can be leveraged. Bad product managers complain that they spend all day answering questions for the sales force and are swamped. Good product managers anticipate the serious product flaws and build real solutions. Bad product managers put out fires all day. Good product managers take written positions on important issues (competitive silver bullets, tough architectural choices, tough product decisions, markets to attack or yield). Bad product managers voice their opinion verbally and lament that the 「powers that be」 wont let it happen. Once bad product managers fail, they point out that they predicted they would fail.

好產品經理製作有用的市場宣傳資料、常見問題解答、演示和白皮書。壞產品經理抱怨說，他們整天回答問題銷售隊伍的問題，並陷於其中。好產品經理充分考慮產品的嚴重缺陷，建立真正的解決方案。壞產品經理整天撲火。好產品經理在重要問題上（例如競爭解決方案，艱難的架構選擇，艱難的產品決策，需要開拓那些市場/退出那些市場），會將他們的想法形成文字。壞產品經理口頭表達自己的意見，並哀嘆「當權者/高層」不作為。壞產品經理一旦失敗，他們指出，他們早就預計將失敗。

【小小財神評】產品經理對市場成功負責，要學會建立合適的市場營銷知識體系，不會市場的產品經理不是好產品經理，好PM要會FAB，市場策略。好產品經理不依靠權力去貫徹執行，而是依靠領導力。

Good product managers focus the team on revenue and customers. Bad product managers focus team on how many features Microsoft is building. Good product managers define good products that can be executed with a strong effort. Bad product managers define good products that cant be executed or let engineering build whatever they want (i.e. solve the hardest problem). Good product managers think in terms of delivering superior value to the market place during inbound planning and achieving market share and revenue goals during outbound. Bad product managers get very confused about the differences amongst delivering value, matching competitive features, pricing, and ubiquity. Good product managers decompose problems. Bad product managers combine all problems into one.

好產品經理專註於收入和客戶。壞產品經理關注有多少功能微軟正在做。好產品經理定義的產品，通過一定的努力是可以實現和完成的。而壞產品經理定義的產品，往往不可實現或者丟一個天大的命題給研發團隊，讓他們隨心所欲、試著做唄（比如：讓工程師們去解決一個幾乎無解的命題）。好產品經理對內進行計劃思考如何為市場提供卓越的價值；而對外則努力獲得市場份額和收益目標。壞產品經理往往搞不清楚提供價值、形成競爭優勢、產品定價和普遍性。好產品經理善於分類不同的問題；壞產品經理將問題匯混為一談。

【小小財神評】很多產品經理的做法就是功能的累加，其實用戶需求不等於功能的疊加。我親眼看到這樣的產品，不斷增加功能，成為業界最完整和全面的系統，但是用戶數量依然增加緩慢，關鍵在於這樣的功能滿足了少部分客戶的需求，但是降低了運行的速度的效率，如果是我，就要放棄這樣的功能。

Good product managers think about the story they want written by the press. Bad product managers think about covering every feature and being really technically accurate with the press. Good product managers ask the press questions. Bad product managers answer any press question. Good product managers assume press and analyst people are really smart. Bad product managers assume that press and analysts are dumb because they dont understand the difference between "push" and "simulated push."

好產品經理思考他們希望通過媒體寫的故事。壞產品經理想讓媒體準確覆蓋每一個功能和技術特點。好產品經理詢問媒體；壞產品經理回答媒體。好產品經理認為媒體與分析師的人真聰明；壞產品經理認為他們愚蠢，因為壞產品經理不理解的「推送」和「激發推送「的不同。

Good product managers err on the side of clarity vs. explaining the obvious. Bad product managers never explain the obvious. Good product managers define their job and their success. Bad product managers constantly want to be told what to do.

好產品經理寧可明晰問題勝過解釋明顯現象；壞產品經理從不解釋明顯問題。好產品經理定義他們的工作和成功；壞產品經理不斷希望被告知該怎麼做。

【小小財神評】：這個問題非常好玩，產品經理一定要有好的心態和自我激勵的能力，甚至一定要有一些自我嘲諷的能力。而且，還有一句話，對產品最了解的只能是產品經理，所以產品的前途和發展方嚮應該掌握在自己手裡。

Good product managers send their status reports in on time every week, because they are disciplined. Bad product managers forget to send in their status reports on time, because they dont value discipline.

好產品經理會每個星期按時發送狀態報告，因為他們守規則和紀律。壞產品經理忘記按時發送狀態報告，因為他們不重視紀律。

【小小財神評】：按時讓參與產品的每個人了解項目進度和相關信息是產品經理的責任，只有信息統一了，大家的認知才更容易達成一致，很多情況下，產品經理用信息的掌握權去維護自己的地位，這是完全沒有必要的。

Ben Horowitz

Director of Product Management

Summer 1996