Recently, a friend fell into a dilemma of ego, and after eight years away from the workplace, she returned to her job as a B-end product manager, only to find it difficult to adapt to its uncertainty.
In her words:
“I don’t like this position, I need to accept new things every day, and the corresponding business docking people have changed, and the needs have changed, and I don’t like this uncertainty.”
I understand her dilemma: joining a new company requires rapid grasp of new business while dealing with an “uncooperative” R&D team and changing demands, which can lead to physical and mental exhaustion.
If I hadn’t studied nonviolent communication, I might have given my advice directly and even judged the other person in this situation。
Like whatThe first reaction will be to feel that the other party is not studying hard and is not motivated。 Specifically, I think: “In the face of new business and new environment, I think everyone should take the initiative to learn, how can we not learn?” Therefore, if you don’t study, you won’t be motivated. I will first label the other person as “not actively learning” and “not motivated” in my heart.
Then I will start giving her some advice that seems good and effective to me。 For example, I will tell her how to learn a new business, how to quickly adapt to a new environment, how to persuade Thorn Head R&D, and teach her some ways to deal with uncertain situations. I will feel that these suggestions will definitely be helpful to her, and I will be happy to share them with her.
Finally, I will try to convince her to accept my point of view, which is that the position of product manager is meant to face a lot of uncertainties and be able to solve these uncertainties。 I will explain to her that this is determined by the nature of the product manager’s job, and she has to accept this and work on improving her ability to cope with uncertainty.
After 10 years of interaction design, why did I transfer to product manager?
After the real job transfer, I found that many jobs were still beyond my imagination. The work of a product manager is indeed more complicated. Theoretically, the work of a product manager includes all aspects of the product, from market research, user research, data analysis…
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All in all, before learning nonviolent communication, I may preconceived that the other person has a problem, then give advice that I think is valid and try to convince her to accept my point of view.
But if I were really “with” her, I would only tell her:
“The important thing is to stay happy. If you’re feeling depressed, remember that you always have options (including leaving). The decision is entirely yours. ”
I believe she is an adult with enough judgment to make her own choices.
Therefore, what I want to talk to you today is not those specific methods and techniques, such as how to learn new business, how to quickly adapt to a new environment, or how newcomers should plan their work after joining the company, as well as specific methods of product design, etc.
What I really want to discuss with you today is a more important issue, that is:As a B-end product manager, what qualities do you need to have to really do this job well in order to succeed in this position?？
I think they could be: “love” and patience, stress resistance, learning ability, open-mindedness.
The first is “love” and patience。
When you’re working on a product, there may be a moment when you think:Making products is like raising children”。 Even many times, you are still the “adoptive father/mother” – that is, the product you are responsible for (especially the B-end product) has been iterated for many years, and you are already its Nth generation “adoptive father/mother”.
When you come into contact with it, it has learned to “walk” and has its own “values”, but you “don’t know anything” about it, will you still have enough “love” (or enthusiasm) to start learning its “temperament” again, accept its “bad habits”, maintain enough patience to “continue to communicate” with it, so that it can learn to “run”, “reshape values”, and finally “grow up”.
For example, when you join a new company, you are faced with a series of systems, and your responsibility is to optimize and iterate on them. If you can’t reconstruct it (like you can’t regenerate a child), how do you deal with it?
What do you do when users say to you, “Why is this logic designed so unreasonable”? Whether you blame the “ex”, or reconsider the solution, or shirk the prevarication, it all depends on your “love” for it.
Raising a child requires more than just love, patience。 Because no tree can be matured in one year, no one can grow in ten years, and no B-end product can mature in three years. They all need time to grow, patience to wait, and they all have a strong lag effect.
That is, the cost you pay today will not get feedback tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow will not work. It may not be until 3 or 5 years later that you know whether the effort at that time was worth it (i.e., positive return) or not (i.e., negative value).
Empirically inferred:B-end products may take 3 months to get started, 6 months to get started, 1 year to get used to it, 3 years to get used to it, 5 years to become half an expert, and it may take 10 years to really become an expert。
The second is the ability to withstand pressure。
When you are faced with complex business, new systems and processes, and many demands, what kind of state of mind can you use to face it?
For example, R&D students who understand business and technology, although they are strong, are not a “reasonable” person, every time you want to consult him a question, it makes you feel indifferent and arrogant, but you have to ask him, what should you do?
What should I do when I research needs with users and find that they can only understand 20%-30% of the business and needs, and different roles have objections to the same needs?
What do you do when your leader assigns you a new task and finds it difficult to fully understand its intentions and needs?
Especially when you are a person with a strong sense of responsibility and easy internal friction, can you still withstand this pressure in the face of N “bad moments that you don’t understand” every day?
The pressure comes not only from others, but also from your self-demands on what others expect to respond to, and the reality of “having to” to support your family。
The “broken jar” response may be one of the ways to effectively reduce your stress. That is, when you can accept the most serious consequences (such as leaving your job or being “graduated”), you may be able to reduce your stress.
Or when you are no longer obsessed with dealing with other people’s expectations and focus only on your own inner needs, it may be another way to reduce your stress.
The third is learning ability。
Learning ability = mindset + method + outcome
Although I don’t want to admit it, the reality is that after the age of 35 (taking me as an example), when faced with new things, new technologies, new businesses, and new opportunities, it is difficult to maintain the excited, motivated, and open and positive attitude of my youth.
At the same time, when faced with problems and difficulties, the mentality of choosing to escape and not being willing to face it even exceeds the mentality of “not giving up until the goal is achieved”.
The reasons may lie in:
- The first is the change in problem-solving ideas。 That is, there are many ways to solve problems, and sometimes the problem cannot be solved, so the person or environment that solves the commission problem (such as changing jobs);
- The second is the choice of input and output。 That is, instead of spending time on “endless” work, it is more practical to take care of the family, even if it is sometimes financially lost;
- The third is the mentality of small wealth and peace。 That is, when you grow older and have no chance to be rich and noble, the mentality of being a little rich will “quietly work” and make you lose your fighting spirit.
Such a mentality cannot be helped by others, only you can choose and adjust it yourself, just like a person who can never wake up and pretend to be asleep.
When the mentality adjustment is completed, we can talk about learning methods.
Unlike mentality, learning methods can be learned, replicated, and taught.
For example, how to quickly learn a new system?
Using flow chart + product architecture diagram + entity relationship diagram as output and product documentation + practical operation as input is bound to achieve twice the result with half the effort. If you don’t understand what a flowchart or entity relationship diagram is, that’s okay. Use AI tools + Baidu cases + tutor consultation + practical methods to get started quickly.
How to learn a new business quickly? Use the four-character formula of the industry panorama to sort it out: people, things, things, and reason.
- People: Sort out the roles and positions in the business, as well as what their specific goals and indicators are;
- Things: sort out what are the key business activities, what are the relationships between them, and what are the key matters in the process of historical evolution, etc.;
- Things: Sort out what resources are available. For example, white papers, industry reports, descriptions of competing companies, etc.;
- Reason: Sort out the key methodologies and consensus of the business.
The purpose of learning is to achieve results.
It has two meanings: one is that the output-oriented learning method is better; The second is to say that the learning ability is to get results – learning that is not result-oriented is a hooligan.
thereforeHave a good attitude, master the learning method, and get results through fast learningmay be one of the solutions when you deal with the dilemma of a new environment, a new business, and a new product.
The fourth is an open mind。
Classic quotations of corporate culture such as “change is the only constant” and “change with demand, there is a future”, have been reminding us of the inevitability of “change”, and change will bring uncertainty, making you feel out of control and frustrated.
Someone once asked me, “What is the biggest difference between being an R&D engineer and a product manager?” My answer is: the former is for deterministic work, while the latter is for uncertainty work.
For product managers (including B-side product managers), uncertainty is the only certainty。
For example, you need to face: \u2012 Not sure if someone will come to you today to ask questions or requests? \u2012 Lack of information and having to make decisions and not sure if it’s the best option? – After a major project goes live, not sure if it will cause new problems and get complaints? \u2012 The customer asked you to evaluate the solution and man-day, but you are not sure if it is accurate enough to cause the company to bear the cost? \u2012 And so on.
Confronting, accepting, and dealing with uncertainty may be the product manager’s destiny (if you believe in fatalism).
The only thing that can be done is:Keep an open mind, establish your own principles, and master mature methodologies。
Written at the end
The saddest threshold when you have been away from the workplace for too long may not be the relationship in the workplace or the requirements for ability, but the adjustment of your mentality and state of mind.
As the saying goes: “Half an acre of square pond is opened, and the sky and clouds and shadows linger together.” How can it be so clear? For the source of living water. ”
Whether it’s leaving a rare opportunity or overcoming the dilemma of your current job, it’s an option, and the only must-have are:Keep an open mind and mind, and don’t be overshadowed by daily tedious things that cover 100% of your true self。
This is the most important and only hope I have for her.
Hey, the old problem is made again, I still like to give advice, and I will change it next time.
