This article provides you with an idea, taking ancient strategists and staff as examples to analyze the career advancement route and core value system of product managers.
In the cold winter of the Internet, friends in the product post also expressed some confusion - what is the core value of product managers? Can you work as a product manager for a lifetime? Even after reading many articles, everyone still has many questions.
In fact, although the position of product manager has emerged in recent years, similar positions are not uncommon in history. Analyzing various experiences in similar positions will help us understand the responsibilities of product managers themselves.
Here we provide you with an idea, taking ancient strategists and staff as an example to analyze the career advancement route and core value system of product managers.
1. The core value of product managers: From ancient strategists, what are the value of strategists and disciples?
I think the aristocratic wars during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are very similar to the current Internet world where the two strong forces are united and the heroes are separatist. We might as well turn the camera to the civilians who are active in the aristocratic wars to see how they output value, provide services, and realize their life ambitions and ideals. Compare and think about the core values of being a product manager.
The most famous plot about ancient strategists is the clip of "Mencius: Gaozi II" in the middle school textbook:
Shun was released in the acres, Fu Shuo was raised among the plates, Jiaoge was raised in fish salt, Guan Yiwu was raised in the scholars, Sun Shuao was raised in the sea, and Baili Xi was raised in the market.
- Shun finally became the leader;
- Fu Shuo (pronounced "Yue") used to work as a plasterer in Fuyan place, building walls for people. King Yin Wu Ding visited him and used him as prime minister;
- Jiao Ge was used from a vendor selling fish and salt. King Wen of Zhou recommended him to Zhou, and later assisted King Wu of Zhou;
- Guan Zhong (Yiwu) was originally a minister of the Prince Jiu of Qi. Prince Xiaobai and Prince Jiu fought for the ranks. Jiu failed. Guan Zhong was escorted back to the country as a criminal. Duke Huan of Qi knew that he had talent, so he used him as prime minister.
- Sun Shuao was entrusted to the court from the secluded beach;
- Baili Xi , a slave exchanged by Qin Mu Gong with five sheepskins, known as the "Five-Yu Doctor". He helped the lord "open thousands of miles to dominate the Western Rong" and became one of the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period".
From this we can see that the core value of a strategist is to help the boss provide advice, improve efficiency, and quickly expand his business. Compared with the soldiers of the same era, strategists cannot line up and attack. Compared with military strategists, perhaps fighting is not the expertise of strategists, but strategists have written a brilliant mark in history with their special thinking perspective and professional skills [Planning] .
As a product manager, it may not have the professional ability of design in terms of vision or the code ability of engineers, but when it is at the core of the business and has a rich knowledge background, it is easy to:
- internally - insight into problems that colleagues who charge online on the business line are difficult to understand;
- externally - insight into the core needs of users/customers, help the team clarify their ideas and grasp the main direction of the project.
so based on various conditions, strategize, weigh the pros and cons, and creatively solves problems. This is probably the core value of of the product manager .
2. Product manager's upward route: "See this position with another idea"
In modern times, the path of promotion for strategists is the best with Zuo Zongtang. The following is abridged from Wikipedia:
- 1832, Zuo Zongtang donated money to be a supervisor and failed the provincial examination. Later, he passed the imperial examination and tried to be a Jinshi, and took the imperial examination. He failed three times and never took the imperial examination again. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was politically corrupt and the economy was in decline. He witnessed the difficulties and encouraged himself in his room: "I have no one acre of body, but I worry about the world; I read thousands of volumes and I have been in harmony with the ancients."
- Zuo Zongtang was the lecturer at Lujiang Academy in Liling. In 1837, the governor of Liangjiang Tao Shu returned to his hometown to visit his relatives. He wrote a couplet: "The spring palace is calm, and the family mountain seal is in 20 years; the river flows day and night, and the children of the eight states are looking forward to their return." Tao Shu saw it and regarded him as a genius. Later, he entered Tao Shu's shogunate and became a relative of Tao. Since
- 1851, he has successively joined the governor of Hunan Zhang Liangji and Luo Bingzhang .
Zuo Zongtang was studying and came up with ideas. The work of junior staff is mostly to deal with writing work, which is no different from junior product managers. Many people who are new to the industry or change their careers. Friends came to consult and felt that the daily work did not have a great sense of accomplishment, and it was relatively boring. It was not the fantasy product manager's guidance and slandering. These are normal. In fact, almost all professions are like this. Before celebrities become famous, they were not surrounded by flashes. The chief engineer also came out from the deep mountains and old forests one by one.
You can see that Zuo Zongtang did two things right in the early days
- One is to do what he is good at and resolutely gave up the imperial examination;
- The other is to follow the right person and find his own Bole.
But carefully, these two things are actually one thing. Without their own talent, it is difficult to be accepted by the bureaucratic class. Without Bole, it is difficult to achieve substantial improvement in the practice process. The problem that seems to be "there is a chicken first and the egg first" actually has a basic solution, which is to do your own things well and "wait for the wind to come".
I would like to ask here, all friends who are "confused", have you really done the things you can do in your hands? Do you really know what you want? If not, you may still need to accumulate some.
Of course, Zuo Zongtang did not stop here:
- 1856 was promoted to the doctor of the Ministry of War.
- 1862 was recommended by Zeng Guofan and was promoted to the governor of Zhejiang, and formed a mixed Chinese and French The army and the mixed army of Chinese and British troops fought against the Taiping Army, defeated Jinhua, Shaoxing, and other places, and was promoted to the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang.
- 1864, defeated Hangzhou and was awarded the title of First Class Ke Jingbo. Later, he devoted himself to the remnants of the Taiping Army in the southeast.
- 1867, he was appointed as the imperial envoy to supervise the military affairs of Shaanxi and Gansu, and decided to "first Nian and then return" strategy, and participated in the pacification of the Nian Army the following year.
- 1876, he decided to "slow advance and urgent battle" strategy, commanded the army of Liu Jintang, and commanded the suppression of Agubai, Bai Yanhu, the following year he recovered all the territory of Xinjiang except the Yili area, and made pre-plans for the establishment and development of Xinjiang.
- 1878 was first class Ke Jingbo and second class Ke Jinghou of Jin.
- 1881 joined Beijing as Minister of Military Affairs and Governor of Liangjiang.
- In September 1884, the imperial envoy supervised the military affairs of the Fujian Navy. In September of the following year, he died of illness in Fuzhou and was posthumously named Wenxiang.
From this experience, we can see that Zuo Zongtang was recommended by Bole (friend and mentor Zeng Guofan) (having his own circle) - and accumulated some military achievements through "creatively solving problems (making plans)" - and finally began to rise to the top.
may be the same as a product manager - enter the product manager circle (for example, looking at the article on PM bus is a good way to receive information) - make friends - accumulate 's own works by "creatively solving problems" (preferably large-scale project experience) - and ultimately achieve the improvement of career channels.
3. The inner spirit of product managers: "know the end and then there is a certainty"
Our era is an era of self . The advantage is to show oneself, colorful, and bloom with flowers. Everyone can think more about their uniqueness and unique value. Such opportunities are provided by the previous society. The disadvantage is that it is easy to fall into the small pattern of in .
From a certain perspective, since everyone adheres to the freedom of faith, it is often easier to be influenced by secular values. When it is difficult for us to achieve secular success as an individual, we will become self-blame and anxious .The same is true for the position of product manager in
. From the sentence structure of this question, it seems that there is anxiety inside and outside - you can make money to support your family, but you will not suddenly be laid off in a short period of time, and the upward system is relatively complete. Why do you suddenly start thinking about the future?
is not satisfied and not clear, so it is not calm
This reminds me of the teachings in the "Great Learning" which was the first of the "Four Books and Five Classics" in ancient times. The "Great University" stipulates the ultimate goal of a Confucian scholar in his life, and it says that "the ultimate good" is the most fundamental goal and ultimate value of a Confucian scholar. For Confucian scholars, not talking about fame, wealth, but "the highest good", it is like raising a proposition to product managers or all Internet people in a broad sense - what value can we get without saying making a lot of money?
The way of university lies in the clear virtue, in the closeness of the people, and in the end of the ultimate good. Only when you know the end can you be calm, only when you are calm can you be calm, only when you are calm can you be at peace, only when you are at peace can you be considerable, and only when you are at peace can you be able to get it.
Know the "ultimate meaning" - "stop at the highest good", and then the will has concentration; the will has concentration, and then the mind can calm down and not move recklessly; if the mind is not moved recklessly, then you can be content with the situation; if you can be content with the situation, then you can be careful and considerate; if you can be careful and consider the state of the best. How interesting is
? It looks like a ladder, but it is also a closed loop.
If the position of product manager itself has its ultimate significance, we will eventually reach a certain level and realize the most basic experience in life - through creative labor, we will make our own meager contributions to society.
Will everyone have less anxiety in their hearts?
Conclusion: Product managers are careers that can be a career for life
Just like architects, engineers, and scientists, in essence, product managers are also a profession, and when the entire industry does not have a mature methodology, if you persist, you may become a one-on-one person's opinion. While helping future generations make progress, they realize their own life value.
Of course, just like not every architect will become a master like I.M. Pei , perhaps not every product manager can end up being rich like an Internet tycoon or relying on a great product to become famous, but we can choose to be an ordinary product manager, and we can also experience the joy of work, make interesting friends, and deeply feel the beauty and touching process of creating Internet products.
Buddhism has a basic concept called [Father], which originally refers to the way for practitioners to enter the Tao, but now it generally refers to the way to cultivate virtue, study or do things. I think that if life is a process of experience and a journey of cultivation, then the position of [Product Manager] can be a good [Method].
So from the perspective of practitioners, and from the perspective of an ordinary person. I would say that a product manager can do a career for a lifetime and a good position where he can "children/daughter inherit his father's business". If he does it seriously, he will come and will always come.
Life is short and dreams are far away. I wish we can all find the right direction, cheat along the way, overcome all obstacles, and be invincible.
Author: PM Bus, official account: PM Bus (ID: pm_bus)
This article was originally published by @PM Bus and is a product manager. Reproduction of
is prohibited without permission from
. The title image is from Unsplash, based on CC0 protocol
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