【读后感】这么说吧，国内大部分企业对产品经理的培养就和闹着玩一样（附麦肯锡研究文章）

昨天发了《【报告】这些令人惊讶的变化和趋势，产品经理们在2021年感受到了吗？》这篇文章，其中提到了麦肯锡的MPMI（McKinsey Product Management Index，麦肯锡产品管理指数），其中就说到麦肯锡认为产品经理需要具备五个核心竞争力：商业头脑；市场导向；软能力；技术能力；以客户体验为基础。

有妹子留言问是否有麦肯锡的这篇文章，我说找找，找到了就分享，果然让我找到了，这篇文章的标题是《The product management talent dilemma》（产品管理人才的困境），主要讲企业如何打造有竞争力的产品经理，然后就是翻译阅读，看完以后，感触颇深，因此就决定先写个读后感。

我就不说什么产品经理有多重要的这些内容了，就说说我看完麦肯锡这篇文章后的感想。

1、造成国内产品经理处境尴尬的关键因素之一是国内几乎所有的企业对产品经理的认知基本上处于一个非常低的水平中，说实话，有些企业的认识还不如我十多年前待过的某些企业；

2、认识的低水平直接造成了这些企业对产品经理的成长教育的不重视，产品经理的教育和成长是个长期的过程，企业必须要非常，非常，非常重视才行；

3、很多企业依然处于销售/营销驱动业务增长的发展模式中，而以市场为导向的发展模式已逐渐成为主流，其实从企业投入在不同职位上的教育费用就可以一见端倪；

4、在全球经济形势不太景气的今天，产品经理的重要性更显现无疑，按照美国人才网站GlassDoor的报告，产品经理在2021年最受欢迎的职位中排名第三，并且薪资也处于稳定增长的趋势中，而在美国认可1040个的职位类别中，只有22个职位的薪资超过产品经理：

5、有朋友可能会说，国内和国外的情况不一样，这个我当然承认，但问题是产品经理的定位和价值是一样的啊，否则就不是产品经理了，区别仅仅在于企业能否把产品经理摆到正确的位置上，让产品人们真正发挥出价值，这个好多企业是没想清楚的。

因为不断有应聘的朋友向我抱怨，面试的时候几乎问不到真正能体现产品经理工作的问题，包括一些大厂也是；

6、尽管这篇文章中，麦肯锡是以软件行业为例的，但事实上，从产品管理最底层的逻辑看，对产品经理的要求都是一样的，区别仅仅在具体的行业知识上，而不是能力上；

7、对于企业而言，如果真想培养出几个不错的产品经理，真的需要好好看看这篇文章，对于个人而言，如果真的热爱这个工作，想让自己成为这个领域中的佼佼者，也真的需要好好看看这篇文章。

The product management talent dilemma

Despite product managers’ central roles in software organizations, they are often neglected from a talent-management perspective. Four levers can address this industry-wide challenge.

尽管产品经理在软件组织中扮演着核心角色，但从人才管理的角度来看，他们常常被忽视。有四种方法可以解决整个行业的挑战。

Product management remains one of the most critical roles for any company for which software is a core growth driver. Amid the growing importance of data in decision making, an increased customer and design focus, and the evolution of software-development methodologies, the role of the product manager has evolved to influence every aspect of making a product successful. As a result, CEOs and technology leaders often identify the role of product manager as one of their top talent priorities. Paradoxically, results from the McKinsey Product Management Index reveal that companies are underinvesting in this crucial talent pool.

对于那些以软件为核心增长驱动力的公司来说，产品管理仍然是最关键的角色之一。随着数据在决策中的重要性越来越大，越来越关注客户和设计，以及软件开发方法的发展，产品经理的角色已经演变到影响产品成功的各个方面。因此，首席执行官和技术领导者经常把产品经理的角色确定为他们最优先考虑的人才之一。矛盾的是，麦肯锡产品管理指数(McKinsey Product Management Index)的结果显示，企业对这一至关重要的人才库投资不足。

The McKinsey Product Management Index is a survey of product managers at leading software companies to understand the capabilities and enablers that create top-performing product managers (Exhibit 1). This research surfaced systemic gaps around software-talent management; in fact, fewer than half of the product managers feel prepared to play the roles expected of them or grow into future product leaders.

麦肯锡产品管理指数(McKinsey Product Management Index)是一项针对领先软件公司的产品经理的调查，旨在了解创造顶级产品经理的能力和促成因素(图1)。这项研究揭示了软件人才管理方面的系统性差距；事实上，只有不到一半的产品经理觉得自己已经准备好扮演他们所期望的角色，或者成长为未来的产品领导者。

以下为图1中英文翻译内容：

Five core capabilities,supported by an effective operating model,creat the conditions for top-performing product managers.

五种核心能力，以有效的运营模式为支撑，为优秀的产品经理创造条件。

Business acumen：Comfort with business strategy,porfolio prioritization,go-to-market,pricing,and tracking key performance indicator and financial metrics

商业头脑：熟悉商业战略、产品组合优先级、入市、定价和跟踪关键绩效指标和财务指标

Market orientation：Ability to deeply understand market trends,partner ecosystems,and competitive strategies

市场导向：能够深入了解市场趋势、合作伙伴生态系统和竞争策略

Soft skills：Ability to lead teams,communicat with diverse groups,and influence change throughout the organization

软能力：有能力领导团队，与不同的团队沟通，并影响整个组织的变化

Technica skills：Ability to go deep on technoloay trends,architectural questions,stack control points,road maps,and managing the development life cycle

技术能力：能够深入了解技术趋势、架构问题、堆栈控制点、路线图和开发生命周期管理

Customer-experience grounding：Ability to design customer-centric experiences throughout the customer decision journey

以客户体验为基础：能够在整个客户决策过程中设计以客户为中心的体验

Product managers spend time across a range of critical areas and influence every part of the product

产品经理花时间在一系列关键领域，影响产品的每个部分

The McKinsey Product Management Index highlights the wide range of activities that demand the attention of product managers. The days and weeks of an average product manager are fragmented, which requires they be good at wearing multiple hats and prioritizing ruthlessly (Exhibit 2).

麦肯锡产品管理指数强调了产品经理需要关注的广泛活动。一般的产品经理的工作日和工作周都是分散的，这就要求他们善于同时担任多个角色，并无情地优先排序(图2)。

以下为图2中英文翻译内容：

Product managers must easily change gears and ruthlessly prioritize to support a vast number and range of activtities

产品经理必须容易地改变方向，无情地考虑优先级以支持大范围的活动

Defining product strategy：定义产品战略：18%

Engaging with customers and partners：与客户和合作伙伴沟通：12%

Reviewing metrics：评估指标：8%

Researching market and competition：研究市场和竞争：4%

Pricing and packaging：定价和包装：2%

Coaching,team management,recruiting：指导，团队管理，招聘：5%

Planning and maintaining the road map：规划和维护路线图：10%

Collaborating with other functions：与其它职能部门协作：12%

Defining product requirements：定义产品需求：14%

Collaborating with techinical and design functions：与技术和设计部门协作：15%

Modern product managers are involved in a wide range of decisions. For example, nearly 80 percent of product managers actively participate in design activities, over 80 percent are involved in go-to-market decisions, and nearly half are involved in pricing decisions. Additionally, 60 percent of product managers have basic analytics skills that enable them to dive into metrics and draw insights without relying on analysts.

现代产品经理要参与广泛的决策。例如，近80%的产品经理积极参与设计活动，超过80%的产品经理参与市场投放决策，近一半的产品经理参与定价决策。此外，60%的产品经理拥有基本的分析技能，这使他们能够在不依赖分析师的情况下深入研究指标和得出见解。

Talent management is a pervasive gap

人才管理是一个普遍存在的缺口

Despite the central role that a product manager plays, the talent-management practices associated with this function are surprisingly underdeveloped. This gap is evident across the industry—at large software companies in Silicon Valley, early-stage tech companies, and incumbents in other industries that are becoming more software oriented.

尽管产品经理扮演着核心角色，但与此相关的人才管理实务却惊人地落后。这一差距在整个行业都很明显——在硅谷的大型软件公司、处于早期阶段的科技公司，以及其他行业的现有公司，它们正变得更加以软件为导向。

As an example, only 35 percent of the product managers have clarity on what it would take to advance in their organizations, roughly the same number feel sufficiently coached and mentored and around 20 percent say that their companies have highly effective programs to identify and retain the best talent.

举例而言，只有35%的产品经理清楚地知道如何在他们的组织中取得进步，大致相同数量的产品经理感到有足够的指导和辅导，以及大约20%的产品说他们公司有高效的程序来识别和留住最好的人才。

We observe several underlying drivers for this gap in talent development. First, there are limited roles that involve managing people and teams in the product organization, and unlike in engineering, companies have not consistently defined an expert track for product managers. This can prevent product managers from growing or feeling that their careers are progressing unless they are managing more people.

我们观察到形成人才发展差距的几个潜在驱动因素。首先，在产品组织中，涉及管理人员和团队的角色是受限的，与工程不同的是，公司没有一致地为产品经理定义一个专家轨道。这可能会阻碍产品经理的成长，或者除非他们管理的人更多，才能让他们觉得自己的职业生涯在发展。

Additionally, the leadership development model for product management—that is, the behaviors and mind-sets that product managers are expected to display at various levels—is often poorly articulated. As a result, the only way to measure product managers is on the success of their product. Product managers tell us that they believe career progression at their companies is a matter of being in the right place at the right time to become part of a hit product rather than of doing the right things.

此外，产品管理的领导力发展模型——也就是产品经理在不同层次上应该表现出来的行为和思维模式——通常表述得很模糊。因此，衡量产品经理的唯一方法就是看他们的产品是否成功。产品经理告诉我们，他们认为公司的职业发展是在正确的时间、正确的地点成为热门产品的一部分，而不是做正确的事情。

What is more, product management primarily requires learning on the job, but few software companies have put in place mechanisms to support this learning. Product managers often start in other functions, such as engineering, design, or marketing, and bring a specific set of skills from their previous roles. But this transitioning talent needs support to wear the multiple hats required of product managers.

更重要的是，产品管理主要需要在工作中学习，但是很少有软件公司已经建立了支持这种学习的机制。产品经理通常从其他职能开始，如工程、设计或营销，并从他们之前的角色中带来一套特定的技能。但这些转型中的人才需要得到支持，才能担任产品经理所要求的多重角色。

Compounding the issue is the fact that product managers make up a small talent pool at most companies and hence often end up lower on the agenda of HR leaders.

让问题更加复杂的是，在大多数公司中，产品经理的人才库很小，因此在人力资源主管的议程中，产品经理的位置往往较低。

Several elements can help companies build a world-class product management talent program

有几个因素可以帮助公司建立一个世界级的产品管理人才计划

There are four key levers to pull to build a world-class program for product management talent.

要为产品管理人才打造一个世界级的方案，有四个关键手段。

First, articulate the product management leadership development model for the organization. This should include a concrete, actionable description of what the organization wants and expects from its product managers. It should reflect the organization’s strategy and priorities and is not the same as the conventional list of competencies used to assess employees. For example, competency models are often expressed as innate traits, qualities, or values that product managers should have, such as “is decisive,” whereas a leadership model is expressed as concrete descriptions of desired behaviors, such as “acts to reach timely closure on decisions.” The leadership model should also articulate what it looks like to make different transitions in the organization. For example, how do the behaviors and mind-sets differ for an established, principal product manager from one who is transitioning to a director of product.

首先，明确组织的产品管理领导力发展模型。这应该包括一个具体的、可操作的描述，描述组织希望从产品经理那里得到什么。它应该反映组织的战略和优先事项，而不是传统的用来评估员工的能力清单。例如，胜任力模型通常被表达为产品经理应该拥有的内在特质、品质或价值，例如“果断的”，而领导力模型被表达为对期望行为的具体描述，例如“采取行动，及时决策各项决定”。领导力模型还应该清楚地说明在组织中如何进行不同的过渡。例如，一个已经建立的首席产品经理和一个正在过渡到产品总监的人的行为和思维模式有什么不同。

Second, provide the product managers with organizational enablers for ongoing growth and apprenticeship. There are many ways to do this, including rotational programs, regular cadence of product reviews (with focus on coaching and knowledge sharing rather than inspection), walking in the shoes of other functions (taking support calls or doing customer demonstrations, for example), conducting skip-level one-on-one sessions, providing formal mentorship programs, giving regular growth-based feedback, and so on.

第二，为产品经理提供持续成长和学徒期的组织支持。有很多方法可以做到这一点，包括轮岗计划、定期的产品评估(重点是指导和知识分享，而不是检查)、站在其他职能的立场上(例如接听支持电话或做客户演示)、进行跨级别一对一的会议、提供正式的指导计划，定期提供基于成长的反馈，等等。

Third, leverage a field-and-forum approach to design an end-to-end learning journey. There are several principles and approaches for learning programs that we have discovered through our work with technology companies. The first is that product managers, like most adults, learn best by doing rather than by watching videos or sitting in classrooms. Additionally, product managers learn most effectively through activities that are grounded in their day-to-day context rather than through generic product management trainings. For example, we have run a product management academy program in which product managers take on ambitious projects and are coached through them on a weekly basis (Exhibit 3). It is important to note that these learning programs must be tailored to the different transitions that are critical for the individual organization. Additionally, it is important to put hard metrics on the “soft stuff” by tracking key performance indicators for these programs that measure both participation and subsequent effectiveness.

第三，利用实地和论坛的方法来设计端到端学习之旅。通过与科技公司的合作，我们发现了一些学习方案的原则和方法。首先，产品经理和大多数成年人一样，最好的学习方式是实践，而不是看视频或坐在教室里。此外，产品经理要通过日常活动而不是通过一般的产品管理培训进行有效地学习。例如，我们在一个产品管理学院项目中的产品经理要承担雄心勃勃的项目并通过他们每周训练(表3)。值得注意的是，这些学习计划必须针对不同的过渡进行调整，这对每个组织来说都是至关重要的。此外，重要的是，通过跟踪这些项目的关键绩效指标，将硬性指标放在“软材料”上，以衡量参与和后续的有效性。

以下为图3中英文翻译内容：

Preparation：1 month

准备：1个月

Participants train online for up to 20 hours on problem solving,communlcation skills,and functional knowledge

学员在网上接受长达20小时的问题解决、沟通技巧和职能性知识的培训

Boot camp1：2 days

训练营：2天

Participants convene in work-shop focused on problem solving,market research/industry analysis,and customer insights,then receive assigned project work and coaches

训练营中的参与者聚焦于解决问题、市场研究/行业分析和客户洞察，然后接受分配的项目工作和教练

Fieldwork：7 weeks

现场工作：7周

This exercise requires 20-30% of participants's time and includes projects representing key business problems solved by each participant team,guided by a coach/adviser

这个练习需要20-30%的参与者的时间，包括由每个参与者团队在教练/顾问的指导下解决代表关键业务问题的项目

Boot camp：2 days

训练营：2天

Midway through fieldwork,participants reconvence to share preliminary finding and attend additional workshops focused on customer value propositino/ product design and financial analysis

在现场工作的中途，参与者再次分享初步的发现，并参加额外的研讨会，重点是客户价值主张/产品设计和财务分析

Fieldwork：5 weeks

现场工作：5周

This exercise requires 20-30% of participants time and includes projects representing key business problems solved by each participant team,guided by a coach/adviser

这个练习需要20-30%的参与者时间，包括由每个参与者团队在教练/顾问的指导下解决的代表关键业务问题的项目

Graduation：1.5 days

毕业：1.5天

Participants present project findings and recommendations to executives

参与者向高层介绍项目发现和建议

Follow-up：ongoing

定期复查：持续

Some successful participants will become coaches/advisers in the next round,which includes an implications workshop to eusure necessary nontraining-related changes are addressed

一些成功的参与者将在下一轮成为教练/顾问，其中包括一个影响研讨会，以解决必要的非培训相关的改变

Last, hiring should be a strategic priority for senior leadership. At best-in-class software companies, senior product managers often report spending 3 to 5 percent of their time (equivalent to a half day to a full day per month) on recruiting. Doing recruiting well includes getting three elements right:

最后，招聘应该是高层领导的战略重点。在一流的软件公司，高级产品经理通常会花费3 - 5%的时间(相当于每个月半天到一整天)来招聘员工。做好招聘工作包括三个方面:

1、identifying and articulating the organizations’ unique value proposition for product managers

为产品经理确定和阐明组织独特的价值主张

2、leveraging diverse sourcing channels (using online communities like Hacker News, sponsoring meet-ups, identifying internal talent in other functions that are likely to produce product managers, and making “acqui-hires,” for example)

利用多样化的来源渠道(例如，利用Hacker News这样的在线社区、赞助会面、发现其他职能部门的内部人才，这些人才可能会产生产品经理，并进行“人才收购”)

3、a recruiting process that is efficient, removes unconscious biases, and tests real-life skills (through cases, actual presentations on product ideas, analyses using real product data, interactions across functions to test the ability to work with engineering and design, for example)

一个高效的招聘过程，消除无意识的偏见，并测试现实生活中的技能(例如，通过案例、对产品想法的实际演示、使用真实产品数据进行分析、跨功能的交互来测试与工程和设计工作的能力)。

Product management is one of the most critical talent pools for any company that is writing software but often does not get the right level of attention. Having a world-class product management function requires a multipronged approach under a holistic talent-management program. We recommend that this be a joint priority of the chief HR officer and the head of product.

对于任何一个编写软件的公司来说，产品管理是最关键的人才库之一，但往往没有得到适当的关注。拥有世界级的产品管理职能需要在一个全面的人才管理计划下采取多管齐下的方法。我们建议这是首席人力资源官和产品主管的共同优先事项。