In every instance where I have been a part of building a successful firm, the product managers were the difference makers. Their ability to translate customer input and insights into products that solved problems for our customers, propelled our success.
在我所參與創(chuàng)建的每一個成功的公司，產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理總是那些影響最終結(jié)果的人。他們把客戶的需求轉(zhuǎn)化為解決客戶問題的產(chǎn)品，推動了我們公司的成功。?

A Challenging and Valuable Role:
一個具有挑戰(zhàn)性和有價值的角色：?

The challenging role of product manager is? increasingly sought after by professionals looking to gain broad organizational exposure and management experience. The product manager's responsibilities span the entire organization and extend into the marketplace typically focusing on one or more industry and customer groups.?
產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的具有挑戰(zhàn)性的作用越來越受到想獲得廣泛的組織風(fēng)險管理經(jīng)驗的專業(yè)人士的追捧。產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的職責(zé)跨越整個組織，并延伸到市場上，通常專注于一個或多個行業(yè)和客戶群體。?

Product Managers work to understand the needs and challenges of their targeted customers and to translate those insights into ideas for investment and new product development or existing product enhancement. They create the business cases or plans for investment ideas and when these are approved by management, they work closely with engineering or research and development teams to identify requirements and support the process of translating an idea into a new product.
產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的工作就是了解目標(biāo)客戶的需求，用于投資新產(chǎn)品的開發(fā)或?qū)ΜF(xiàn)有產(chǎn)品進行改進，并制作成商業(yè)案例或投資計劃，經(jīng)管理層批準后，他們與工程和開發(fā)團隊密切合作，明確需求和支持將想法轉(zhuǎn)化為新產(chǎn)品的整個過程。?

Once a product has moved through the development phases, the product manager works to help prepare the organization to market, sell and support the offering.?
一旦一個產(chǎn)品已經(jīng)進入開發(fā)階段，產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的工作就是幫助準備組織市場和銷售產(chǎn)品。?

During the product's life, the product manager is involved in monitoring performance, recommending adjustments to pricing or promotion to counter competitor responses and working with customers to identify potential enhancements. Eventually, the product manager plans a replacement product while managing the discontinuation of the older offering.?
在產(chǎn)品的生命周期中，產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理參與了監(jiān)控，調(diào)整定價或升級以應(yīng)對競爭對手的反應(yīng)，和客戶溝通確定潛在的增強功能。最終，產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理計劃了一個升級產(chǎn)品，同時管理舊產(chǎn)品的中止。?

Product Managers become subject matter experts in their markets and technologies and are often called upon to meet with customers or prospects and speak at industry events or contribute to relevant publications.
?
產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理成為他們的市場和技術(shù)的行業(yè)專家，經(jīng)常會見客戶或潛在客戶，在行業(yè)活動上發(fā)表演說或為相關(guān)刊物撰稿。
?

And they do all of this by guiding, engaging with and leading individuals and functions across their organization, often with no more formal authority than their ability to persuade others to back their ideas.
他們通過引導(dǎo)參與并主導(dǎo)跨組織的個體和組織做到這一切，通常是非正式授權(quán)的方式說服別人接受他們的想法。?

This is a challenging, demanding job and one that is increasingly sought after by new college and MBA graduates. Serving as a product manager offers an opportunity to gain high visibility in the organization and to cultivate the skills and reputation necessary to advance in future general management roles.
這是一個具有挑戰(zhàn)性的，要求高的工作，受到越來越多的新的學(xué)院和工商管理碩士畢業(yè)生的追捧。作為一個產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理擁有了可以在組織中獲得高的知名度，并培養(yǎng)必要的技能和聲譽，以促進未來的職業(yè)發(fā)展的機會。?

The Evolving Role of Product Manager:
產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理角色的演變：?

The classical role of product manager originated within consumer products companies such as Procter & Gamble or Unilever, where these product or category champions served as CEOs of their offerings. From market research to product development, packaging, promotion and selling, these individuals managed their offerings for growth and profits.
產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的經(jīng)典作用起源于寶潔公司或聯(lián)合利華等消費類產(chǎn)品公司，這些產(chǎn)品的冠軍作為他們產(chǎn)品的首席執(zhí)行官。從市場研究到產(chǎn)品開發(fā)、包裝、促銷和銷售，這些人管理他們的產(chǎn)品的增長和利潤。?

Over time, practically every industry sector has adopted some form of the role of product manager. Even service-focused firms rely upon a version of the product manager role to translate customer needs and market insights into new services offerings.
隨著時間的推移，幾乎每一個行業(yè)部門都采取了某種形式的產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的角色。即使專注于服務(wù)的公司依靠產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的角色，將客戶的需求和市場的見解轉(zhuǎn)化為新的服務(wù)產(chǎn)品。?

In a number of markets, the role has been split into two, including the product manager and product marketing manager. The product marketing manager focuses more on the outbound marketing and coordination, while the product manager tends to focus a majority of his or her efforts on internal coordination, particularly with the firm’s research and development or engineering teams. In this split role situation, the two parties work closely together to ensure consistency and coordination across stakeholder groups.
在多個市場中，角色被分成了兩個，包括產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理和產(chǎn)品營銷經(jīng)理。產(chǎn)品營銷經(jīng)理更多的關(guān)注于對外的營銷和協(xié)調(diào)，而產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理往往把大部分的精力集中在內(nèi)部協(xié)調(diào)上，特別是與公司的研究和開發(fā)或工程團隊合作。在這種分裂的角色情況下，雙方緊密合作，以確保利益相關(guān)者群體的一致性和協(xié)調(diào)性。?

Not a Project Manager!
不是項目經(jīng)理！?

While there is a great deal of cross group coordination involved in carrying out the role of product manager, the job should not be confused with that of the project manager. The project manager is responsible for coordinating and guiding teams working on temporary and unique initiatives, while the product manager approaches his/her offerings from a business case and management perspective.
雖然在執(zhí)行產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的角色中涉及到大量的跨組織協(xié)調(diào)，但工作不應(yīng)該與項目經(jīng)理的工作相混淆。項目經(jīng)理負責(zé)協(xié)調(diào)和指導(dǎo)團隊的臨時和獨特的工作，而產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理更接近于從他/她的產(chǎn)品的業(yè)務(wù)案例和管理的角度來指導(dǎo)工作。

The project manager has the benefit of well defined industry standards and certifying practices, while the role of product manager is considerably less formalized on an industry basis. There are a number of firms involved in training product managers, but as of this writing, there is no standardized body of knowledge or certifying body, such as those that exist in the field of project management. It is common for both individuals—the product manager and the project manager—to work together on a new product development or product enhancement initiative.
項目經(jīng)理有良好定義的行業(yè)標(biāo)準和認證，而產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理缺少正式的行業(yè)基礎(chǔ)。有一些公司參與培訓(xùn)產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理，但是就像這里寫的，沒有那些存在于項目管理領(lǐng)域的標(biāo)準化知識或認證機構(gòu)。這是常見產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理和項目經(jīng)理在一起為一個新的產(chǎn)品開發(fā)或迭代計劃工作。

Skills Required for Success as a Product Manager:
作為一個成功的產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理所需的技能：

Given the broad scope of the role of product manager, there are a number skill sets essential for success. These include:
鑒于產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理角色的廣泛定義，有些核心技能對于成功至關(guān)重要。包括：

The ability to cultivate a deep understanding of a particular market segment or customer grouping.

Familiarity with the specific application of the products in customer settings.Curiosity to explore and identify customer challenges and translate those challenges into product or service ideas.

培養(yǎng)對特定細分市場或客戶群的深刻理解的能力。

熟悉產(chǎn)品在客戶場景中的具體應(yīng)用。

對挖掘客戶的需求充滿好奇心，并將這些需求轉(zhuǎn)化為產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的想法。

The ability to guide and lead others informally—without formal report-to authority.

Outstanding written and spoken communication skills, with emphasis on persuasion skills.

Depending upon the nature of the offering, a deep level of technical expertise may be required in the role. Many product managers have technical backgrounds, including engineering degrees.

具有很好的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力。

優(yōu)秀的書面和口頭溝通技巧，注重說服技巧。

根據(jù)產(chǎn)品的性質(zhì)，深層次的技術(shù)專長可能需要的作用。許多產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理都有技術(shù)背景，包括工程學(xué)位。

Career Path Into Product Management:

產(chǎn)品管理的職業(yè)生涯路徑：

Product managers come from all manner of backgrounds, including:

產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理來自不同的背景，包括：

Engineering, Research & Development

工程研究

Quality or Operations Management

質(zhì)量或運營管理

Technical Support

技術(shù)性支持

Marketing Communications

市場開發(fā)宣傳

Customer Support

客戶支持

Sales Support

銷售支持

Additionally, some firms hire individuals directly from firms in the target market segment. There are many paths into this interesting and important role.
此外，一些公司直接從公司的目標(biāo)市場部門招聘，還有許多其他的途徑可以進入這個有趣而且重要的職業(yè)。

Career Path for Product Managers:

產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的職業(yè)生涯路徑：

While product managers can advance within their own functions or departments, it is common for experienced product managers to advance into general management or functional management roles. I have personally promoted product managers into sales, marketing and other general management positions. Their broad-base of industry, offering and operations knowledge make them highly desirable for a number of roles in an organization.?
雖然產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理可在自己的職能或部門里提升，有經(jīng)驗的產(chǎn)品管理人員進入到綜合管理或職能部門管理的角色也是很常見的。我個人將產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理推薦到銷售、市場和其他一般管理職位。他們廣泛的行業(yè)基礎(chǔ)，支持和運營知識使他們很適合一個組織中很多職能。

The Bottom-line for Now:
寫在最后的：

A career in product management is rich in challenges and opportunities to learn and to contribute to the success of an organization. The role is part entrepreneurial and part general management, and individuals who prefer to operate with a high degree of responsibility and independence enjoy working in this position a great deal. There are few roles in our modern workplace that rival the opportunity the product manager has to shape the future success of an organization.?
在產(chǎn)品管理的職業(yè)生涯中充滿豐富的挑戰(zhàn)和機會去學(xué)習(xí)，有助于機構(gòu)的事業(yè)成功 ，他們既需要扮演著創(chuàng)業(yè)者，也需要充當(dāng)著管理者的角色，是具有高度的責(zé)任感和獨立性快樂的工作。在我們的現(xiàn)代工作場所很少有角色可以競爭到這樣的機會像產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理一樣可以塑造一個組織成功的未來。