The programmer and his woman

In this complex and ever-changing world, fate is always like a naughty child, sometimes giving you a brief peace, and sometimes ruthlessly pushing you into the turbulent ocean. And we have become a tiny chess piece in this game of fate, being manipulated on the chessboard and unable to make our own decisions.

Looking back on those days, we put all our efforts and endured countless sleepless nights just to create that software. Whenever we saw it running stably and heard good reviews from users, our hearts were filled with joy. The boss even regarded this product as the future of the company and placed high hopes on it.

However, just as we were eagerly waiting for market recognition, fate played a cruel joke on us. In early 2011, the largest instant messaging software company in China suddenly launched a "micro-communication application" with highly similar functions to our product. With its strong brand influence and huge user base, this application quickly emerged in the market and became an insurmountable obstacle for us.

Although our product is excellent, it seems so fragile in such a market environment. We tried to attract users by improving functions and optimizing experience, but all efforts seemed in vain. Because in front of that mountain, all our efforts seemed so insignificant.

The boss's efforts and persistence seemed so pale and powerless at this moment. He ran around looking for investors, hoping to get their support. But those investors who were originally confident in our products chose to withdraw after seeing the strong performance of "Micro Communication Application". Their departure was like taking away the last glimmer of hope for the company.

The company was in an unprecedented predicament, and our project was in vain. The boss couldn't sleep all night, and was heartbroken. He couldn't accept this reality, but he had no choice. And we, the employees, also felt unprecedented pressure. We watched our efforts go to waste, and our hearts were filled with helplessness and regret.

Eventually, the company could not escape the fate of bankruptcy. I was forced to lose my job again and became an unemployed youth. Fortunately, the settlement funds from the outsourcing project previously provided by Manager Cai could support me for a while. But the good times did not last long. With the expiration of the rent and the landlord's notice of rent increase, I fell into trouble again. Faced with the pressure of life, I had to find a new job and re-plan my future.

When I was worried about the rent bill and felt as heavy as if a huge rock was pressing on me, the ringing of Manager Cai's phone broke the silence at home. He told me that there was a new outsourcing project and wanted me to develop it. This news was undoubtedly a timely relief for me, which could temporarily relieve my financial pressure.

I started to devote myself to the new work. Although these continuous outsourcing projects were busy, they also gave me a chance to breathe. Every night when it was quiet, I would sit in front of the computer and carefully browse various recruitment information to find a job opportunity that suits me. I was well aware of my current economic situation, so I had to raise my salary expectations when looking for a job, hoping to find a manager or director-level position.

However, reality is always crueler than ideal. I sent out a lot of resumes, but they fell into the sea of ​​responses, and there were very few interview opportunities. I began to reflect on my job search strategy and gradually realized that my age and the school I graduated from might have become stumbling blocks on my job search. These restrictions made me feel stressed, but at the same time, they also inspired my determination to change the status quo.

After repeated self-reflection, I realized that the position of product manager might be a good choice. This position is relatively unpopular in the market, the competition pressure is relatively small, and its salary is also quite considerable. More importantly, I think I have the potential and ability to become an excellent product manager.

I started my own studio while I was in school, and that experience gave me a deep understanding of the entire product development process. From program development to art design to communication with customers, I personally participated in and led the entire process. This experience gave me a deep understanding of every aspect of the product and also trained my cross-domain communication and coordination skills.

In my subsequent work, I continued to take over various outsourcing projects, which not only allowed me to accumulate rich experience, but also made me more familiar with all aspects of the product. I know that the position of product manager requires comprehensive and in-depth capabilities, including market insight, user research, product design, project management, etc. These capabilities are the valuable assets I have accumulated in my previous work.

So, I decided to take product manager as my career development direction. I revised my resume and highlighted my potential and ability as a product manager. I carefully studied the product manager positions in the market, selected several positions that met my expectations, and boldly submitted my resume.

Not long after, I received an interview invitation from a company. During the interview, I answered the interviewer's questions fluently based on my experience and ability, and demonstrated my deep understanding and enthusiasm for the role of product manager. In the end, I successfully passed the interview and got this dream job. This turn not only allowed me to find a new career direction, but also made me full of confidence and expectations for the future.

After a deeper understanding, I felt more and more the story behind this company and the foresight of the founders. They had a unique idea that could change the industry landscape, but this idea was just a vague outline in their minds at the beginning, lacking specific implementation plans and technical support. However, it was this persistence in their dreams and firm belief that made them exude an irresistible charm.

Their belief and passion not only impressed themselves, but also successfully attracted the attention of investors. These investors did not invest blindly, they saw the unlimited potential and possibilities of the founding team. They believed that these founders had the ability to turn dreams into reality and lead the entire industry into a new era. Therefore, although the company did not have significant performance and scale in the early stage, investors still invested a lot of money without hesitation to support the company's development.

As a new senior manager, when I walked into the company, I was shocked by the scale and atmosphere here. The spacious and bright office area, neat and uniform workstations, busy and orderly employees, every detail shows the professionalism and strength of this company. However, when I realized that I was about to become a member of this big family, I felt a little uneasy. I know that I have a great responsibility and need to quickly adapt to the new working environment and contribute my own strength to the development of the company.

On my first day at work, the vice president personally took me to meet the boss of the company. However, the first meeting with the boss was not smooth. He seemed to have some reservations about me, so he deliberately set a difficult problem for me during the conversation - an extremely urgent task that I had no time to prepare. He wanted to test my adaptability and professionalism through this task. Although I tried my best to answer, my answer did not fully meet his expectations. This made me feel a little embarrassed and uneasy, but I also knew that this was an opportunity to learn and grow.

Afterwards, the vice president took me to meet colleagues in the product department. During the communication with them, I felt the pressure on them. According to a colleague who is about to leave, the workload and technical depth of product managers are very high, which makes them feel exhausted. They need to complete a lot of work in a limited time, while constantly learning and improving their skills. This high-intensity work pressure is unbearable for them and is also an important reason why he wants to leave.

Then, the vice president called everyone to the conference room for a meeting. In this spacious and bright conference room, I met colleagues from various departments again. They explained and introduced their work content in detail. Through this meeting, I have a deeper understanding of the company's project. It turned out that the project the company was going to do was a shopping platform, but they were not satisfied with just being an ordinary e-commerce platform. On the contrary, they hope to build this platform into a comprehensive platform with community service functions. This idea seems very novel and challenging, but it also faces huge competitive pressure.

When I learned about the specific content and goals of this project, I couldn't help but start thinking about the basis for the investors' decision. Why would they choose to invest in such a project with an uncertain future? Don't they know that the leading e-commerce platforms are already trying and implementing this community model? However, looking at such a large-scale investment, I can only deny my previous thoughts. Perhaps, they are looking at the innovation and potential of this project. After all, in the fiercely competitive field of the e-commerce industry, only continuous innovation and breakthroughs can keep you invincible.

After several rounds of detailed explanations, each department presented their current work content and progress one by one. While listening, I was deeply impressed by the presentation skills of some colleagues. Their eloquent speeches made people feel that they talked a lot, but when you think back, it seems that they didn't say anything. I know that this level of presentation cannot be achieved in one or two days. This ability must be honed in continuous meetings.

After all the talks were over, the vice president turned to me and asked me what I thought about the current progress of the project. As someone who came from a small company and was used to being straightforward, I raised my question without hesitation: "It has been more than half a year since our project was launched. Why haven't we achieved any substantial results yet? Why haven't we even designed a basic system framework?"

My words seemed to have touched the nerves of some older employees. An older colleague was obviously very dissatisfied with this. He turned to the vice president and asked in a questioning tone: "Mr. Lai, who is this new colleague? How can he say such a thing?"

The vice president immediately introduced me to everyone: "This is our company's newly hired product director, who will be in charge of the product department in the future."

Hearing this, the colleague became even more furious. He pointed at me and said provocatively: "Then tell me, what level do you think our system should reach in the next six months?"

I pondered for a moment and replied, "It should at least be able to be put into use initially."

My answer seemed to completely infuriate him, and he retorted loudly: "What nonsense! Do you know what level we want to achieve? The level of the top e-commerce companies! Do you know how long it took those big platforms to achieve it from the beginning?"

I insisted on my point of view: "But we are standing on the shoulders of giants, and there are many things we can directly refer to and learn from, so I think the basic framework should be able to be built faster. If there are experienced programmers, they can even start writing code directly by referring to existing products. Instead of everyone's eyes always on when the product department can provide you with a product prototype."

After hearing what I said, the colleague walked away angrily and went straight to the boss' office. Our meeting ended unpleasantly, and other colleagues looked at me with dissatisfaction. But I still insisted on my point of view, thinking that if I took over the project, with a few skilled developers, it would only take three months at most to get the system online. This is probably the fast-paced way of thinking that I have formed from working in a small company for a long time, which is obviously different from the pace of a large company.

After returning to the product department, I felt strange looks from my colleagues. They were curious about my identity and background, and puzzled by my work style. A colleague curiously asked me what software I usually used for product design. I was embarrassed to find that I knew nothing about the special software for product managers. So I humbly asked him for advice and quickly learned to use the Axure software they recommended. This software was not complicated for me, and I mastered the basic operations in half a day.

However, when I opened the design file of my former colleague, I found that there were problems with the overall design idea. As a programmer with many years of development experience, I know that such a design will cause great trouble to the development department. At the same time, I also found some problems in the company's product development process. For example, product managers generally lack programming and project experience, which makes them seem powerless when communicating with the development and art departments. This situation has led to the development and art departments' contempt and dissatisfaction with the product department.

Through more in-depth observation and communication, I gradually uncovered the mystery of the product department. To my surprise, the product managers in this department were almost all college graduates. Although they were full of vitality and enthusiasm, their understanding of system design and software development processes was almost zero. What surprised me even more was that several of them had switched careers from the construction industry and had no knowledge of the IT industry at all.

Such a team structure undoubtedly brings great challenges to the work of the product department. When faced with complex system design and software development tasks, they often feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start. This also explains why the development department has been waiting for product prototypes but has never been able to do so. Due to lack of experience and expertise, these product managers find it difficult to deliver satisfactory design solutions in a short period of time.

At the same time, I also understood why the previous product manager chose to resign. Faced with a seemingly simple system design task, he was unable to complete it due to lack of experience and skills, which undoubtedly brought him tremendous pressure and frustration. He resigned not because the task itself was difficult, but because he was not competent for the job.

In my opinion, the product department should be the core and leader of a project, not an appendage. However, due to the lack of experience and ability of current product managers, this role is misplaced. This makes me feel very conflicted and confused. At the same time, I also realize that I still need to put in more effort and time in the process of integrating into this new environment.