There is a sentence that is very incisive:
Product manager-by thinking. Product managers do the right thing, whether the products they lead meet the needs of the market, and whether they can bring profits to the company.
Project manager-by doing. The project manager is doing things right, doing things perfect, and accomplishing goals under the constraints of time, cost and resources.
1. From the perspective of management, project managers are vertical, while product managers are horizontal.
For example, let us understand that the project manager is a project manager of a development department. Then he must be the management of the development of a certain product, responsible for the development progress, coordination during the development process, supply chain and other related development issues. The goal is time first, and the goal of setting the project first. It does not respect the market demand of the product itself and the problem of business logic.
In a company, vertical management departments like this are all functional departments, such as the marketing department, which is mainly responsible for promotion, and the sales department is mainly responsible for sales, etc., while the product manager is horizontally managed, which means that he will be responsible for a certain product or A certain product line ranges from business plans, market competition, development needs, promotion plans, channel strategies, logistics, and other aspects. Of course, product managers are not necessarily the decision-makers, and each company has different restrictions on product managers, but product managers have one An important participant in the product line from beginning to end. To be a good product manager requires many talents and skills. He is also the most suitable position in a company to cultivate the potential of compound talents.
A product manager may not have rights, but a product manager must be good at using colleague relationships and customer relationships to coordinate to promote the development of things. A project belongs to the project manager and he has the responsibility to achieve the development goals. And this project belongs to the product. Manager, he is responsible for the business plan. Therefore, being a product manager means things related to this product, whether it is development, production, promotion, sales, cost, logistics, and channels are your problems!
If you want to be a compound talent, choose product manager, if you want to be a dedicated talent, choose project manager.
2. Another important difference between project managers and product managers is the scope of authorization:
Ø The project manager is generally the person in charge of the authorized contract performance:
The project contract is a legally binding contract document that stipulates the responsibilities, rights and interests of the contracting party and the contracting party. It is the main basis for handling the relationship between the parties and the criterion for regulating the behavior of both parties under the conditions of the market economy.
The project manager is the company’s full-power entrusted agent on contract projects, and handles all major matters in the execution of the contract on behalf of the company, including the implementation of the contract, modification and adjustment, and punishment for breach of contract.
Of course, depending on the enterprise, whether the boss can give the project manager the corresponding authorization is another matter.
Ø The authorization of the product manager is to ensure the smooth flow of the circulation chain:
The product manager guarantees the smooth flow of the entire circulation chain for the products he is responsible for, from upstream creativity and R&D, to procurement and production, to downstream channels and channels, and to end users. Therefore, product managers are required to have both product knowledge and knowledge. Market awareness, and coordination capabilities, such as: finance, after-sales, logistics…
