When product and operations disagree, who should you listen to?

Looking through the readers' comments, I found an interesting one:

The operation thinks that a function needs to be developed, but the product thinks it is not necessary. Who should you listen to at this time?

If you ask Brother Liang this question in person, he might tell you:

Data comes first, logic comes second. When the two cannot reach a consensus, whoever is responsible makes the final decision.

But, in most cases, I also know that this matter cannot be handled so straightforwardly.

So, just write.

Little A and Little B

I once had two subordinates, Xiao A and Xiao B.

Little A is very straight, to what extent? Until he even criticized me. Although sometimes he was right, you know that people have to save face. Since he dared to criticize me, it would be no problem for him to criticize others.

Because Xiao A is very result-oriented, when he works with product and development personnel, he always hopes that the other party will do what they say, whether it is meeting requirements or meeting delivery deadlines. If the other party fails to do so, Xiao A will be unhappy and feel entangled.

Little B is very oily, how oily is he? If you throw this kid onto a deserted island, as long as there is an animal, I guess he can become friends with the animal, not only live in peace with it, but also eat and live together.

The strength of Xiao B lies in the fact that if Xiao A cannot handle the demand or functional point, Xiao B only needs to say a few words and the product or development will immediately implement it. At the end, Little B could still come back with a smile and take credit, saying, "Boss, look, we got it done!"

Little A and Little B are actually microcosms of everyone who is struggling in the operations pit.

Rejecting Dafa and Personal Charm

May I ask, what is the demand?

I guess you'll complain when you see this:

What is the demand? Demand is what needs to be done! !

The question is, who is going to do it?

First of all, please make one thing clear. For most companies, product, operation, and R&D are all support departments. However, sometimes, all three have to support others. Sometimes, operation and R&D have to support product, and sometimes product and R&D have to support operation. But to be honest, it is quite rare to see product and operation support R&D... After all, China's Internet is still mainly based on model innovation.

Secondly, since we are all in the support department, to put it bluntly, being a good person is more important than doing good things.

Third, the method of promoting the realization of things is the most important.

I don't know if the student who asked the question has encountered a similar phenomenon, but I believe that most operations will encounter a phenomenon:

When operations go to product or development to raise a demand, the other party may have the following classic response:

1. Waiting for the scheduled date
2. No time
3. This isn't urgent.
4. This has no priority
5. Please think it over before speaking.
6. Let's do a needs review
7. OK

But you see, among the ones I listed casually, the ratio of rejection to acceptance is 6:1.

However, if this requirement is not raised by the operation department, but by the boss, then no matter whether it is the product, operation or development department that receives the requirement, it is estimated that they will only answer with one word:

Oh.

Why? Because their status are different and the boss’s word is final! The boss has the highest priority!

Every time this happens, you will definitely miss a character like Xiao B, because Xiao B can turn the 6:1 ratio into 100 with just a move, such as handing over a cigarette, patting someone on the shoulder, or even a weird smile.

This is personal charm, but I think that if most people have such communication skills, they probably won’t ask this question.

Well, next, I will give you a few suggestions on demand submission for your reference.

The posture of asking for

Kneel down, oh, no, in fact, there is a routine to discuss requirements with the product and make the product accept the rationality of the requirements.

Of course, if your strategy is to lie and say that this is what your boss wanted, then you win.

If you don’t have the guts to lie, then it’s best to find a way to make the product empathize with you.

First of all, when we formally raise a demand, we must first have face-to-face communication.

This communication should focus on the current operating status and the conclusions based on the analysis of the current status data that depend on the product functions.

This conclusion should correspond to the product functions and resources required to achieve an operational goal.

Secondly, when communicating, do everything you can to let others know that you understand their struggles, but you also want them to help, because if they don’t, then you’re screwed.

The above two sets of information are what we often talk about, which are the importance of communication. Communication does not necessarily require reaching a consensus, but what is more important is to keep information synchronized.

Also, it is important to respect other people's opinions and seek common ground while reserving differences. What you want is the result, what you pursue is time, and the way of implementation can be discussed.

Common ways to achieve compromise are:

1. Find out the core functions in the requirements and verify them by making a minimum viable product or through activities.
2. Disassemble the modules, implement in batches, and finally assemble

…

Of course, you need some routines in the process.

I won’t elaborate on these routines, but I would like to recommend a classic psychology book - "Influence".

This book was written 30 years ago, but the phenomena and techniques discussed in the book can be seen everywhere in life and can be used at any time.

When you finish reading this book, I believe you will understand that it doesn’t matter who has the final say. What matters is that things move forward instead of getting stuck.

If you or any of you readers have finished reading this book and are still interested, you may email me your thoughts. I am very curious about your feelings after reading it.

The author of this article @张亮 is compiled and published by (Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!

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