Two Failures Taught Me the Core of Being a Product Leader
Lessons From Failure: Rethinking the Role of a Product Leader
In the workplace, failure often teaches more than success.
For me, two painful setbacks reshaped my understanding of the true core of being a Product Leader: not a caretaker, not just a teacher — but someone who leads the team to victory.
This article distills those reflections into actionable practices, revealing the real value of leadership.
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Have You Ever Faced This Situation?
The product is built and launched on time.
The team is motivated, harmony is high, knowledge is shared —
yet no one uses the product, enthusiasm evaporates, and the team is cut overnight.
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First Failure — The “Proud” Product No One Used
2014 — Adult Education Company IT Department
- Just promoted from Android Developer to Manager
- Leading a 10-person team
- Task-focused mindset: assign tasks → avoid delays → launch on time
- Public recognition from the chairperson during an executive meeting
Reality after launch:
Our Q&A community feature had no questions, no engagement in the points-based answer system.
Within months, maintenance stopped — I eventually left.
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Second Failure — A Perfect Team, A Tragic Ending
2020 — Top-tier Education Company
Seeking to build a learning organization, I implemented:
- Personal Cards: each member writes strengths, weaknesses, and support needs (eliminating guesswork)
- Monthly 1-on-1s: genuine praise + constructive discussion + sharing my own experiences
- Biweekly Knowledge Sharing: methods and insights from Dedao app and Chaos University
Outcome:
- High morale, active learning
- Product passed PMF and was growing
The blow:
The Product Director cut our entire business line.
The team dissolved instantly — hundreds laid off — despite “good” metrics.
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Reflection — What Is the Core of a Product Leader?
The key question:
Is leadership about skills growth, harmony, punctual shipping, promotions — or something else?
My answer:
> A good Product Leader must lead the team to achieve good results.
Results = Recognition + Sense of Value
Even without perfection, the Leader must:
- Choose the right battlefield
- Define the path forward
- Secure resources
- Enable growth and accountability
Peter Drucker:
> “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
In my failures, I didn’t understand what “the right things” truly were.
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Four Keys to Leading Teams to Results
1. Identify a Truly Worthwhile Problem
Foundation:
Find a problem large enough — industry-level or societal — so the product has room to grow.
Steve Jobs:
> “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
Without solving a real problem, even the best team is building a castle in the air.
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2. Define the Product Pathway
Leaders must not leave direction-finding entirely to the team.
Take responsibility for clear, intentional product guidance, while encouraging collaboration.
Jobs on focus:
> “‘Focus’ means saying no to the other hundred good ideas.”
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3. Set Clear Product Milestones
Milestones = checkpoints for:
- Validating value
- Adjusting course
- Detecting risks
Drucker:
> “One of the tests of leadership is to recognize the existence of a problem before it becomes an emergency.”
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Tip for Modern Leaders
AI tools can assist with market insight, path planning, and content reach.
Example: AiToEarn官网 — an open-source global AI content monetization platform that enables creators to publish and analyze content across Douyin, Bilibili, Instagram, X, and more; with integrated AI model rankings (AI模型排名).
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4. Empower Through Knowing Your People
Empowerment means:
- Providing resources and support
- Allowing autonomy in decisions (as long as strategic direction is correct)
- Letting market and users provide real feedback, rather than micromanaging
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Leadership in Practice — Create the Battlefield
Mao Zedong: “Practice breeds truth.”
The Art of War: “Victory comes to those who are prepared against the unprepared.”
Warren Bennis & Peter Drucker: Leaders create conditions for the team to win.
Real battles give real feedback — the best reward for team members.
A Product Leader’s primary mission: create the battlefield and the chance for victory.
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Key Takeaways From My Failures
- A Product Leader is not a nanny, teacher, or friend.
- A Product Leader creates the battlefield and leads the team to win.
- Winning = Product used + Problem solved + Value created.
Drucker:
> “Effective leadership is defined by results, not attributes.”
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Three Actionable Recommendations for Product Leaders
- Spend 1–2 hours weekly communicating directly with users/customers to understand their real problems.
- Review the product roadmap quarterly; say “no” to ideas off-course.
- Build feedback loops around actual results — let market and users teach your team.
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Final Thought
Popularity is optional.
Measurable value creation is the true test of a Product Leader.
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> In the age of AI-driven creation, tools like AiToEarn官网 help Product Leaders turn vision into measurable results — with cross-platform publishing, analytics, and AI model rankings — empowering strategies that blend technology with leadership.
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