People ask me this a lot. "Golf, what do you actually DO all day?"

我不写代码 (wǒ bù xiě dài mǎ) - I don't write code. I don't design the UI. I don't run the marketing campaigns. So what's left?

Everything in between.

The Kitchen Analogy 厨房的比喻

Think of a restaurant kitchen. You have the chef who creates dishes. The line cooks who execute. The servers who deliver to customers.

The PM? We're the 厨房经理 (chú fáng jīng lǐ) - kitchen manager. Not cooking, but making sure:

不显眼但很重要 (bù xiǎn yǎn dàn hěn zhòng yào) - not flashy, but essential.

Three Jobs in One 三个角色

1. Translator 翻译

Developers speak code. Designers speak pixels. Business speaks money. Customers speak problems. Someone has to translate between all of them. That's me.

When a developer says "this needs 3 weeks", I translate to stakeholders: "We're prioritizing quality to avoid costly bugs later." When customers say "this is confusing", I translate to the team: "The onboarding flow needs one less step."

2. Traffic Controller 交通指挥

Every project has more ideas than time. What ships first? What waits? What gets cut?

This is 取舍 (qǔ shě) - the art of trade-offs. Every "yes" is also a "no" to something else. PMs make these calls so developers can focus on building, not debating.

3. Umbrella 保护伞

When things go wrong - and they always do - the PM absorbs the chaos. Scope changes. Client requests. Urgent bugs. We handle the noise so the team can stay focused.

下雨时，我撑伞 (xià yǔ shí, wǒ chēng sǎn) - when it rains, I hold the umbrella.

What Success Looks Like 成功的样子

Here's the funny thing: when PMs do our job well, it's invisible. Projects ship on time. Team is happy. Customers are satisfied. Nobody notices the work because there's nothing to notice - no fires, no drama.

It's like good 麻婆豆腐. You taste the harmony - spicy, numbing, savory, all balanced. You don't taste the chef adjusting the heat three times, adding a splash more stock, tasting and adjusting. The work disappears into the result.

润物细无声

rùn wù xì wú shēng

"Nourishing things silently, like spring rain"

This is from a Du Fu poem. Spring rain helps everything grow, but you don't hear it working. Good PMs are spring rain.

Shifu's Take 师傅的看法

I explained all this to Shifu. He yawned and went back to sleep.

Fair point. Maybe the best explanation is the simplest:

我帮助好事发生 (wǒ bāng zhù hǎo shì fā shēng) - I help good things happen.

That's it. That's the job.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sprint to plan and a Shih Tzu demanding his afternoon walk. 先工作，后散步 (xiān gōng zuò, hòu sàn bù) - work first, then walk!