Early in my career, I emphatically asked my managers to work on most highly important yet most visibly failing products.  They would look at me in shock.  Why would I put my career at risk with such a thing?  But, they would reluctantly agree.  And, this may sound like masochism to some, but really I just liked a good puzzle and challenge, and I&#x27;ve always viewed work as a game.<p>So, over the next 10 years and many products, I&#x27;m extremely proud to say, <i>none</i> of those products ended up failing.  And, most eventually exceeded expectations.  Who knows, it could have been by chance.  Or, maybe it was regression toward the mean.  But, I like to think that my focus on the problem and my motivation helped solve it.<p>Over all of this, I was rarely directly credited, which is not surprising.  Often I wasn&#x27;t the &#x27;manager&#x27; or even the &#x27;technical lead&#x27;.  I was just some relatively smart dude on the team, and I was in it for the thrill and enjoyment.<p>The key is to<p>1) be a good manipulator (or, more politically correctly, a good &#x27;influencer&#x27;)<p>2) clearly understand the strengths, personalities, motivations, and goals of each member of the team<p>3) view each person as a potential &#x27;force multiplier&#x27; (to take another word from the military)<p>4) strategically coordinate the right activities between the right people at the right time<p>5) lead from the bottom, by example<p>6) be positive and optimistic<p>7) recognize potential conflict early and extinguish it subtly<p>If you have a really awesome manager, they can do this from the start.  But, as many of us know, management (in the U.S., at least) is a status position, and it attracts those who like status or competition.  I&#x27;ve only worked with one manager (out of dozens) who has been able to do this, well.  It&#x27;s a rare skill.