I believe good things happen when the product is kept at the center of focus when creative something. Everyone who works on the product--designers, developers, product managers, testers, modelers, and the managers of all these partners, should be spiraled around the product (as Chris Bangle describes as a product vortex). The further out you are usually means you are a manager of some sort.

The duty of the designer is to make sure the details and concept behind the product are fully realized. They will fight the most battles and debate every decision within their minds. They will agonize the most over the product. The product is a part of this person. They share the same blood. The product was conceived from this person's hands. The designer shall consider all of the immediate needs of the product to make sure they are all considered.

Each echelon of management should consider different needs of the product. The higher up, the more visionary and strategic the thinking should be. The goal of the immediate manager should be to mentor and motivate the lead designer to do their best work. The goal of the manager's manager should be to clear the way for political struggles and "musts" or "must nots" of the product swiftly. The manager of that manager should consider the big picture and only be concerned with the product fitting agreed upon themes or concepts linked to other parts of the business such as advertisements or accessories. These are all duties to the product.

Paired with each manager's duty to the product is a large amount of trust that their direct report can deliver on their respective duties to the product. When this trust is removed, the ensuing process can become confusing, inefficient, and frustrating. Ultimately it can lead to failure.

Managers can muddle the design process by looking beyond the magnification level they are responsible for. Perhaps nostalgia leads them to involve themselves. Perhaps the manager knows no other way of expressing direction without making comments directly about the product. Perhaps they are experts in the field the product lies. Managers often revert to trying to perform their direct report's job description because they were promoted for performing their former jobs at a high level; they revert to doing what they were good at--a common folly in management. Great leaders figure out how to get the results they want without doing it themselves. This requires a talent for critical analysis to uncover the sources of problems, which aren't immediately obvious.