My PM Reading List (Updated June 2023!)
The journey towards Product Management is one full of distractions and ramifications. You are expected to know a lot about a lot of things…
The journey toward Product Management is one full of distractions and ramifications. You are expected to know a lot about a lot of things. It’s a vast territory, and it’s dangerous to travel without a map. Well, if not dangerous, at least extremely wasteful.
This is MY product management reading list. Or hearing list to be more accurate in the case of some that I consumed as audiobooks. (Audiobooks pair really well with my physical activity routine, and they are actually an incentive to exercise, as in “I want to go for a run so I can listen to this book/podcast”).
It’s a continuously growing inventory, and I don’t expect it to become any shorter any time soon. After all, mastery is a path, not a destination and new books are being written and published every day. To be fair, some of these I have already finished, some I am still working on, and some that I have read, I will re-read.
All in all, they are very worthwhile reading, and I hope you ca get some value out of these recommendations. I also hope you can add more to my list, to help me and others on our learning path.
For the sake of organizing the content, I decided to classify them into 3 general categories:
The obvious choices
These are some of the books that everybody will say are required reading for getting and thriving into Product. No one should be surprised to see these books on the list.
Inspired (Cagan)
https://buff.ly/3osRBH5
Great for: Understanding all the core concepts of Product Management. A guidebook for product management that provides valuable insights and practical advice on how to build innovative and successful products. Cagan shares his deep understanding of the product management discipline, drawing from his extensive experience at successful companies like eBay and Netscape. The book covers key topics such as product strategy, user-centered design, validating ideas, and effective collaboration between product managers, designers, and engineers.
Empowered (Cagan)
https://www.amazon.com/Empowered-Ordinary-People-Extraordinary-Products/dp/B08MV6VRGY/
Great for: Organizing (growing, managing, developing) your product team. Cagan emphasizes the importance of empowered product teams that are cross-functional and have a clear mission, enabling them to make autonomous decisions and take ownership of their work. He discusses the crucial roles of product managers and designers in shaping product strategy, collaborating with engineering teams, and ensuring customer value. This book feels more about Product Leadership than Product Management, as compared with “Inspired“.
Cracking the PM Interview (McDowell-Bavaro)
https://buff.ly/3PDKEPl
Great for: Understanding how different companies approach PM hiring. The book is a comprehensive guide that provides aspiring product managers with practical advice and strategies for successfully navigating the product management interview process.
The lean startup (Ries)
https://buff.ly/3ow3Cvr
Great for: Learning how tech startups can achieve great things without having a detailed recipe for success. The author revolutionizes the approach to entrepreneurship and product development by advocating for a methodology that emphasizes continuous experimentation and validated learning. Ries introduces the concept of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and encourages entrepreneurs to quickly test their hypotheses and gather feedback from real customers to make informed decisions.
The lean product playbook (Olsen)
https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Product-Playbook-Innovate-Products-dp-1118960874/
Great for: Learning how to innovate & create products that customer love, through MVPs that gather rapid customer feedback. Dan Olsen provides a comprehensive guide to building successful products using the Lean methodology. The author outlines a step-by-step approach for product managers and entrepreneurs, starting from identifying customer needs and market opportunities to defining a value proposition, validating hypotheses, and iterating on product development.
The not-so-obvious recommendations
These are Product books that I read or listened to based on recommendations from friends, social media, apps, etc. I am including only the ones that I feel were really valuable:
Build (Fadell)
https://www.amazon.com/Build/dp/1787634116/
Great for: Learning recipes for success from one of the biggest names in Tech (Tony Fadell, the “father of the iPod“), from early career advice to how to build transformative products and continue the experimenting and learning journey all the time. Full of cool personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes peeks at the history of some of your favorite products. A very fun read with irreverent, no-fluff-added language.
Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value (Perri)
https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Build-Trap-Effective-Management/dp/149197379X/
Great for: Learning how organizations can break free from the build trap - the cycle of building feature after feature without a clear strategy or understanding of customer needs.
Continuous Discovery Habits (Torres)
https://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Discovery-Habits-Discover-Products/dp/1736633309/
Great for: Learning how to incorporate continuous discovery into product development processes. She introduces a set of habits and techniques that enable teams to build a strong foundation for continuous discovery, such as defining learning goals, conducting effective customer interviews, and synthesizing research findings.
The Mom Test (Fitzpatrick)
https://www.amazon.com/Mom-Test-customers-business-everyone/dp/1492180742/
Great for: Learning how to conduct effective customer interviews to gain valuable insights. Addresses the common pitfalls and biases that can hinder the effectiveness of customer conversations, emphasizing the importance of asking the right questions and truly understanding the customer's perspective.
Hooked: How to build habit-forming products (Eyal)
https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/0241184835/
Great for: Gaining insight into the psychology behind building habit-forming products that capture and retain users' attention. Eyal introduces the Hook Model, a four-step process that consists of trigger, action, variable reward, and investment, which aims to create a cycle of repeated engagement. Valuable to learn how to hook users -and unhook yourself if needed.
Sprint (Knapp)
https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas/dp/150112174X/
Great for: Learning the Design Sprint framework for solving complex problems and testing ideas through a structured process. Gothelf introduces the concept of a five-day sprint, where cross-functional teams collaborate intensively to define a clear goal, generate ideas, create prototypes, and validate them with real users.
Start at the end: How to build products that create change (Wallaert)
https://www.amazon.com/Start-End-Products-Create-Change/dp/0525534423/
Great for: Offering a fresh perspective on designing products and creating behavior change by focusing on the desired outcomes or end goals. Wallaert challenges traditional product development approaches and suggests starting with the intended behavioral outcomes and working backward from there.
The extremely valuable side quests
To be fair, some people would consider these to be obvious choices, but I chose to put these in a separate group because they are not all traditional Product books, and/or they look at Product from the perspective of other practices (Marketing, Design, Behavioral Science, Business, etc):
Atlas of the Heart (Brown)
https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Heart-Meaningful-Connection-Experience/dp/0593207246/
Great for: Navigating emotions (yours and others). Brown delves into the various emotions we encounter throughout life, such as joy, grief, fear, and love, and provides insights and practices for navigating them with courage and authenticity. Drawing from her extensive research and personal anecdotes, she offers a roadmap for cultivating emotional intelligence, empathy, and resilience.
A valuable tool for work and for life.
Predictably Irrational (Ariely)
https://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Hidden-Forces-Decisions/dp/0061854549/
Great for: Exploring the fascinating world of behavioral economics and revealing how our irrational tendencies and biases influence our decision-making processes. Ariely challenges the conventional notion of humans as rational beings and uncovers the systematic patterns of irrational behavior that shape our choices.
Why we do what we do: Understanding Self Motivation (Deci)
https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-What-Understanding-Self-Motivation/dp/0140255265/
Great for: Understanding the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and what are the factors that create lasting motivation -in yourself and others. Deci challenges traditional theories of motivation that rely on external rewards and punishments and instead advocates for intrinsic motivation—the inherent desire to engage in activities for their inherent satisfaction. This book provides insight into the Self-Determination Theory.
The signal and the noise: why so many predictions fail — but some don’t (Silver)
https://www.amazon.com/Signal-Noise-Many-Predictions-Fail-But/dp/159420411X/
Great for: Exploring the challenges and importance of making accurate predictions in an increasingly complex and data-driven world. Silver highlights the common pitfalls and biases that hinder effective forecasting, such as overconfidence, data misinterpretation, and the failure to account for uncertainty. Through numerous case studies and examples from various fields, including sports, politics, and finance, Silver demonstrates the power of statistical models and the need for a balanced approach that incorporates both data and human judgment.
Atomic Habits (Clear)
https://www.amazon.com/NEW-Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/B0B61Y5SXX/
Great for: This book is a transformative guide that reveals the power of small, incremental changes in building and breaking habits. James Clear introduces the concept of atomic habits, emphasizing the significance of marginal gains and the compounding effect they have over time. He provides a practical framework for understanding the science of habit formation and offers strategies to make positive habits stick and eliminate detrimental ones. The author focuses on the importance of habit stacking, habit cues, and creating an environment that supports desired behaviors, as well as their counterparts, which discourage unwanted behaviors.
Measure what matters (Doerr)
https://www.amazon.com/Measure-What-Matters-Simple-Drives/dp/024134848X/
Great for: Exploring the concept of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and their role in driving organizational success. Doerr, a venture capitalist, and former Intel executive, shares his experiences and insights on how to set and achieve ambitious goals. He explains the OKR framework, which involves setting clear and measurable objectives that align with the organization's mission and defining key results that serve as indicators of progress. Includes lots of real-life examples and practical guidance on implementation.
Some useful recommendations I received along the way
As part of my process of becoming a Product Manager, I have interviewed and consulted with many experienced professionals, who shared with me some of the books that made a difference for them, as well as some of the newer discoveries that they are using to expand their frameworks of reference:
Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams (Banfield)
https://www.amazon.com/Product-Leadership-Managers-Products-Successful-ebook-dp-B07285Z141/dp/B07285Z141/
Great for: Exploring the critical role of product leadership in building and managing successful product teams. Banfield examines the characteristics and skills of effective product leaders and provides insights on how to foster a culture of innovation and collaboration.
Zero to one (Thiel)
https://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future/dp/0804139296/
Great for: Learning some core concepts about creating revolutionary and unique businesses. Thiel, a successful entrepreneur and investor (and central member of the “PayPal Mafia”), challenges the conventional notion of competition and encourages entrepreneurs to strive for creating new innovations and monopolies rather than entering crowded markets. The book is full of resonating quotes that you will just want to print on a T-shirt or tattoo across your chest.
Of course, there are many other books I have in my library and on my pending list, and some might be loosely related to Product (mostly around culture, people management, organizational design, innovation, etc). But I wanted to focus this initial one on books that can be tied specifically to adding some tools to my PM toolbox.
What else would you add?
Whether it is something practical that can serve as a permanent reference on the desk of any Product Manager, or inspiring reading that can help introduce and expand new perspectives, I am always looking for something to add to my reading list. Comment with your recommendations, and follow me on Medium so I can share my journey into PM with you, and maybe we can even learn from each other.
Thanks in advance for your contribution!