Dan Ariely is brilliant and he is one of my favorite ted talkers.” — Sally Thornton, Forshay Founder, Product Talk EP 24. Get product management insight from the top product managers! “This is a really good book about OKR’s. “This is a really good book about OKR’s. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler. “This is a great book (to read) if you are part of a scaling company.” — Justin Bauer, Amplitude Vice President of Product, Product Talk EP 35. And it puts the customer at the center of everything you do. User experience doesn’t happen on a screen; it happens in the mind, and the experience is multidimensional and multisensory. 25 Must-Read Books for Product Managers & Product Marketers So why would I write another one? Read This Before Our Next Meeting. Also recommended by Teresa Torres, Product Discovery Coach, Product Talk EP 20. But a closer look at research on the world’s top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule. [Image source] As one of Silicon Valley's most respected experts on product development in tech and as the founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group, Marty Cagan knows more than a thing or two about product. 12 Books Product Managers should Read in 2020. Testing Business Ideas aims to reverse that statistic. New or Aspiring Product Managers are simply trying to learn how to break into the career, what exactly a Product Manager does, and how to position themselves for a strong start. In reality, services powered by digital systems are never done. In it, Carnegie teaches the art of communicating and interacting with people in a meaningful way. The book gives teams language and specific techniques to address the risks and unknowns at each stage of the product development process. What’s great about Chris Anderson’s Free is that the former WIRED editor-in-chief forces us... 2. These may sound like basic truths of our work lives today. Designing Connected Content: Plan and Model Digital Products for Today and Tomorrow by Carrie Hane and Mike Atherton. It focuses on everything we do as humans and our society — framing it in the context of how we have evolved.” — Michael Fisher, former Pivotal Labs Product Lead, Product Talk EP 60. “Elad Gil – if you don’t know that name and you are building products you should. High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People by Elad Gil. Please read our privacy All rights reserved. Here are the best books for PMs to get a competitive edge and help to build the products that customers love. Setting goals as outcomes sounds simple, but it can be hard to do in practice. 10 books every IT Manager should read Free time and a good reads are the best partners of any IT Manager who wants to succeed and grow in their position, don’t lose the habit! This book will provide you with insight on customer needs, product strategy, … 8 Books Every Product Manager Should Read Published on July 19, 2017 July 19, 2017 • 43 Likes • 2 Comments. The Product Manager’s Desk Reference 2e by Steven Haines. 10 best books every business owner should read. QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. Connect with 25,000+ product managers to receive exclusive updates and insider tips. Are we there for people in a pinch? They attend local speaker series, listen to podcasts, connect at invite-only salons and much more. “Practical (read) about the basics of user testing and user research. February 5, 2020 - 9 min read ... Every contemporary PMs go-to guide. Keep up with all new trends in product management. 2020. Signing into Products That Count will subscribe your registered email to our newsletter. “This is a strong book about validating product ideas.” — Marty Cagan, Silicon Valley Product Group Partner, Product Talk EP 21. Full of eye-opening insights, Shape Up will help you break free of “best practices” that aren’t really working, think deeper about the right problems, and start shipping meaningful projects your team can celebrate. Here are the books that I've found most helpful in my career as a product manager. In Loonshots, physicist and entrepreneur Safi Bahcall reveals a surprising new way of thinking about the mysteries of group behavior that challenges everything we thought we knew about nurturing radical breakthroughs. Here are the top books every product manager should read according to the product executives that drive our networks product conversation. How to Speak Machine provides a coherent framework for today’s product designers, business leaders, and policymakers to grasp this brave new world. How do you keep your people moving in the right direction without burning out or burning it all down? “If you manage people or if you are on a team this is a great book to read.” — Ashley Phillips, Venmo Product Lead, Product Talk EP 56. By continuing to use this site you are giving consent While not all targeted for product managers, we have found these books to be accessible, helpful, and filled with tools to contribute to the success you deserve. When is Google done? David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. The Lean Product Playbook provides specific, step-by … Mostly, we simply ask teams to build features — but features are the wrong way to go. Product Management Books on Team Management Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results by Christina Wodtke. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Product manager skills & tips, process and more. Published more than 75 years ago, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is a classic when it comes to management books — and for good reason. (It discusses) how you think about going out and creating a disproportionate leverage in the market.” — Jeetu Patel, Box Chief Product Officer, Product Talk EP 46. Top 20 Books Every Product Manager Should Read. A terrific Book!” — Marty Cagan, Silicon Valley Product Group Partner, Product Talk EP 21. Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don’t know. Using outcomes creates focus and alignment. In the tradition of Alex Osterwalder’s global bestseller Business Model Generation, this practical guide contains a library of hands-on techniques for rapidly testing new business ideas. And because we don’t know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world. Why customer behavior is the key metric for business successby Joshua Seiden. Report this post; Melissa Hopkins Follow “This book allows you to understand the larger impact of technology.” — Sangeet Paul Choudary, Entrepreneur and Business Author, Product Talk EP 3. September 03, 2015 by ganttic Categories: Management Tips. Why this is a top product management book: This classic is considered a must-read for founders, CEOs, and A … How To Win Friends and Influence People; 2. To give you the best experience this site uses cookies. policy - Remove this notice. Over 10,000 C/VP-level product executives such as the Netflix Product VP, Coinbase CPO, and Box CPO share their best practices on what it takes to build great products. 10 Books Every Product Manager Should Read 1. Written by the founders of web development company, 37signals, this is one of few product development books that distills concepts we too often take for granted. The Lean Product Playbook. 1. Next check out Ken Norton’s How to Hire a Product Manager and Ben Horowitz’s inspiring essay Good Product Manager, Bad Product Manager. 10 Must-Read Books for Product Managers 1. Who should read this book: Read this book if you’re a product manager who needs to articulate the vision of your product to your team. This practical book will help you uncover critical insights about how your customers think so you can create products or services with an exceptional experience. Products That Count is one of the largest and undoubtedly the most influential global network of product managers. The themes include leadership, problem solving, communication, psychology, and success. All about building simple products.” — Eric Singley, Yelp Product Lead, Product Talk EP5. Although this is one of the best books for product managers in the technology industry, specifically, we believe its principles are broad enough to offer value to a PM in any field. Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan. Loonshots identifies the small shifts in structure that control this transition, the same way that temperature controls the change from water to ice. Hundreds join the product conversation at our invite-only executive product salons; many agree to shape the product conversation by giving insightful talks and interviews; some chose to drive the product conversation by leading local chapters and podcast shows. Webs of Influence: The Psychology of Online Persuasion by Nathalie Nahai. Good to Great; 6. But in today’s service- and software-driven world, “done” is less obvious. Products That Count is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. When is Amazon done? Top 10 Books That Every Manager Should Read. The Product Manager’s Desk Reference (2e) culminates over 20 years of product … Over 200,000 product managers globally read, watch and listen to our 3,000+ blog posts, videos and podcasts. How do people talk about us when we’re not around? 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; 5. Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized Worldby David Epstein. In addition, this business genius mentored dozens of other important leaders throughout USA, from entrepreneurs to venture capitalists to educators to football players, leaving behind a legacy of growing companies, successful people, respect, friendship, and love after his death in 2016. by David J. “It’s like a series of magic tricks (and a must read).” — Alistair Croll, Fwd50 Founder, Product Talk EP 16. The first book that all mid-career product managers should read is Marty Cagan's Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love. Over 200,000 product managers committed to building great products join to network, learn and get inspired by leaders such as Netflix Product VP, Coinbase CPO, and Box CPO. Listen to our podcasts; Watch our videos; Product & Design Join the newsletter to hear when they’re available. The One Minute Manager; 8. In How to Speak Machine, he offers a set of simple laws that govern not only the computers of today, but the unimaginable machines of the future. My Answer The Must-Read Books for Product Managers For product managers working on business-to-business high tech products and early technologies, the following are absolute must-reads: Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers, by Geoffrey Moore. ... For instance, he discovered promoting people who are the best and what they do was a top priority. Every product manager should add these 33 easy read blogs to your reading list this year. Computational Thinking for the Rest of Usby John Maeda. Leadership; 7. Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Outliers, offers a powerful examination of our interactions with strangers — and why they often go wrong. Our culture today tends to reward the ones who are active and social. Every single day at least a dozen or so of new books is being published. Author John Whalen shows you how anyone on your team can conduct “contextual interviews” to unlock insights. Gladwell brilliantly argues that we should stop assuming, realize no one’s transparent and understand that behavior is tied to unseen circumstances. “He shares his crazy story, and this is a great read.” — Michael Fisher, former Pivotal Labs Product Lead, Product Talk EP 60. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see. Crossing the Chasm. Lean product development is attractive to many companies, but businesses often lack specific strategies for implementing it. We use this in the fabric of our strategy. Along the way, it answers a question fundamental to any organization: Who are we? The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership; 3. What do James Bond and Lipitor have in common? Also recommended by Dacheng Zhao, Google Product Lead, Product Talk EP 57; Marty Cagan, Silicon Valley Product Group Partner, Product Talk EP 21; and Paige Conrad, Acorns Product Lead, Product Talk EP 52. What’s one major key to success for small business owners? Drawing on the science of phase transitions, Bahcall shows why teams, companies, or any group with a mission will suddenly change from embracing wild new ideas to rigidly rejecting them, just as flowing water will suddenly change into brittle ice. Or Facebook? His book is seminal in how to overcome challenges and build products for companies.” — Alex Kinnier, GetUpside Chief Executive Officer, Product Talk EP 61. Also recommended by Justin Bauer, Amplitude Vice President of Product, Product Talk EP 35. Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results by Christina Wodtke. Here are the top books every product manager should read according to the product executives that drive our networks product conversation. Among the mountains of books that have been published for managers, we have selected 10 books that every manager should read. Using Brain Science to Build Better Productsby John Whalen. It starts off with a story of a startup and ends with practical tips to implement OKR’s.” — Michael Fisher, former Pivotal Labs Product Lead, Product Talk EP 60. Discovery sprints please read our privacy policy - Remove this notice below are top 9 that! 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