Essential reading list for product managers

Mick Niepoth
Jul 21, 2017 · 3 min read

Product management is a very multidisciplinary job. I summed up some books that helped me in different aspects of the job.

High Output Management by Andy Grove

This book walks you trough every basic element of managing a company or team. Finally a management book that wasn’t written by management gurus, but a great practical tips about meetings, motivation and processes. One of my favorite books.

Getting Things Done by David Allen

For me, using GTD has been critical for being productive. There’s also a great summary that captures the gist of the method well; gtdfh.branchable.com

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Although (over)hyped, the book does a good job of advocating the value of quickly validating an idea before spending tons of time on it. If you already do this, I’d skip the book.

Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Loveby Marty Cagan

A very straightforward book that offers some helpful frameworks on working with customer’s feedback.

The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen

A classic. If you haven’t read this yet, you should.

The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

I’m personally fascinated by the design of seemingly mundane objects.

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

How much can you write about checklists? It turns out; at lot. At the heart this book is about making simple processes and systems, that get out of the way and don’t create extra complexity.

Don’t Make Me Think (revisited) by Steve Krug

A easily digestible — but very good — book to web usability.

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