Recommended Books for Product Managers and Product Leaders
I find personal lists of books very helpful to help us find the best content to improve our craft. Much more than random “Top 10”s on the internet.
So I compiled a list of books that I’ve read and that I recommend for Product Managers and Product leaders, in the hope that this can help you too.
I will be updating this list from time to time.
Enjoy!
Product Management
Inspired, Marty Cagan
The book to understand and connect the full ecosystem of Product Management.
The Lean Product Playbook, Dan Olsen
The practical guide of product management. Less theory, more practice.
Outcomes over Output, Josh Seiden
The change of mindset that every product manager requires to become one.
The Phoenix Project, Gene Kim, Kevin Behr and George Spafford
A very relatable (and well written) story about the challenges of working in organizations with multiple teams and stakeholders.
Leadership
The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership, Bill Walsh
Sports is one of the best places to learn leadership. The 3 times Super Bowl champion Bill Walsh teaches us precisely that.
Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell, Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg
The legacy of one of the most influential Silicon Valley leaders, business coaches and managers, Bill Campbell.
15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, Jim Dethmer, Diana Champman and Kaley Klemp
A book contrasting the most common good and bad behaviors seen in leaders. Interesting to see that even the most influential leaders struggle with expected leadership traits.
Lateral Leadership, Tim Herbig
Short but good reading on how to lead without executive power.
Strong Product People, Petra Wille
The book for product leaders — Head of Product, Product Leads and even Senior PMs. Goes from managing a team of PMs, to coaching and hiring.
Strategy
Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Referred by many as the strategy bible. Focused on the theory that thriving businesses completely distance themselves from competition.
Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey More
Another constantly mentioned strategy book, this one focused on the theory that to thrive you need to cross the existent chasm between Early Adopters and Early Majority.
Culture
Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace, Ricardo Semler
An amazing story of how a CEO in the 80s completely broke the status quo of how company’s work. Interesting to see that today, the majority of businesses still lag way behind.
The Hard Thing about Hard Things, Ben Horowitz
While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, few are honest about how difficult it is to run one.
Creativity, Inc., Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace
The story of Pixar.
Shoe Dog, Phil Knight
The story of Nike.
Let My People Go Surfing, Yvon Chouinard
The story of Patagonia.
Adjacent Skills
How to win Friends & Influence People, Dale Carnegie
The classic book from the 1900s about one simple but complex thing that every manager needs to be prepared for: how to deal with people.
The power of full engagement, Jim Loehr
We all struggle with much to do in our lives: this book focuses on the idea that managing energy, not time, should be our priority.
Don’t Shoot the Dog, Karen Pryor
The classic book for dog trainers. And you’ll be surprised of how much it applies to ourselves, humans. A good book to improve our coaching skills.
