On My Shelf with Fernando Díaz Gestal — Product Director at King (Barcelona)
About me
Empowering organisations to make customer centric business decisions by enabling talented product, design, research and engineering teams is something that I’m really passionate about.
On my shelf
Escaping the Build Trap
How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value
by Melissa Perri
My opinion
I love the way it guides you through very valid conclusions by “defining the terms” (e.g: project VS product VS service), explains how companies fall into the trap by not understanding them and also how to escape from it. After reading it, a lot of things become “common sense”. I’ve read it a lot of times and I keep on going back to it when issues appears.
180 pages, O’Reilly Media 2018
INSPIRED
How to Create Tech Products Customers Love
by Marty Cagan
My opinion
Similar to Melisa Perri’s one in the sense that it is quite “structured” and it is logical to follow. What I like from Marty’s book is that he also introduces and describes several techniques to remove/mitigate the “4 risks” (value, usability, feasibility and biz viability)
368 pages, Wiley 2017
The Lean Startup
How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
by Eric Ries
My opinion
I’ve learnt to deal better with uncertainty thanks to this book. I love especially how it motivated me back in the days to “get out of the building” and start phrasing things as experiments.
336 pages, Currency 2011
Good Strategy Bad Strategy
The Difference and Why It Matters
by Richard Rumelt
My opinion
I can say that I didn’t really know what a strategy was until I read this book. It is a bit dense, but it really makes you understand strategy. It sticks a sharp pin in many of the supposed approaches to strategy that include having passion, mistaking goals for strategy, and a failure to face the challenge of strategy.
336 pages, Currency 2011
The Design of Everyday Things
by Don Norman
My opinion
A classic must read for any product person. Apart from the “obsession with the doors”, you’ll learn a lot about human cognition and behaviour.
368 pages, Basic Books 2013
Turn the Ship Around!
A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
by L. David Marquet & Stephen R. Covey
My opinion
One of my managers worked in the Swedish Army before moving to the Gaming industry, and I can say he has been the best manager I’ve had by far… I can recognise him in a lot of things I’ve read in this book, where I’ve learnt a lot of things about leadership is critical moments.
272 pages, Portfolio 2013
Our series “On my shelf” features product people from all over the world who are passionate about reading and sharing their best book recommendations with the community. If you want to join the movement and share your reading list with others send us a message. Let’s get better together 📚.
