On My Shelf with Petra Wille — Product Management Consultant and Coach
About me
Petra Wille is an independent product management consultant and product discovery coach. She loves to help her customers build products and teams from scratch. Alongside her freelance work, Petra co-organizes and curates MTP Engage Hamburg and is always waiting for some windy days: she’s a huge kite-surfing enthusiast.
On my shelf
Inspired (2nd edition)
How to create tech products customers love
by Marty Cagan
My opinion
Really? Cagan again? Yes. When was the last time you’ve opened this book? Too long ago maybe. This book shouldn’t be a one time read. Use it as a constant reminder of how great products get created and how successful PMs work.
368 pages, John Wiley & Sons 2018
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
A Leadership Fable
by Patrick Lencioni
Why read?
Because every PM needs to know that a collective behaves differently to individuals. Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions which go to the very heart of why teams even the best ones-often struggle. He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team.
229 pages, Jossey-Bass 2002
Radical Focus
Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results
by Christina Wodtke
My opinion
It´s the OKR book I love the most. I like the way Christina approaches the rather technical and unromantic topic of goal setting. She uses a parable I could relate to and makes it easy to understand the success factors of using this method.
166 pages, Cucina Media LLC 2016
Selling the Dream
How to promote your product, company, or ideas — and make a difference — using everyday evangelism
by Guy Kawasaki
My opinion
Because evangelising your product is such an important task and in general so underrated as a skill. This needs more attention and Guys stories on this are just fab!
352 pages, HarperBusiness 1992
The Art of Thinking Clearly
Better Thinking, Better Decisions
by Rolf Dobelli
My opinion
This is the book of biases. And there are so many of them. I think it helps PMs if they are aware of their own biases (sunk cost fallacy…), their peers and managers biases and most important, their user's biases. This awareness just reduces the risk of making the wrong decision.
384 pages, Harper Paperbacks 2014
Predictable Revenue
Turn Your Business Into a Sales Machine with the $100 Million Best Practices of Salesforce.com
by Aaron Ross & Marylou Tyler
My opinion
How to find the right business model and how to grow your business in a bold way? The story of Salesforce makes a nice example of that one. Food for thought for all PMs interested in more business-case related learnings.
213 pages, PebbleStorm 2011
The PM Library series “On my shelf” features Product Leaders from all over the world who are passionate about reading and sharing with the community. If you want to join the movement and share your reading list with others send us a message or fill out the following form. Let’s get better together 📚.
