Best Books for Product Managers

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

By: John Carreyrou

The chilling story of Theranos. Many lessons in here about what can happen when you don’t act ethically and don’t trust your people.

Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It

By: Ethan Kross

Many product leaders I’ve coached struggle with a voice in their head that continuously judges them, telling them they’re not qualified or good enough for the job. This inner critic or saboteur can lead to imposter phenomenon. In this book, a leading psychologist looks at the science behind our inner voice and new research into how to harness it and improve your physical and mental health.

Competing Against Luck

By: Clayton Christensen

Christensen explores one of his approaches to combating the Innovator’s Dilemma: Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD).

Continuous Discovery Habits

By: Teresa Torres

Teresa Torres is the best in the business at helping teams build products and services that their customers want. Here she shares her techniques for transforming your process into one of continuous discovery and learning.

Creativity, Inc

By: Ed Catmull

If you appreciated my essay 10x Not 10%, you’ll enjoy Catmull’s book about putting 10x into practice. He draws from the success – and failures – of Pixar to teach us how to lead creative teams.

Crossing the Chasm

By: Geoffrey Moore

The classic technology marketing book. Moore was the first to evaluate the role of early adopters.

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most

By: Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen

The best-selling guide to having difficult conversations from the Harvard Negotiation Project. A helpful book to have on-hand.

Don't Make Me Think

By: Steve Krug

This lighthearted book about user interface design is fun to read, and chock full of lessons for PMs.

Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products

By: Marty Cagan and Chris Jones

The sequel to Inspired, this book explores what the best product companies have in common. “Most people think it’s because these companies are somehow able to find and attract a level of talent that makes this innovation possible. But the real advantage these companies have is not so much who they hire, but rather how they enable their people to work together to solve hard problems and create extraordinary products.”

Escaping the Build Trap

By: Melissa Perri

Melissa Perri explains how laying the foundation for great product management can help companies solve real customer problems while achieving business goals. By understanding how to communicate and collaborate within a company structure, you can create a product culture that benefits both the business and the customer.

Getting Things Done

By: David Allen

Soon after this book was published Allen attracted an almost cult-like following. The fundamental ideas remain sound. Product managers juggle hundreds of priorities, and this book will help you balance your time.

Getting To Yes

By: Roger Fisher and William Ury

Product managers need to be master negotiators and there’s no better guide to negotiation than this classic.

High Output Management

By: Andy Grove

This one only gets better with age. Although it’s only mentioned briefly, this is where Andy Grove first introduced OKRs to the world. His practical advice about meetings, especially the importance of 1-on-1s, inspired my own writing.

How to Lie with Statistics

By: Darrell Huff

Product managers need a solid foundation in statistics to be metrics-driven. This classic book is a lively and fun book will leave you smarter and more skeptical.

How to Work with (Almost) Anyone

By: Michael Bungay Stanier

My absolute favorite guide to getting a relationship off to a good start. MBS makes it simple to approach that initial ‘keynote conversation’ and keep any relationship healthy and vibrant.

Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization

By: Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey

Robert Kegan is an intellectual hero of mine, and his adult stage development theory is foundational to my executive coaching work. Understanding how we grow and develop will help you become a better leader and a more empathetic colleague. More accessible than his academic work, this book also provides a framework for understanding underlying beliefs and motivations that might be holding you back.

In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives

By: Steven Levy

Levy was given unprecedented access to Google, and the result is what I consider to be an accurate depiction of how the company operates. A good overview of how Google product managers work.

Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love

By: Marty Cagan

If you could only read one book on product management, this would be it. Marty has had a long and storied product management career, and is the founder of Silicon Valley Product Group.

Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection

By: Ximena Vengoechea

Listening is one of the most important product management skills. Learn how to connect to customers, co-workers, and team members with this beautifully illustrated and accessible book.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

By: Chip Heath and Dan Heath

The instant classic about why some ideas thrive, why others die, and how to improve your idea’s chances.

Mastering Leadership

By: Robert Anderson and William Adams

A developmental pathway for growth that includes a stage development model of leadership. In particular, the evolution from Reactive to Creative is particularly important for product leadership effectiveness.

On Writing

By: Stephen King

Product managers need to be good writers, and this is how you learn from one of the masters of the craft.

Positioning

By: Al Ries and Jack Trout

The classic marketing book, one of the first to specifically address positioning your product in a consumer’s mind.

Product Leadership

By: Richard Banfield, Martin Eriksson and Nate Walkingshaw

From my foreword: “Your guide to navigating product leadership, the one I never had. Within these pages you’ll hear a diversity of opinions from the industry’s most successful and respected product leaders, insights that will help you lead your team and deliver exceptional products.”

Product Management in Practice

By: Matt LeMay

Real-world, practical advice for PMs. Focused on communication, organization, research, and execution.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts

By: Susan Cain

I’m an introvert and I spent years treating it as a weakness. Susan’s book opened my eyes to the unique contributions introverts make. Even if you’re not an introvert yourself, I guarantee you work with lots of them.

Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building

By: Claire Hughes Johnson

Claire has been a senior executive at Google and Stripe. Here she offers up a guide to leadership that is both practical and inspiring. Suitable for leaders of all levels.

Sprint

By: Jake Knapp

From my former partners in GV Design—how to cut through the crap, identify a problem, and test it in only one week.

Strong Product People: A Complete Guide to Developing Great Product Managers

By: Petra Wille

Whether you’re a product leader coaching a team member or still early in your product maangement career, Petra Wille will help you break down the essentials of the job and develop a plan for growth.

Team of Rivals

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin

Abraham Lincoln surrounded himself with his opponents, gradually turning them into admirers and influential advisors. Lincoln’s approach to leadership offers lessons for anyone looking to tap into the wisdom of others, with or without formal authority.

Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well

By: Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen

Product managers must learn to give and receive feedback with candor and kindness, and without withholding. This book, also from the Harvard Negotiation Project, will teach you how.

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

By: Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp

This book dramatically changed me as a leader and as a person. It will help you develop self-awareness and connect deeply with your sense of purpose as a leader. If I could recommend one book to help you develop the human skills behind the Art of Product Management, it would be this one.

The Captain Class: The Hidden Force That Creates the World's Greatest Teams

By: Sam Walker

The founding editor of The Wall Street Journal’s sports section looks at the leadership qualities of the most successful sports leaders in history. And they’re not what you think.

The Design of Everyday Things

By: Donald Norman

After you read Norman’s book you’ll notice design everywhere, both good and bad. A classic in the field of design.

The Innovator's Dilemma

By: Clayton Christensen

The most important business and product management book of the past fifty years. If you’re a technology PM and you haven’t read Christensen, do so right now.

The Lean Product Playbook

By: Dan Olsen

Dan’s book is a perfect companion to Lean Startup, with lots of tactical advice and techniques for putting lean methodologies into practice.

The Mythical Man-Month

By: Frederick Brooks

If you could only read one computer science book, this would be it. Almost fifty years old, it’s as relevant as ever. I promise you’ll nod your head as Brooks skewers mistakes that engineering leaders continue to make to this day.

The Power of a Positive No: Save The Deal Save The Relationship and Still Say No

By: William Ury

One of the hardest things I ever had to learn to do was say no. Saying no gracefully and firmly is one of the most important skills for a product manager to develop. This is the classic guide for learning to do so.

The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better

By: Will Storr

One of the most common requests I receive is for resources to become a better storyteller. In this book, award-winning novelist Will Storr looks at how the brain responds to stories, and how to captivate your audience and connect with their emotions.

Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts

By: Annie Duke

A product manager will be called upon to make scores of decisions every day. In none of these cases will you have all of the information you want, and you’ll rarely be 100% confident. Poker champion turned decision researcher Annie Duke will help you learn how to be comfortable with uncertainty.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

By: Daniel Kahneman

When does our animal brain make decisions for us before our more analytical brain has a chance to think through the consequences? From Nobel laureate Kahneman, this is one of the most important psychology books ever written.

Work Rules!

By: Laszlo Bock

Laszlo and his team at Google reinvented the role of human resources. This book is a terrific overview of what makes Google Google, from culture, to hiring, to making decisions.

Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz

By: Frank Barrett

Jazz is messy, and musicians seem to court disaster night after night. What can product leaders learn from how these artists approach their art? Barrett’s entertaining book formed the backbone for my essay on jazz and product management.