November 2022
Product management is a fast-growing field. The demand for people who can lead teams through the ever-changing tech landscape is constantly increasing. If you’re looking to get into product management, or need some tips on how to approach it, you’re in the right place.
Here are some books that will help you understand what it means to be a product manager. I think it’s best to start small, spark your curiosity, and go from there:
Inspired by Marty Cagan
This is how product management should look in an ideal company environment. It’s probably not how most companies work but if they do, you can see they do something amazing.
A small spoiler alert — once you know how real product management can look like, there’s no coming back. You might feel disappointed if things don’t work as you wish based on the best practices. But keep in mind it’s not always going to be ideal and you need to start small.
The Jobs To Be Done Playbook by Jim Kalbach
Jobs to be done (JTBD) is a framework often used in product management. I heard the term very often and read about it. However, I realized only after reading the book how many details I was missing. It describes well how to approach customer-centricity and how to find what users need and why.
The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
Talking to customers is one of the key activities product managers have to do. The Mom Test introduces how to ask questions and what to be aware of when conducting user interviews.
The book is short and gives a lot of practical advice.
Lean Analytics by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz
I can’t describe how much this book opened my eyes and gave me insights into the data world. I read many articles before about metrics but having everything in one place is a game-changer.
There are examples of metrics used in different phases of a product lifecycle. It goes even deeper and explains them in several business models. And there’s a small cheat sheet at the end. You’re going to love that.
Radical Candor by Kim Malone Scott
Radical Candor isn’t directly related to product management. It teaches how to speak to colleagues in an empathic way while giving feedback. Product managers are in constant communication with people so knowing how to approach them is essential.
These five books are a great start and introduce key areas of product management as a whole:
Skills
Processes
Team collaboration
Customers
Data
Communication
