20 Best Books For Product Managers (2023 Update)

Looking to become a product manager and launch your product career? get best practices on leading without authority, building products, and acing your pm interviews that i learned on the job at amazon, facebook, and other leading technology companies. updated for 2020, principles of product management is a hands-on, practical guide for new and aspiring product managers. the book has three parts: principles: part one covers the leadership principles that pms use to lead their team to overcome adversity. when your product fails to gain traction, when your team falls apart, or when your manager gives you tough feedback-these are all opportunities to learn principles that will help you succeed. product development: part two covers how pms at facebook, amazon, and other top companies build products. getting the job: part three covers how you can land a pm job and reach the interview stage at the right company. hear directly from product leaders at airbnb, amazon, google, and more on: how to overcome challenging situations from a vp of product at amazon. how to build a great product roadmap from product leaders at linkedin and airbnb. how google, airbnb, and other top companies evaluate pm candidates from leaders at those companies. how pms can grow their career from a director at instagram and twitter. table of contents 1. principles take ownership prioritize and execute start with why find the truth be radically transparent be honest with yourself 2. product development product development loop understanding the customer problem selecting a goal metric mission, vision, and strategy building a product roadmap defining product requirements great project management effective communication making good decisions 3. getting the job preparing for the transition making the transition finding the right company acing your pm interviews product sense interview execution interview behavioral interview your first 30 days 4. product leader interviews

Are you a product leader looking for advice on how to be certain that every product manager on your team lives up to their full potential? do you want to make sure your product people are competent, empowered, and inspired, and would you like to know how you can best help them on this journey? if you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then this book is for you! by the end of this book, you will understand: – why you need to focus on the personal development of every product manager-and of the team as a whole-to unlock their full potential.- why coaching is an important part of your job, and how to do it in the most effective way.- how you can define what a good product manager looks like.- how you can accurately assess product managers and provide them with valuable, actionable, and helpful feedback on their current performance that will help them perform even better.- which methods/frameworks you can use to make sure product managers learn what they need to know to be more effective-enhancing their people skills.and you will be able to: – reflect on your own coaching personality and define your own areas for development.- efficiently prepare and use one-on-ones as your main coaching tool.

What do all great product managers have in common, regardless of industry, type of product, or company environment? in immutable: 5 truths of great product managers, jj rorie reveals the skills that are vital to navigate this exciting and dynamic field. she shares case studies and wisdom acquired from years in the profession to lay out the core capabilities that are the foundation for greatness. customer intelligence, relationship-building, effective communication, good judgment, and prioritization are essential to the role, and rorie explores each concept in depth. with effort and persistence, anyone can learn these timeless skills that are always in demand and transferable to any company. in a friendly and no-nonsense way, rorie shows you step by step how to master the immutable truths and build the expertise that will enable you to navigate the cross-functional and chaotic world of product management.disruptive technologies and ever-changing customer needs and trends present challenges on a daily basis for product managers. whether you're new to the field or a seasoned veteran, this book gives you the tools and practical advice you need to take your skills to the next level and enjoy a successful, rewarding career

Learn to design, build, and scale products consumers can’t get enough of how do today’s most successful tech companies―amazon, google, facebook, netflix, tesla―design, develop, and deploy the products that have earned the love of literally billions of people around the world? perhaps surprisingly, they do it very differently than most tech companies. with sections on assembling the right people and skillsets, discovering the right product, embracing an effective yet lightweight process, and creating a strong product culture, readers can take the information they learn and immediately leverage it within their own organizations―dramatically improving their own product efforts. the first edition of inspired, published ten years ago, established itself as the primary reference for technology product managers, and can be found on the shelves of nearly every successful technology product company worldwide. this thoroughly updated second edition shares the same objective of being the most valuable resource for technology product managers, yet it is completely new―sharing the latest practices and techniques of today’s most-successful tech product companies, and the men and women behind every great product.

Mastering product management: a step-by-step guide offers practical, real-world advice on how to create and capture value as a product manager. it covers the full product life cycle, from idea discovery through end-of-life. each section is scannable and concise, around two to three pages. rather than diving deep into the theoretical background of a given area, it serves as a checklist of the key steps a product manager should take to complete a given task.- source new ideas that succeed- set a compelling product vision and strategy- search for profitable new business models- become a market expert- effectively manage roadmaps- ensure a successful product launch- understand value and price profitably- build and manage high-performance teams- and much more! this book is a convenient reference guide that you can use throughout your workday. it's meant for product managers of all levels and for anyone wishing to understand what it takes to define, develop, launch, and market new products successfully.

Turn your platform into the next big thing with expert advice to scale and implement a proven growth roadmap across multiple channels – key features: gain expert insight about platform business models and how they're different to linear products – explore the end-to-end platform life cycle, from developing a strategy to measuring the outcome – follow real-life examples to discover the most effective growth strategies your platform – book description: scaling a platform is a lot different than scaling a product. this is why product managers developing or transitioning to a platform model are often facing completely new challenges – both technical and strategic. but if you want to build the next amazon, netflix, spotify, or a completely new type of platform, then you need to adopt a platform-first approach to change how you invent, develop, and market solutions. this is where effective product platform management comes in. – this book addresses product management as a critical pillar of platform development. it'll help you understand the difference between traditional and modern product management for platforms and even decide whether the platform business model is the way to go for you. – as you progress, you'll be able to build the right platform strategy, define the mvp, and focus on ongoing backlog prioritization for successful platforms. this book will also walk you through the practical steps and guidelines that can ease your organization's transition from linear products to platforms. – by the end of this platform product management book, you'll have learned the essential aspects of product management for building successful and scalable platforms. you'll also have a clear understanding of the next steps you need to take to perfect and execute your new platform strategy – and take on the world. – what you will learn: understand the difference between the product and platform business model – build an end-to-end platform strategy from scratch – translate the platform strategy to a roadmap with a well-defined implementation plan – define the mvp for faster releases and test viability in the early stages – create an operating model and design an execution plan – measure the success or failure of the platform and make iterations after feedback – who this book is for: if you're a product manager, product owner, product director, or a business executive working on a platform strategy and its day-to-day execution, then this book is for you. it will also be useful for change managers and program managers tasked with transitioning from products to platforms. you won't need any prior knowledge of platform strategy or platform transitioning before you get started, since the book covers all the basics – but taking notes to reflect on your journey as you work through the practical examples in this book is recommended.

In today's lightning-fast technology world, good product management is critical to maintaining a competitive advantage. yet, managing human beings and navigating complex product roadmaps is no easy task, and it's rare to find a product leader who can steward a digital product from concept to launch without a couple of major hiccups. why do some product leaders succeed while others don't? this insightful book presents interviews with nearly 100 leading product managers from all over the world. authors richard banfield, martin eriksson, and nate walkingshaw draw on decades of experience in product design and development to capture the approaches, styles, insights, and techniques of successful product managers. if you want to understand what drives good product leaders, this book is an irreplaceable resource.

This book provides a consistent and holistic managerial approach to product management and presents a practical and comprehensive methodology (roles, processes, tasks, and deliverables) that covers all aspects of product management. it helps students of product management, product management practitioners, product management organizations, and corporations understand the value, theory, and implementation of product management. it outlines a practical approach to clarify role definitions, identify responsibilities, define processes and deliverables, and improve the ability to communicate with stakeholders. the book details the fundamentals of the blackblot product manager's toolkit (pmtk) product management methodology, a globally adopted best practice.

Product management has become a critical function for modern organizations, from small startups to corporate enterprises. and yet, the day-to-day work of product management remains largely misunderstood. in theory, product management conjures images of visionary leaders building beloved products. in practice, product management involves difficult conversations, frustrating compromises, and hard-won incremental gains. in this thoroughly revised and expanded edition, matt lemay provides real-world guidance for current and aspiring product managers. updated for the era of remote and hybrid work, this book answers the tricky questions you may have been afraid to ask about the strange, challenging, and rewarding work of product management. with this book, you'll learn: what the day-to-day work of product management entails–and how to excel at it why no job title or description will resolve the ambiguity of your role how to bridge the false dichotomy between strategy and execution why the temptation to focus on decks and documentation can be bad for your team (and for you) how to prioritize your time and pick your battles

Kickstart your next product management role with every product manager's first 90 days: a workbook for new product managers! you just got hired! congrats! now what? it takes most new product managers six to eight months to reach full productivity. most companies and managers don't have onboarding training designed specifically for product management. this means you would spend half of your first year haphazardly gathering the bits of information you need to be an effective product manager. every product manager's first 90 days is the solution to this problem. with over 40 interactive exercises and 90 questions, you will systematically work your way through your company discovering the knowledge necessary to be successful. know your role – learn your responsibilities and what others expect of you. know your team – learn who does what and what strengths they bring to the organization. know your stakeholders – learn which people you need input from on each aspect of the product and who to keep updated. know your customer – learn who uses your product and how they use it. know your competition – learn who you are up against and what makes your product unique in the marketplace. know your history – learn how the product has evolved and how that impacts the future. know your product – learn your product inside and out. know your numbers – learn what metrics are critical to focus on. know your marketing – learn what channels work and how your product is portrayed. know your future product – learn how you approach product management and what that means for where the product is headed. get up to speed faster and become an effective product leader today.

A hot, new management approach called lean product development is emerging. it challenges the current management orthodoxy, enabling companies to achieve 5 to 10 times improvement in product development speed, quality and efficiency. this third book by a best-selling product development author lucidly explains the principles behind these new methods and shows readers how to apply them. winner of a 2009 best books award. quite simply the most advanced product development book you can buy.

From the creator of the circles method, the product manager interview is a resource you don't want to miss. the world's expert in product management interviews, lewis c. lin, gives readers 164 practice questions to gain product management (pm) proficiency to master the interview. this book is ideal for almost all pm roles including: googlefacebookamazonuberdropboxmicrosoftfully solved solutions – the book contains fully solved solutions so readers can learn, improve and do their best at the pm interview. here are questions and sample answers you'll find in the book: product design – how would you design an atm for elderly people? should google build a comcast-like tv cable service? instagram currently supports 3 to 15 second videos. how would you modify the ux to accommodate this? pricing how would you go about pricing uber – x or any other new uber product? let's say google created a teleporting device: which market segments would you go after? how would you price it? metrics – imagine you are the amazon web services (aws) pm in sydney. what are the top three metrics you'd look at? facebook users have declined 20 percent week over week. diagnose the problem. how would you fix the issue? ideal complement to decode and conquer – many of you have read the pm interview frameworks revealed in decode and conquer, including the circles, aarm and digs methods. the product manager interview is the perfect complement to decode and conquer. with 164 practice questions, you'll see what the best pm interview responses look and feel like. – many of the sample answers have been re-written from scratch. the answers are now stronger and easier to follow. – this is the new edition of the book formerly titled pm interview questions. – preferred by the world's top universities – here's what students and staff have to say about lewis c. lin: duke universityi was so touched by your presentation this morning. it was really helpful. – university of michigani can say your class is the best that i have ever attended. i will definitely use knowledge i learned today for future interviews. – columbia universityi'd like to let you know that your workshop today is super awesome! it's the best workshop i have been to since i came to columbia business school. university of texas at austinthank you so much for taking time out and teaching us about these much-needed principles and frameworks. i actually plan to print out a few slides and paste them on my walls!

There is much more to being a good manager than hiring and managing employees. managers are often pulled in many directions at the same time and their ability to handle everything properly and efficiently is critical to their success. managers must also learn to create the proper manager/employee relationship so that both the manager and employee function at their highest levels. "how to be a good manager" shows you simple yet extremely effective techniques designed to increase productivity, reduce stress and help design the very best work environment possible. "how to be a good manager" is a must for any manager or manager to be who wants to achieve more and become more effecitve in their position.

Instant wall street journal bestseller! congratulations, you're a manager! after you pop the champagne, accept the shiny new title, and step into this thrilling next chapter of your career, the truth descends like a fog: you don't really know what you're doing.that's exactly how julie zhuo felt when she became a rookie manager at the age of 25. she stared at a long list of logistics–from hiring to firing, from meeting to messaging, from planning to pitching–and faced a thousand questions and uncertainties. how was she supposed to spin teamwork into value? how could she be a good steward of her reports' careers? what was the secret to leading with confidence in new and unexpected situations? now, having managed dozens of teams spanning tens to hundreds of people, julie knows the most important lesson of all: great managers are made, not born. if you care enough to be reading this, then you care enough to be a great manager.the making of a manager is a modern field guide packed everyday examples and transformative insights, including: * how to tell a great manager from an average manager (illustrations included) * when you should look past an awkward interview and hire someone anyway * how to build trust with your reports through not being a boss * where to look when you lose faith and lack the answerswhether you're new to the job, a veteran leader, or looking to be promoted, this is the handbook you need to be the kind of manager you wish you had.

Packed with examples and anecdotes, sales management. simplified. offers a proven formula for prospecting, developing, and closing deals–in your time, on your terms. why do sales organizations fall short? every day, expert consultants like mike weinberg are called on by companies to find the answer – and it's one that may surprise you. typically, the issue lies not with the sales team but with how it is being led. through their attitude and actions, senior executives and sales managers unknowingly undermine performance. weinberg tells it straight by calling out the problems plaguing sales forces and the costly mistakes made by even the best-intentioned sales managers. the good news is that with the right guidance, results can be transformed. simplified., weinberg teaches managers how to: implement a simple framework for sales leadership foster a healthy, high-performance sales culture conduct productive meetings put the right people in the right roles retain top producers and remediate underperformers point salespeople at the proper targets blending blunt, practical advice with funny stories from the field, sales management. simplified. delivers the tools every sales manager needs to succeed. managing sales doesn't have to be complicated, and the solution starts with you!

Your one-stop guide to becoming a product management prodigy product management plays a pivotal role in organizations. in fact, it's now considered the fourth most important title in corporate america—yet only a tiny fraction of product managers have been trained for this vital position. if you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people who hold this essential job—or simply aspire to break into a new role—product management for dummies gives you the tools to increase your skill level and manage products like a pro. from defining what product management is—and isn't—to exploring the rising importance of product management in the corporate world, this friendly and accessible guide quickly gets you up to speed on everything it takes to thrive in this growing field. it offers plain-english explanations of the product life cycle, market research, competitive analysis, market and pricing strategy, product roadmaps, the people skills it takes to effectively influence and negotiate, and so much more. create a winning strategy for your product gather and analyze customer and market feedback prioritize and convey requirements to engineering teams effectively maximize revenues and profitability product managers are responsible for so much more than meets the eye—and this friendly, authoritative guide lifts the curtain on what it takes to succeed.

From product management to product leadership: the advanced use cases takes on the critical organization role of product management with forwards by product and service leaders flint brenton, rodrigo flores and dan cohen. building upon silicon valley lessons in leading product management organizations, the book's narrative reveals the hidden thinking that links business strategy to its successful execution. the book is organized into 5 chapters including: advanced thinking in product management, the leadership challenge in external interactions, leading with technology and channel partners, mergers and acquisitions – the product angle and product portfolio management, and how to achieve long term success. the reader will gain from several experts in the field, as they recall successes, challenges, opportunities, and pitfalls they have experienced and witnessed in their collective experiences. from exploring business philosophy to gleaning pragmatic tips, readers will experience a novel approach as they hone their product leadership skills.

From product management to product leadership: the advanced use cases takes on the critical organization role of product management with forwards by product and service leaders flint brenton, rodrigo flores and dan cohen. building upon silicon valley lessons in leading product management organizations, the book's narrative reveals the hidden thinking that links business strategy to its successful execution. the book is organized into 5 chapters including: advanced thinking in product management, the leadership challenge in external interactions, leading with technology and channel partners, mergers and acquisitions – the product angle and product portfolio management, and how to achieve long term success. the reader will gain from several experts in the field, as they recall successes, challenges, opportunities, and pitfalls they have experienced and witnessed in their collective experiences. from exploring business philosophy to gleaning pragmatic tips, readers will experience a novel approach as they hone their product leadership skills.

When you became a product manager, did anyone take the time to mention to you that you were signing up to become a member of your company's sales department? you might have thought that you were joining the marketing department, but if your product doesn't sell, then you won't be holding on to your product management job for long! yes, you control the product, but they control how well it sells and in the end, that's all that matters. your product is competing for their time and attention with all of the other products that your company wants them to sell. you've got to find a way to get their attention and motivate them. the sales process is a fixed thing. when this happens your sales teams have to know about your product. they have to understand how it works. they have to know who it competes against and why your product is better. no two products are the same. this means that the responsibility of training the sales teams ultimately falls on your shoulders. no matter if you are selling a physical product, a license, or a service, you need to teach your sales team how to sell it correctly. in most companies, the sales teams won't report in to you. however, you are going to have to build a relationship with them that will allow you to work closely with them. when they encounter a problem or a new competitor, you are going to want them to feel comfortable enough with the relationship that you have built with them so that they'll come to you for help.

When you became a product manager, did anyone take the time to mention to you that you were signing up to become a member of your company's sales department? you might have thought that you were joining the marketing department, but if your product doesn't sell, then you won't be holding on to your product management job for long! yes, you control the product, but they control how well it sells and in the end, that's all that matters. your product is competing for their time and attention with all of the other products that your company wants them to sell. you've got to find a way to get their attention and motivate them. the sales process is a fixed thing. when this happens your sales teams have to know about your product. they have to understand how it works. they have to know who it competes against and why your product is better. no two products are the same. this means that the responsibility of training the sales teams ultimately falls on your shoulders. no matter if you are selling a physical product, a license, or a service, you need to teach your sales team how to sell it correctly. in most companies, the sales teams won't report in to you. however, you are going to have to build a relationship with them that will allow you to work closely with them. when they encounter a problem or a new competitor, you are going to want them to feel comfortable enough with the relationship that you have built with them so that they'll come to you for help.