6 Books to Step Up Your Product Management Game
I've written before about how product managers are often thought of as the CEO of their product. Everyone has high expectations of them as the success of the product rests squarely on their shoulders. From engineering to marketing, PMs are expected to embody all roles when it comes to their product.
This means that successful product managers are in a constant state of learning. If they aren't moving forward, they're moving backward.
A recent study showed that 86% of successful people read on a regular basis. Great product managers are no exception. Although they come from a variety of backgrounds there are certain traits that are common among them. Luckily there's no shortage of books to help you up your game, whether you're a novice PM or a veteran.
Here are a few suggestions for how to take your understanding of the product, market, customer and value your product delivers to the next level:
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Ever wondered why urban legends persist for centuries and your ideas don't get past the boardroom? Brothers Chip and Dan Heath outline six principles -- simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories -- that define ideas' "stickiness". We have our own Aha! public ideas portal that allows our customers to share their best ideas with the team. Great product management involves managing ideas; this book will show you how to implement the best ones.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
A raise isn't enough to keep teams engaged. In one of his five best-selling books, Daniel H. Pink outlines the three elements of true motivation -- autonomy, mastery, and purpose. They're traits that great PMs already have in spades. This book shows you how to connect them to your daily work visualizing and creating new things.
Decisive: How to Make Better Decisions in Life and Work
Product managers must make countless decisions. Decisive calls us to address inherent bias that we might not know we have. But simply knowing that you're biased isn't enough -- hence why the Heath brothers followed Made to Stick with this book. Their WRAP model will help you make more process-oriented decisions -- a must for product managers.
Emotional Design: Why We Love (Or Hate) Everyday Things
Product managers know that design matters -- but designers don't often account for emotion. Author Don Norman discusses the emotional reactions that products provoke. He outlines the three ways that humans react to design, including the reflective dimension that evokes positive self-image or satisfaction. This book will reinforce how to build products with users at the forefront of your mind.
Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers
At Aha! our goal is to help customers build great product and be happy doing it. This involves giving them the tools to visualize each new release. Business Model Generation shares our ethos of using powerful strategic ideas and tools to build business changing strategies. The book's beautiful 4 color design shows how to visualize these strategies and bring them to life in your organization.
The Product Manager's Survival Guide
Always focus on what defines your product - its business model and stage of growth. Having a solid understanding of motivation, strategy, and ideas will always serve as a strong background. These are critical concepts that will help you build better products in 2015.
What are your favorite books on product management?
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ABOUT BRIAN AND AHA!
Brian seeks business and wilderness adventure. He has been the founder or early employee of six cloud-based software companies and is the CEO of Aha! -- the world's #1 product roadmap software. His last two companies were acquired by Aruba Networks [ARUN] and Citrix [CTXS].
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Deputy Manager of Wealth Management Center at ZheShang Securities Co. Ltd.
10 年Soon after I finish my new purchased book, I think I will pick up one of them to read.
Digital Marketing Manager & Content Creation Expert | Let me help you build your marketing strategy and manage your teams. There will always be a special place in my heart for content creation.
10 年I provide translation services. If you are interested, you are so welcome to check my account.
Product Management Leader | Driving Innovation, Customer-Centric Solutions, and Business Growth | Info Tech | EdTech
10 年This isn't a book on product management per se but I love it. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products Nir Eyal Anyone who has subscription based products should read this book. Attempts to answer the following questions: Why do some products capture our attention, while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of habit? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?
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10 年Thanks Brian for your list. Three of them are already on my "to read" list. I didn't know about PM's Survival Guide and Emotional Design. I'm very curious to read them. I would recommend three books that I read and they are really great: 1. "Contagious: Why Things Catch On" by Jonah Berger 2. "The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers" by Ben Horowitz 3. "The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism" by Olivia Fox Cabane
Experienced business and people leader, coach and business/sales/marketing/product manager. UK & Ireland Business Unit Manager - Endotherapy - Olympus
10 年Excellent article Brian. In my early years as a (trainee) Product Manager I learnt a great deal from The Product Managers Desk Reference by Steven Haines. It is an excellent reference book for new and experienced PM's alike.