Dean's List of Product Manager Books & Podcasts

"When you stop going to school, you've only given-up on a formal education. When you stop learning, you given-up on living." ~ George L. Peters, Sr.

I'm often asked by both active and aspiring product managers what's on my bookshelf or podcast playlist. Here is a mix of titles both recent and historic that continue to influence my understanding of modern product management.

Books in 3 Equally Important Categories

1 - Books that help you practice product management

• Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value - Melissa Perri
• Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love - Marty Cagan
• EMPOWERED: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products - Marty Cagan
• Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters - Ryan Singer
• Product Management in Practice - Matt LeMay
• Scrum Product Ownership: Navigating The Forest AND The Trees - Bob Galen
• Product Roadmaps Relaunched: How to Set Direction while Embracing Uncertainty - Lombardo, McCarthy, Ryan, & Connors

2 - Books that help you build the right thing

• Unlearn: Let Go of Past Success to Achieve Extraordinary Results - Barry O'Reilly
• The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback - Dan Olsen
• Niche Down: How To Become Legendary By Being Different - Lochhead, Clancy, & Elrod
• The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition - Don Norman
• UX for Lean Startups: Faster, Smarter User Experience Research and Design - Jeff Gothelf & Josh Seiden
• Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster - Croll & Yoskovitz
• Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products - Nir Eyal
• Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability - Steve Krug
• The Paradox of Choice - Barry Schwartz

3 - Books that help you build an effective product culture

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable - Patrick Lencioni
• Brave New Work: Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization? - Aaron Dignan
• The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win - Kim, Behr, & Spafford
• Death March (2nd Edition) - Edward Yourdon
• Accelerate - Humble, Kim, & Forsgren
• Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them - Gary Hamel & Michele Zanini
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It  - Chris Voss & Tahl Raz
• Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams - Banfield, Eriksson, & Walkingshaw

Podcasts in 3 Categories that all Count the Same

1 - Podcasts on the practice of product management

• Deliver It Cast - Cory Bryan* (highly recommended)
• Product Love | Pendo.io - Eric Boduch*
• Product Chiefs Podcast - Product School
• The Art of Product - Ben Orenstein & Derrick Reimer
• The Accidental Product Manager - Jim Anderson
• Roman's Product Management Podcast - Roman Pichler
• The Product Experience - Mind the Product - Lily Smith & Randy Silver
• H2R Product Science Podcast - Holly Hester-Reilly

2 - Podcasts on building that perfect product culture

• Agile for Humans? Podcast - Ryan Ripley
• Unlearn Podcast - Barry O'Reilly
• Badass Agile Podcast - Badass Agile - by FuseChamber
• Agile and Project Management - DrunkenPM Radio
• To Be Continuous - Heavybit Industries
• Meta-Cast, An Agile Podcast - Bob Galen* & Josh Anderson*

3 - Podcasts that touch on product leadership & value delivery

• HBR IdeaCast - Alison Beard & Curt Nickisch
• Freakonomics | The hidden side of everything - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
• How I Built This with Guy Raz - NPR
• Robinhood Snacks - Jack Kramer & Nick Martell
• The Pitch - Gimlet
• Negotiate Anything Podcast - Kwame Christian
• Follow your Different - Christopher Lochhead

* Indicates well-known podcasts that are also run by Raleigh locals. Way to represent y'all!

So, what's on your list? I encourage you to leave a comment below with other titles you've found influential.