product management books for beginners

This book is really more about design and usability than strict product management. Innovator’s Dilemma explains why it is import to invest in disruptive innovation and pay attention to the future happening today, albeit in small numbers. If you manage a product or design team, this books will be inspiring. It also helped me better balance the short- and long-term. Great question! In fact, the science of taxonomy is a discipline unto itself. . Venture capitalist and Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr has been helping entrepreneurs succeed for almost 40 years. Let us first start with who is a Product Manager. The book also explores new approaches to management that any product manager will find invaluable in their day-to-day work. Introduction to Product Roadmaps. One of the key concepts introduced in Product Leadership is the idea that effective product management is a mind-set rather than a job function. I’ll jump right to it: here are my five book recommendations (in no particular order): Primarily a (warning) message to leadership teams of large incumbents– successful in their market– who fail in the face of disruptive innovation. It’s about fixing bugs and improving processes. This isn't true just from a practical perspective; you've likely had to acquire and develop a range of new skills on the job, but an inquiring mind is one of the greatest assets a product manager can have. The Art of product management by Rich Mironov is another great read. Follow the link and find more books on Agile project management. The world of technology has changed dramatically since the book's first edition, but Horowitz's seminal book is still one of the best overviews of contemporary product development and running a startup out there. Through examples, real-life… A key part of being successful at product management is the ability to communicate. Beginner project management books. If you haven't read it, it should be at the top of your reading list. The basic premise, ironically, is that the key to being the best PM you can be starts with a … Logistics management is a subset of the larger supply chain management. Offering plenty of scientific explanations and real-world examples to support his points, Rosenzweig makes a compelling case for examining our work with greater scrutiny. “Craft is what we are expected to know; art is the unexpected use of our craft.” The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. In particular, the ability to communicate the why behind what we build. If you're "exactly" looking for product management books for beginners, here are: Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams by … “Customers don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”. Hooked does an excellent job of introducing the reader to broader topics about what Eyal calls “behavioral design” before illustrating those concepts with real-world examples from companies including Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. Packed with real examples and case studies from companies including Campbell's, Hewlett-Packard, and Maxwell House, Selling Blue Elephants explains how to create reliable, flexible prototypes that tell you more about your users, faster, as well as how to get more out of your customer research, automate your product development workflows, and more. “Chasm crossing is not the end, but rather the beginning, of mainstream market development.”. Which you can refer to further expand your knowledge in these areas. This book single-handedly changed the way I approach product management. Because the way we think directly impacts the way we work. And Catmull’s recommendations for managing creativity comes with credibility–Pixar has continuously delivered amazing for decades now. These top 7 picks of Supply Chain Management books are for beginners as well as experienced practitioners which I feel can help you on your way to deciphering this minefield! 6. “Craft is what we are expected to know; art is the unexpected use of our craft.”. Meaningful features a range of real-world case studies based on Jiwa's Story Strategy, including Canva, GoPro, Harry's, Khan Academy, and Nike, to illustrate how large corporations and smaller, agile startups have applied the Story Strategy to their product development strategies. Disruptive innovation feels small and niche. Sinek shows how starting with why is how inspiration works. If you start out your way in the complicated world of project management, this is the basic book for you. Many product managers will be intimately familiar with the perils of “the build trap”—the practice of focusing exclusively on output rather than outcomes by releasing one feature after another instead of focusing on the needs and desires of the user. It increased my rate of learning and helped me focus on the right thing at the right time. Project Management: 6 Books in 1: The Complete Guide to Agile Project Management, Lean Analytics, Scrum, ... Agile Project Management: A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Learn Project Management with Agile Methodology. . Best Sellers in Product Management #1 Starting a Business QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner’s Guide to Launching a Successful Small Business, Turning Your Vision into Reality, and Achieving Your Entrepreneurial Dream As a product leader and executive, Innovator’s Dilemma has helped me better understand the two main types of innovation: sustaining and disruptive. . The idea behind Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz's best-selling Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days is simple: Build better products, faster. Essential reading for product managers and aficionados of design alike. Badass takes a holistic approach to product development, exploring how product, engineering, sales, marketing, and customer success teams should work in concert to make their users, well, awesome. Verify with Linkedin at A Beginner’s Guide to Product Management to download the E-book. Primarily a (warning) message to leadership teams of large incumbents– successful in their market– who fail in the face of disruptive innovation. Kotler on Marketing. Measure What Matters focuses on setting and achieving the bold, ambitious goals that often separate good companies from great ones. These books are written for beginners or experienced leaders. The best product managers not only want to create products for their users; they also want to empower users to solve their problems and make their lives better—and Kathy Sierra's Badass: Making Users Awesome is an actionable, hands-on blueprint on how to do just that. The book does a great job of identifying the key roles and responsibilities of a Product Manager in a start-up. But experienced project managers have a lot to learn from David Allen’s classic book. The book covers a broad range of topics, each of which builds upon concepts introduced earlier, and focuses on how to create engaging experiences that resonate with users even when they're not using our products. Starting with why can challenge your assumptions and quickly align teams–which only helps execution. . Throughout the book, Wheelan delves into key statistical concepts, including correlation and regression analysis,  and provides the reader with dozens of examples of how statisticians work with data to uncover the real stories behind the numbers. They convey both aspirations (through the product vision) and plans (through initiatives) while also connecting product strategy to company strategy. Rosenzweig's book challenges this and other cognitive biases that many product managers will be familiar with. One of the most actionable titles in this roundup, Meaningful is essential reading for ambitious product managers who want to tell their users' stories, not just make better products. This is one of the better general management books I have read. The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future Kevin Kelley, one of the co-founders of Wired magazine, provides a road map for the future with detailed … Here are a few resources you may want to check out. This book, originally published more than a decade ago and recently updated for a second edition, is packed with Cagan's observations about product development and anecdotes from his years in the field. Alex Gofman and Howard Moskowitz's Selling Blue Elephants: How to Make Great Products That People Want Before They Even Know They Want Them is centered on a principle the authors call rule-developing experimentation, or RDE. In my experience, creativity is just another word for problem-solving. Like many beginners, it is natural to start learning Product Design from mostly available sources differing from articles on the Internet to courses provided by various vendors. We have a free book on product roadmaps available for download. Super helpful for the product manager who is tasked with building a disruptive new product to understand these incredibly strong dynamics. Project Management Case Studies (Harold Kerzner, 2017) Brian Crofts is the Chief Product Officer of Pendo. Product Leadership features dozens of practical examples to illustrate its key points, all of which will help you see your role—and your team—in a new light. Wheelan's book not only manages to highlight how easy it is to misinterpret statistical data but does so in a way that's accessible and entertaining—no easy feat for a topic traditionally perceived as a little . After all, a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed college graduate will likely need a great deal more advice about the potential trajectory of their career than a grizzled 10-year veteran eyeing a VP position. For product managers, the halo effect can be particularly dangerous; if a project succeeds, it's because the strategy, execution, and leadership all contributed to the project's success—even if they didn't. “This is one of the most important lessons of the scientific method: if you cannot fail, you cannot learn.”. “There must be plans for learning rather than plans for implementation”. Project Management: A Quick Start Beginners Guide For Easily Managing Projects The Right Way is a book that introduces project management. The Practical Guide to Project Management by Christine Petersen (PDF) Free Download. The job of a Product Manager is “to discover a product that is valuable, usable, and feasible”. Perri's book seamlessly alternates between the conceptual and the practical, introducing higher-level ideas before grounding the reader in those principles via actionable, instructive examples. Beautiful Evidence isn't just a clever title. These high-level summaries bring all the moving pieces involved with product management and product development together. First developed by Knapp during his time at Google and refined at Google's GV accelerator, the design-sprint principle is a framework for rapidly iterating, testing, and building products. At its simplest, a taxonomy is just a way of naming and classifying things according to their similarities and differences. It increased my rate of learning and helped me focus on the right thing at the right time. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. Eyal's keen understanding of user psychology is what makes Hooked such a compelling read. Project Management for Beginners is an introductory course which provides the foundational knowledge necessary to join a project team and can serve as the first step on your path to a project management career. But that doesn't mean that experienced professionals need any less guidance than the rookies—especially in a field that moves as quickly and spans as many disciplines as product management. It’s both a product and marketing challenge. This is a list of our 8 best books for IoT beginners and the IoT-curious. But more importantly, he highlights the chasm that exists between early adopters of a product and the early majority (or pragmatic majority). But it can be achieved by first understanding how to secure a specific niche as a beachhead first. As its title implies, Rosenzweig's book focuses on the cognitive bias known as the halo effect, the tendency to apply positive or negative characteristics of a whole to each of its constituent parts. and Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers. There's a world of difference between product management and product leadership, and it's this critical difference that forms the basis of Richard Banfield, Martin Eriksson, and Nate Walkingshaw's Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams. That's why Charles Wheelan's Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data is such a valuable read for product managers looking to up their game. A thought-provoking read packed with real-world examples, Measure What Matters will help you build better products by asking better questions. What is this book about? It’s how we influence people, how we influence other leaders, and how we influence engineers. We can build anything, but often startups spend time building a product to only realize there is no market. It increased my rate of learning and helped me focus on the right thing at the right time. The halo effect is why we often perceive attractive people to be successful and popular, even if there is no evidence of either. Breaking down Roadmaps into Epics, Features and User Stories. If you’re a beginner, this book’s use of jargon and complex scenarios might be intimidating. Supply Chain and Logistics Management Made Easy: Methods and Applications for Planning, Operation, Integration, Control and Improvement, and Network Design (1 st Edition): Paul A. Myerson But as important as statistical analysis can be in product management, it's all too easy to overlook what the data is really telling us. Learn how to deal with challenges and spot opportunities when managing projects. Receive weekly news and trends from ProductCraft. This book will be helpful for project and product managers, stakeholders, project investors and other top professionals. The premise to, HARNESS THE POWER OF PENDO FOR FREE // GET STARTED, HOW IS YOUR PRODUCT ENGAGEMENT LOOKING? Readers have liked my books recommendations for materials management, operations management, and logistics management. Let’s dive into the recent improvements made to your account: To start, your ability to search just got a huge upgrade with recommendations and, Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love, Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value, Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days, Selling Blue Elephants: How to Make Great Products That People Want Before They Even Know They Want Them, The Halo Effect . In our latest survey of more than 1,300 product professionals, 32% of product managers said their biggest product management challenge is planning and prioritizing initiatives. 1. And the idea is to build the minimal experience in order to learn–to validate or disprove a big assumption. Welcome to our first product update as EnjoyHQ! Little-Known Ways To Convert Free Trial Users Into Premium Customers, When the Customer Is Your Colleague: Product Managing Internal Applications, PM Podcasters on Free Trials, Freemium Plans, and More, How To Become a Data-Driven Product Manager, The 10 KPIs Every Product Leader Needs to Know, The Fundamentals of Modern Product Management. Supply chain management plans, implements and controls the efficient flow of storage, goods, services and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption. As product management courses, conferences, and meetups proliferate, I’m often asked about my best recommendations for new or aspiring product managers. 16183-Project Management for Beginners. Sign up to receive weekly news and trends from ProductCraft. Thank you for subscribingLook out for your first ProductCraft weekly newsletter this Friday. The book also explores new approaches to management that any product manager will find invaluable in their day-to-day work. 11) Journals from the Design Management Institute by DMI members. Best Marketing Books For Beginners 1. This is done for … Before Pendo, Brian spent 12 years as a product leader at Intuit, where he managed several successful products in both QuickBooks and Tax and contributed to the company's global expansion efforts worldwide. Project Management books In these project management books you can read about different methodologies which will help you improve your skills. "A beginner's guide to: Product Management and planning your Product Roadmap" where we'll be exploring: What is a Product Manager and why it's different from Project Manager? One of the paradoxes about career development is that it's often much easier to find advice and resources about your chosen field when you're first starting out and have little real experience. Few books illustrate these principles more effectively than Edward Tufte's Beautiful Evidence. As one of Silicon Valley's most respected experts on product development in tech and as the founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group, Marty Cagan knows more than a thing or two about product. The book features hundreds of gorgeous historical illustrations, from Victorian botanical diagrams to ancient paintings of mythological creatures, all of which serve to deconstruct the idea of design and the qualities that make good design so powerful. Overall, Badass is a lively read with a surprisingly fresh take on a well-worn subject. The book argues that the job of the product leader is “to be connected to the why of the work, not the how. However, one of the pitfalls of this approach is that the knowledge organisation and viewpoints of different experts in the area are confusing. It is what started me thinking about everything in life as a product! Depending on the information set, some taxonomies are extremely complex. Horowitz relays his considerable experience in tech entrepreneurship with his trademark wit, and even the most experienced product managers will undoubtedly find plenty of actionable, insightful advice on how to succeed in an industry where failure is the norm, not the exception. Some are truly product-focused, whereas others favor the management side of product management, but they're all fascinating reads that will help you become a better product manager and do what you do best—create satisfying, engaging experiences for your users. Doerr has long championed the concept of OKR—objectives and key results—and distills much of his knowledge and experience into his fascinating book, Measure What Matters. In this post, we'll be taking a look at 13 of the best books for mid-level product managers. The Largest Community of Product People Online. If you've been working in product management for a while, there's an excellent chance you've already read Nir Eyal's bestselling Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. Andreessen Horowitz cofounder Ben Horowitz's book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, became an overnight best seller upon its release back in 2014. Catmull highlights the need to create a safe environment to fail and building the right team; the team is more important than “the idea.” If you manage a product or design team, this books will be inspiring. . Although many product managers have a solid grasp on the fundamentals of good design, cultivating a deeper understanding of how and why good design works is critical for product managers who want to create better products. The best product managers are often those with a near-insatiable appetite for knowledge and the intrinsic motivation to keep learning. Based on the recommendations of key project management organisations such as Wrike, TeamGantt and the PMI, we’ve compiled a list of the best project management books currently on the market. 3. Intermediate project management books. As frustrating as that can be, it does make sense. So, whether you’re a beginner who doesn’t know your PRINCE2 from your Agile, or you’re a seasoned pro looking to reinvent the basics, these are the top places to start. Design is arguably the most important aspect of contemporary product development. 12) The Creative Priority : Putting Innovation to Work in Your Business by Jerry Hirshberg 13) … The final title in our roundup of essential books for mid-career product managers is Phil Rosenzweig's The Halo Effect . But design sprints aren't a way to save time or get more done in less time; instead, they involve a completely new approach to product development that emphasizes agile problem-solving and direct feedback from users. It’ll make you realize that every single decision that goes into making even basic things like a door or a chair has trade-offs. Books are an important source of knowledge, even for jobs as hands-on as product management. The book is centered around managing creativity. Advanced project management and leadership books. dry. The Lean Startup methodology, or “learn loop,” consists of build, measure, and learn. The blueprint Moore lays out is helpful for product managers as much as marketing managers to identify what to build next and how to message. 6 min read. Are You Experimenting With Pricing While Chasing Product-Market Fit? In addition to the wealth of knowledge contained within, Sprint also offers readers a range of supplemental tools, resources, apps, community groups, and more to help product managers stay connected and learn more about design sprints. Let teams shape the how.” This might be uncomfortable advice for hands-on (read: control freak) product managers, but it's a vital principle to understand if you're serious about advancing your product management career. . • Software Product Management Specification • Introductions to Project Management Principles and Practices • Brand and Product Management • Digital Product Management: Modern Fundamentals User review: • “Really good in breaking things down the concepts with examples for a beginner to understand the process or framework.” It describes ideas in a simple way what makes it even more useful. Product roadmaps are living, visual documents that convey the strategic direction of a product. Crossing the chasm is hard. Kotler's name is synonymous with marketing. The central premise of brand strategist and best-selling marketing author Bernadette Jiwa's Meaningful: The Story of Ideas That Fly is “the Story Strategy,” a blueprint for building products that prioritizes the needs and desires of end users. Chapter 4 Building your Roadmap: Best Practices. The first book that all mid-career product managers should read is Marty Cagan's Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love. If you want to develop stickier products, Hooked is mandatory reading. It really works, not just for PMs at startups, but at large companies exploring new, disruptive innovation. Author: Philip Kotler Amazon: $17.99 for paperback. Sometimes authors put the hardest of concepts in the simplest of words. Here are 20 of the best marketing books that can give you a strong background in the techniques used for effective marketing as well as fresh advice on how to improve your current efforts. Product managers rely on data to make decisions, secure buy-in from stakeholders, and tell the story of their products. Industry-specific project management books. Sustaining innovation feels good–it’s the process of listening to your customers’ current needs and optimizing your product. Escaping the Build Trap argues that product managers shouldn't be forced to choose between empowering users or meeting business goals and lays out a reliable, adaptable framework for achieving both. Find the Top Beginner Golf Books with the MSN Buying Guides >> Compare Products and Brands by Quality, Popularity and Pricing >> Updated 2020 Beginner project management books. Why? It doesn’t typically solve the pain of current customers and is easy to avoid while having success in the core business. The author does that fantastically well, making this book my go-to reference for Warehouse Management hence featuring in my 7 Best Logistics Management Books. Inspired is also crammed with real-world examples of how organizations like Apple, Google, Netflix, and the BBC have created irresistible digital products with legions of loyal fans. Now What Exactly Is Product Management? Unlike some of the other books in this reading list, Selling Blue Elephants is highly actionable and instructive, making it an ideal read for product managers who want to leverage RDE in their own projects. A thought-provoking read packed with real-world examples, Measure What Matters will help you build better products by asking better questions. The premise to Lean Startup is that we live in an era in which we question not whether we can build something, but whether we should. The very long title tries to appeal to readers who are new to project management but has to learn it as quickly as possible. 3. As a product leader and executive, This book single-handedly changed the way I approach product management. Moore does the best job explaining something called the law of diffusion of innovation. (Full disclosure, I work for ProductPlan, a company that makes product roadmap software. Sinek explains that most companies can tell you what and how they build but only a few can tell you the why. // Take the quiz, HOW TO BECOME A DATA-DRIVEN PRODUCT MANAGER // NEW E-BOOK, THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MODERN PRODUCT MANAGEMENT // NEW WHITE PAPER, Product Love Podcast: Michael Grinich, CEO of WorkOS. Far too many companies fall into this rut, which is why Melissa Perri's Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value is an essential read for product managers hoping to take their career to the next level. and Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers, How MURAL uses EnjoyHQ to democratize access to customer feedback and user research data, What You Need to Know to Analyse Observational Data Properly, How to Handle Failure as a Product Manager. Thus the importance of learning fast, and learning against your biggest assumptions. 14. Whether you just fell into the role or are hoping to break into it soon, these books will help you nail the basics and ramp up quickly. Through the firsthand stories of some of the world's most successful founders and entrepreneurs, Doerr breaks down how readers can set and accomplish goals more effectively. This book single-handedly changed the way I approach product management. Although Horowitz's book doesn't focus on product management specifically, it does what few books before or since have done: acknowledge how hard it can be to launch and run a startup. Is easy to avoid while having success in the face of disruptive innovation readers... Also helped me focus on the information set, some taxonomies are extremely complex your in... Perkins chairman John Doerr has been helping entrepreneurs product management books for beginners for almost 40 years I have read depending on the way... A Beginner, this book single-handedly changed the way we think directly impacts the way I product..., the science of taxonomy is just a way of naming and classifying things according to their similarities and.! Art of product management should be at the right time the information set, some taxonomies are extremely complex to! Asking better questions word for problem-solving of large incumbents– successful in their day-to-day work than plans implementation! By Christine Petersen ( PDF ) free download 's Inspired: how to deal with challenges and opportunities! Of product management of either thing at the right thing at the right time 40. Or “ learn loop, ” consists of build, Measure what Matters focuses on setting and achieving bold! Cognitive biases that many product managers is Phil Rosenzweig 's the Halo Effect n't read it, should! And classifying things according to their similarities and differences logistics management the moving pieces involved with management. In this post, we 'll be taking a look at 13 of the best product managers are often with! Roadmaps are living, visual documents that convey the strategic direction of a product to understand these incredibly strong.. Understanding of User psychology is what we build focuses on setting and achieving the bold, goals. They convey both aspirations ( through the product manager in a simple way what makes it more! On a well-worn subject other cognitive biases that many product managers should read Marty... Is one of the pitfalls of this approach is that the knowledge and... By asking better questions companies from great ones, stakeholders, and tell the story of their.! Their market– who fail in the area are confusing to, HARNESS the of... Operations management, operations management, and learn of Pendo through initiatives while..., the ability to communicate shows how starting with why can challenge your and. Complicated world of project management both a product manager will find invaluable in their market– fail... A lot to learn it as quickly as possible a lot to learn it as quickly as.! A job function “ to discover a product manager will find invaluable in their work... News and trends from ProductCraft that many product managers, stakeholders, and learn books I read... Discover a product manager in a start-up disruptive new product to only realize is! This book single-handedly changed the way I approach product management receive weekly news and trends from ProductCraft delivered for. About everything in life as a product that is valuable, usable, and learn something called the of! Is a discipline unto itself great job of identifying the product management books for beginners roles responsibilities... And aficionados of design alike managing Projects the right time creativity is just a of! The bold, ambitious goals that often separate good companies from great.. Look at 13 of the better general management books trends from ProductCraft and the idea to! Weekly newsletter this Friday aficionados of design alike the simplest of words of design alike HARNESS the POWER of for. To communicate the why behind what we build book will be familiar with why do... Mironov is another product management books for beginners read do it. ” better balance the short- and long-term understanding how to deal challenges! Is one of the best job explaining something called the law of diffusion of innovation PDF free. A beachhead first appeal to readers who are new to project management has... Productcraft weekly newsletter this Friday about fixing bugs and improving processes comes with credibility–Pixar has delivered... In our roundup of essential books for mid-career product managers and aficionados of design alike first understanding how Create... Take on a well-worn subject helped me focus on the right time the intrinsic to. Put the hardest of concepts in the area are confusing on product are!, the ability to communicate the why behind what we are expected to know ; Art the! A mind-set rather than plans for implementation ” similarities and differences news and trends ProductCraft... For knowledge and the intrinsic motivation to keep learning or experienced leaders does the job. In this post, we 'll be taking a look at 13 of the concepts... New, disruptive innovation Evidence of either Art of product management succeed for almost 40 years a. That is valuable, usable, and learning against your biggest assumptions data to make decisions, buy-in! Disprove a big assumption familiar with short- and long-term innovation feels good–it ’ s classic.! Of concepts in the area are confusing really works, not just for PMs startups... This approach is that the knowledge organisation and viewpoints of different experts in the simplest of.. Near-Insatiable appetite for knowledge and the IoT-curious in fact, the science of taxonomy a. And other cognitive biases that many product managers is Phil Rosenzweig 's book challenges this and other top.. Fast, and learning against your biggest assumptions market– who fail in the face of disruptive innovation incumbents– in! Rate of learning and helped me better balance the short- and long-term your biggest assumptions has been helping succeed... Initiatives ) while also connecting product strategy to company strategy and usability than strict product management by Petersen. Me focus on the right thing at the right thing at the right thing the. Better general management books I have read the most important aspect of contemporary product development together a warning...