Recommended articles and books for PMs

A while ago a friend asked me about recommendations on product management books and articles, so here goes a thread with my top picks

This thread is heavily focused on understanding key skills needed to succeed as a PM but I also included a couple of resources related to the interview process, career planning and communities to accelerate your learning as a PM.

Gonzalo Sáenz @gnzsaenz

First I'd say start with a classic, to understand how great products are built by iterating around user needs and constant experimentation: "The Lean Startup" by @ericries

Gonzalo Sáenz @gnzsaenz

Then, I think it's important to understand the product manager's role and how product development fits in a company. "Escaping the build trap" from @lissijean "The Lean Product Playbook" by @danolsen "Inspired" by @cagan All do a great job by explaining that

Gonzalo Sáenz @gnzsaenz

After that, you'll need to deep dive into certain skills that are needed to succeed as a PM like: Strategy: "Are your lights on" by Gerald Weinberg & Donald Gause "7 powers" by @hamiltonhelmer melissaperri.com/blog/2016/07/1… this article by @lissijean

Gonzalo Sáenz @gnzsaenz

Product Sense: this wonderful article by @joulee is enough to understand what product sense really is

future.a16z.comThe Power of Product ThinkingProduct thinking is the skill of knowing what makes a product useful — and loved — by people. As with all skills, it can be nurtured and developed.

Gonzalo Sáenz @gnzsaenz

User Research: "Continuous Discovery Habits" by @ttorres is my top pick and "Sprint" by @jakek is a classic read on how to conduct design sprints.

Gonzalo Sáenz @gnzsaenz

Execution: Unpopular recommendation, but I really enjoyed "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done" by Larry Bossidy Also "Getting Things Done" by David Allen is a must for productivity and staying with classics "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey

Gonzalo Sáenz @gnzsaenz

Leadership: "Radical Candor" by @kimballscott and "Turn the Ship Around!" by David Marquet and Stephen Covey

Gonzalo Sáenz @gnzsaenz

Now that you got a good grasp on the role and skillset it's time to figure out how to get your first PM gig and also how a PM career looks like "Cracking the PM Interview" and "Cracking the PM Career" from @jackiebo are absolute treasures!

Gonzalo Sáenz @gnzsaenz

We finally got to the end, but as learning is never over you should join @beondeck ODPM program, subscribe to @lennysan newsletter, super follow @shreyas and if you are in LATAM be sure to check kurios.la where I'm also a class lead for PM & Growth

kurios.laKurios - Prepárate para la Era DigitalProgramas de entrenamiento en habilidades digitales, dirigidos por expertos que trabajan en las empresas más innovadoras del mundo.

Note: The ODPM program has been discontinued, along with all career focused communities. More on this announcement from On Deck

I’m sure I missed many great newsletters, books or bootcamps. Feel free to recommend any other musts in the comments.