The 13 best product management books to read in 2024

Interested in dipping your toes into product management or want to improve your existing skills?

Top product managers understand their career comes with challenges and plenty of opportunities for growth. And books are a great way to expand your knowledge. 

Experts have penned many books brimming with valuable information. But where do you start?

Use this article as your guide to explore the world of product management books. We’ve recommended our favorites, all offering nuanced information and perspectives to positively impact how you lead your product team.

We’re highlighting the best product management books based on different topics, from books written with tech companies in mind to others written by thought leaders in the field.

Pick the topics that resonate with your current interests and learning needs. You can start from there, but we’re sure you’ll be coming back for more recommendations!

These books are the hard hitters—the ones you need to read to get your head around the must-know aspects of high-quality product management.

The Product Book

Written by Carlos González de Villaumbrosia (the founder and CEO of Founder School) and Josh Anon (product director at Engine and Roblox), The Product Book packs a powerful punch of information.

The subtitle boldly states the book will teach you “How to become a great product manager,” and we think this essential accompaniment is a must-read for anyone new to the role. 

With chapters about critical topics like strategically understanding your company and turning your ideas into actions, The Product Book has so much helpful advice. It also provides clear steps to improve your existing product management skills.

Crossing the Chasm

Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore is regarded as one of the topic’s most cutting-edge books, including being one of Inc. Magazine’s top 10 marketing books of all time. 

This book is in its third edition, and it’s teeming with refreshed insights, modern anecdotes, and resources to keep up with the latest changes in the tech industry.

And if you want to understand your audience better, Crossing the Chasm promises to help your team market and sell “disruptive” products to your clients. This approach is key to boosting your brand and improving customer satisfaction.

How To Lead In Product Management

Written by Roman Pichler (a digital product management expert), How To Lead In Product Management is your go-to guide to becoming a better leader.

To create an impactful product, your team needs a strong, compassionate, and confident leader to provide direction and guidance. Using this book as your blueprint, you can explore ways to improve your leadership practices to get better results for your team and company.

This book is a must-read for any product manager. It goes into depth about leadership styles, aligning stakeholders, and making more effective decisions. Basically, everything you need to improve your team’s collaboration and product success rates.

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If you work for (or want to work for) a tech company, these books share specific product information to specialize your leadership style further.

EMPOWERED: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products

Are you looking to step up your game as a product manager in the tech industry? If so, EMPOWERED: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products is for you.

This book, written by Marty Cagan and Chris Jones (partners of the Silicon Valley Product Group), delves into how product managers can make or break product launches in the incredibly competitive tech space.

EMPOWERED shares advice and behind-the-scenes information about the most successful and innovative tech companies. It’s a surefire way to learn crucial business strategies.

Explore ways to empower your team, recruit and hire the best talent, and create inspiring products with the help of this must-read tech book.

Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love

If you’re looking for another book by the same author, Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love is also written by Marty Cagan.

Marketed as a collection of product team lessons from the world’s top tech companies, Inspired explores better ways to design, build, and scale products.

This is a great supplemental read to EMPOWERED, giving you nuanced education about this niche but important topic. It’s ideal for people working at early-stage start-ups.

Swipe To Unlock

Getting started as a product manager in tech is no easy task, but plenty of resources can help you get your foot in the door.

Written by Neel Mehta, Aditya Agashe, and Parth Detorja (product managers from Google, Facebook, and Microsoft), Swipe to Unlock is a wealth of knowledge about everything product development in tech.

The powerful subtitle “The primer on technology and business strategy” doesn’t lie. Swipe to Unlock aims to help you think like a technologist and answer your customers’ real-world questions.

We highly recommend this book to learn cutting-edge information about product management in the tech field. It’s great for people working in tech, software, cloud computing, AI, and more. 

Not yet working as a product manager and don’t know where to start? Check out these helpful resources to ace your product manager interview and land the job of your dreams.

Cracking the PM Interview

For those looking to expand their career horizons into product management, reading up on interview best practices is one of the best ways to stand out from other candidates.

Get exclusive insights in Cracking The PM Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell and Jackie Bavaro. You’ll learn how to crush product management interviews at well-loved tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and more.

Covering the different styles of interview questions you can expect, this book is a must-read guide on how to approach behavioral, case study, product-based, and estimation questions.

If you’re looking to reduce the stress of high-pressure interviews, this book is for you. It’s ideal for anyone looking to step into product management, whether fresh out of school or from another career.

Decode and Conquer

Marketed as your source of “answers to product management interviews,” Decode And Conquer by Lewis C. Lin is now available in its fourth edition.

This book is well-known for using the CIRCLES method and offering concrete examples of solving complex interview problems. The updated edition includes insights about the latest changes in the product management hiring process.

It also covers questions on the most common topics like A/B testing, product design, key metrics, estimation, and strategy. Reading this book is a great way to build your confidence before your next big job interview.

Conserving resources and “cutting the fat” during product development are essential skills of an effective product manager. Explore these topics in greater detail by reading these nuanced books.

The Lean Product Playbook

If you work in the start-up world, you’re likely very familiar with the concept of a minimum viable product (MVP).

The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to learn by actually doing. This playbook acts as a guide for creating minimum viable products based on quick turnaround feedback from customers.

This book will help product managers fine-tune their decision-making skills in critical areas like defining target markets, creating a winning product strategy, and designing MVP prototypes.

If you’re the type of person who likes to experiment and move quickly, this book will get you moving in the right direction.

Ship It

As a “tell-all” book from Silicon Valley product managers, Ship It by the Product School team is a helpful handbook for anyone looking to serve their customers better. Understanding customer needs and measuring the results of your MVP attempts are key elements in this book.

Ship It has many practical tips and tricks from product managers at large-scale tech companies like Facebook, Reddit, and Dropbox. It covers essential information about properly understanding your users and exploring ways to better measure your key metrics. 

This compelling book focuses on helping product managers explore the benefits of learning from their ideas and exploring MVP options early and aggressively. It’s an excellent read for anyone looking to expand their product management skills.

Want to explore more cutting-edge topics specific to product management leadership? These books by industry leaders are a great place to start.

The Product Mindset

The Product Mindset by David H. DeWolf and Jessica S. Hall is a thought-provoking book about how internal company organization impacts product quality.

This book covers important information about how your company can stay ahead of the competition. It reveals key organizational changes that allow for bigger and bolder decisions and growth.

The Product Mindset will refresh your existing product development process by highlighting ways that your company can use speed, experimentation, and innovation.

We highly recommend this read for anyone looking to make positive, lasting changes to their day-to-day leadership practices.

Hooked

Are your products captivating your audience and getting the attention they deserve?

Exploring the topic of customer habits, Hooked by Nir Eyal and Ryan Hoover is a compelling book about the importance of understanding customer behaviors when designing products.

Written around the four-step “Hooked Model,” this unique guide to product management gives you practical insights and actionable steps. Get ready to create products that will be fan favorites within your chosen niche.

This method can help you build better products and draw your existing clients in for more, which can truly revolutionize the stability and growth of your current business model.

The Mom Test

Finally, The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick takes a unique approach to finding out what your customers are actually thinking, which is essential for building high-quality products they will love.

Marketed as a quick and easy guide to saving your business time and heartbreak, this book gets into properly talking to customers about your products to get more accurate data.

We highly recommend this fun, helpful book to all product managers looking to improve their communication skills and product offerings.

With this list of the best product management books, you’ve got a lot of learning to do!

When you’re ready to take theory into practice, build products your customers love with customer insight software like Dovetail.

As an all-in-one information hub, Dovetail helps product managers develop products that specifically resonate with their target audience.

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