15 Essential Product Management Books for 2023

Product management is one of the hottest and fastest-growing careers in tech today. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of product manager jobs is projected to grow 8% from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations.

And it‘s no wonder why. Product managers play a crucial role in driving innovation, growth, and customer satisfaction for companies of all sizes. They are the CEOs of their products, responsible for strategizing, designing, launching, and iterating on products that solve real customer needs.

But being a successful product manager is no easy feat. You need a versatile mix of skills—from customer research and data analysis to UX design and agile development. You have to be both a big picture thinker and an execution machine. And you have to influence and align diverse stakeholders, often without formal authority.

So how can you master this complex and challenging role? One of the best ways is by learning from the top minds in product management—and that‘s where books come in. By reading the best PM books out there, you can absorb decades of hard-won industry wisdom and practical know-how. You can upgrade your skills, get inspired by new ideas, and accelerate your career growth.

To help you cut through the noise, we‘ve curated a list of the 15 most essential books every product manager should read in 2023. Whether you‘re a new PM looking to learn the ropes or a seasoned vet looking to sharpen your edge, these titles will give you the insights and techniques you need to build products people love.

1. Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan

Inspired is a product management classic and a must-read for anyone building products in the tech industry. Written by Marty Cagan, founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group and former executive at HP, eBay and Netscape, the book distills his decades of experience into a comprehensive guide on what separates the best product teams from the rest.

Some of the key takeaways include:

  • Great products start with a compelling product vision that rallies the team
  • Product managers need to focus on outcomes, not features or outputs
  • You need to validate ideas early and often through prototypes and user testing
  • Alignment with stakeholders is just as important as building the right product
  • Product culture eats process for breakfast—you need the right people to succeed

What makes Inspired so valuable is the sheer number of vivid stories, case studies, and examples Cagan shares from his time in the trenches. You‘ll go behind the scenes of product decisions at companies like Netflix, Apple, and Amazon. And you‘ll see the techniques great product leaders use to discover, design, and deliver products.

With over 368 insight-packed pages, Inspired continues to top PM book lists year after year. As Marty Cagan himself says:

"My book is all about building products. That‘s what I‘ve been doing my whole career. I think of everything through that lens. It doesn‘t matter what your title is. If you‘re involved in any way in making products and making them successful, this book is for you."

2. When Coffee and Kale Compete: Become Great at Making Products People Will Buy by Alan Klement

Another game-changing book for product managers is When Coffee and Kale Compete by Alan Klement. The book introduces the concept of Jobs to be Done (JTBD), a powerful framework for understanding customer behavior and predicting what products will succeed or fail.

At its core, JTBD states that people don‘t buy products or services; they hire them to get a "job" done. This job is not just a functional task but the higher purpose or goal the customer is trying to accomplish in a given circumstance. For example, most people don‘t buy coffee because they like the taste. They hire coffee to wake them up, give them energy, help them socialize, or make them feel sophisticated.

By understanding the full context of the "job" your product is hired for, you can create offerings that nail the job better than any competitor. In fact, when you apply JTBD thinking, you realize you‘re not just competing against other products in your category. You‘re competing against anything and everything someone might hire instead of your product. As Klement writes:

"Customers aren‘t buying your product. They are hiring it to get a job done. And if it does the job well, they‘ll hire it again. If it does a lousy job, they‘ll fire it and look for something else they can hire."

Some key JTBD concepts covered in the book include:

  • Uncovering the functional, social, and emotional dimensions of the job to be done
  • Analyzing the "hiring criteria" customers use to choose and switch between products
  • Conducting job-centric customer interviews to surface unmet needs and innovation opportunities
  • Applying JTBD to inform product strategy, feature prioritization, messaging, and more

Compared to traditional methods like personas and user stories, JTBD offers a more holistic and predictive lens for knowing your customers and building products that will win in the market. And at only 180 pages, When Coffee and Kale Compete is a highly readable and practical guide for both new and experienced PMs.

According to Jim Kalbach, Head of Customer Experience at MURAL:

"When Coffee and Kale Compete is one of the most approachable introductions to Jobs to be Done (JTBD) currently available. If you‘re at all curious about learning how to create and market products that people will buy, this short book is the perfect place to start."

More Essential PM Reads

In addition to Inspired and When Coffee and Kale Compete, here are 13 more product management books that are essential reads for 2023:

  1. Decode and Conquer by Lewis Lin

    • The essential guide to PM interview prep, with 50+ practice cases from FAANG companies
    • 500 pages

  2. Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland

    • How to implement the Scrum framework to drive agility, efficiency, and innovation
    • 237 pages

  3. Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

    • A product marketing classic on bridging the gap between early adopters and mainstream customers
    • 227 pages

  4. The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen

    • A practical 6-step framework for rapidly finding product-market fit
    • 301 pages

  5. Shape Up by Ryan Singer

    • BaseCamp‘s battle-tested process for strategizing, designing, and shipping products
    • 216 pages

  6. Escaping the Build Trap by Melissa Perri

    • How to transition from output-focused development to outcome-focused product management
    • 200 pages

  7. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

    • Leadership lessons learned from a storied Silicon Valley executive and investor
    • 304 pages

  8. The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo

    • What outstanding managers do differently, from a former VP of Product Design at Facebook
    • 288 pages

  9. The Influential Product Manager by Ken Sandy

    • How PMs can drive alignment, decisions, and success through influence
    • 208 pages

  10. Product Manager‘s Sacred Seven by Neel Mehta, Aditya Agashe, and Parth Detroja

    • The seven skills elite Google PMs possess, straight from 67+ insider interviews
    • 528 pages

  11. The Product Book by Josh Anon and Carlos González

    • A comprehensive overview of all the core competencies required to be a great PM
    • 316 pages

  12. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal

    • The psychology behind sticky, addictive, and emotionally engaging products
    • 256 pages

  13. My Product Management Toolkit by Marc Abraham

    • Tools, frameworks, and templates for succeeding at every stage of the PM lifecycle
    • 156 pages

How to Apply Product Management Book Learnings

Of course, simply reading these product management books is not enough. The real value comes from putting their ideas into action. Here are a few tips for making sure the insights stick:

  1. Identify your biggest challenges or skills gaps before picking up a book. That way you can choose titles that are most relevant for your situation and needs.

  2. Commit to a realistic reading schedule, whether that‘s 10 pages a day or one book a month. Block off time on your calendar and treat it as an important investment in yourself.

  3. Take notes on key concepts, quotes, and examples that resonate with you. Consider how you might apply them to your current products or processes.

  4. Discuss your learnings with other PMs or your team members. Explaining concepts to others is a great way to solidify your understanding. Plus, you might inspire others to read the book too!

  5. Pick one key technique or framework from each book and try implementing it in your work. Practice it regularly to build the new habit. Iterate and adjust based on what you learn.

  6. Reflect on your progress and results after applying your book learnings. Did it help you improve your products, knowledge, skills, or ways of working? Use that insight to guide your next reading choices.

Continuing Your PM Learning Journey

Product management is a multi-faceted, ever-evolving discipline that requires continuous curiosity and growth. The 15 books on this list are some of the very best resources out there for expanding your skillset and mindset.

But remember, these books are just a starting point. There‘s always more to learn, whether it‘s from other great reads, blogs, courses, podcasts, or conversations with peers and users.

The key is to never stop seeking out new ideas and experiences that will help you create amazing products. Stay open and always be learning. Your customers will thank you for it!

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