7 Top resources to get started in Product Management

Product Management is difficult. Especially when you’re just starting out, there are a wide range of things you need to understand and skills you need to acquire in order to become good at your job.

Wether you’re a Product Manager or simply a startup founder in charge of Product, I’ve selected for you 7 resources that were the most influential for me and that should help you to get started in this field.

1) “20 Years of Product Management in 25 Minutes” talk - Dave Wascha:

Given at the “Mind The Product” conference back 2017, this talk full of humor by Dave Wascha will give you some good foundational advice on how to approach your job, and the main traps you need to avoid.

2) “The Art of Product Management” talk - Sachin Rekhi:

An expert of Product Management with his 150+ essays and 15+ years of experience in the field, Sachin gave this very interesting talk at Wharton business school back in 2016. In about an hour, you’ll go through the 4 key aspects of Product Management: Vision, Strategy, Design, and Execution.

3) “Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love” book - Marty Cagan: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35249663-inspired

I consider this as the “Bible” of Product Management. Bear in mind that it really covers a wide range of organisations though (from the small startup with only 2 founders to the big enterprise with 10 000+ employees) so not all the advice will be relevant to you, but it is quite complete and insightful on all the product aspects. You should always refer to this book whenever you have a doubt on how to approach a specific Product subject in your organisation.

4) “Become a Product Manager | Learn the Skills & Get the Job" course - Cole Mercer & Evan Kimbrell: https://www.udemy.com/course/become-a-product-manager-learn-the-skills-get-a-job/

The first resource on Product Management I consumed was this Udemy course. In about 13 hours of video, Cole & Evan will teach you the basics of Product Management and the main skills you need to have to get started as a Product Manager. It’s definitely worth the 15 bucks or so that I paid back then to buy the course.

5) “Do things that don’t scale” essay - Paul Graham: http://www.paulgraham.com/ds.html

A real classic by Paul Graham, this essay is particularly relevant if you’re a startup founder or working as a Product Manager for an early-stage startup.

6) “Maker’s schedule, Manager’s schedule” essay - Paul Graham: http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html

I used to be a developer prior to moving into Product Management. Back then, I remember being really annoyed by how managers were not being respectful of my time and focus as a developer. While it’s not directly related to Product Management, I believe it is incredibly important for you to read and understand that, as a Product Manager, you need to be respectful of the people that need to be left alone most of the time in order to properly focus (those are usually the developers and the designers).

7) “The Top 10 Deliverables of Product Managers" article - Sachin Rekhi: https://www.sachinrekhi.com/top-10-deliverables-of-product-managers

One of the things that annoyed me the most when I got started in Product Management is how unclear the job’s responsibilities may be and what exactly you’re supposed to produce in your day-to-day tasks. This essay will make it clearer to you and your peers.