The Top 5 Resources for Product Managers

One of the most common questions we get from aspiring, new and experienced product managers alike is - what do you recommend I do to learn the craft?  Here, my friends, is where I'd recommend  starting.

1. Online Communities

There are a couple of good sources of product content and both have active Slack communities for real-time discussions / guidance as well.

• Lenny's Newsletter
• Product School
• Mind the Product
• Product Manager HQ

You might also like my Twitter list of product thought leaders.  I find it helpful to keep tabs on their latest thinking / what's top of mind for them.

2. Books

My favorites so far in terms of covering core concepts of good product management:

• Build What Matters by me and Ben (of course)
• Inspired by Marty Cagan
• Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen (especially like the idea of separating the problem space from the solution space)
• Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres

3. Podcasts

I like hearing from product thought leaders while I walk the dog (and sometimes while I'm driving). Here are some of my favorites:

• Lenny's Podcast
• Product Thinking with Melissa Perri
• H2R Product Science (I did an episode on our Vision-Led Product Management framework)
• 20 VC - Product Series
• This is Product Management (Ben did an episode on the value of mentorship)
• SaaStr

4. Meetups

Meetups are a good way to meet local product folks and perhaps take a nugget or two back to the office the next day.  I can't speak for every city, but since I live in Austin and Ben's in DC (I also lived there for 4 years), here are few worth checking out:

• Austin
  • Austin Product Events calendar (which includes the 3 Meetups I mention below)
  • The Product League (they do a great job of partnering with other Meetups to discuss the collaboration between product and other roles like marketing)
  • ProductTank Austin (they alternate each month between talks and happy hours)
  • ProductCamp Austin (semi-annual unconference where attendees vote on what sessions they want in the morning after rapid 30-second pitches)
• Washington DC
  • ProductTank Washington DC (Ben recently spoke about aligning Product and Product Marketing)
  • Technical Product Management DC

5. Conferences

Conferences are a great way to understand what topics are trending in product management and what thought leaders are up to.  The two biggest ones I know of are:

• Mind the Product (SF, Singapore and London are the flagship ones)
• INDUSTRY (Cleveland and Dublin)

Closing Thoughts

Keep in mind that product management is like golf - you can take some lessons to get started but practice is what makes you really good.  If you're not yet operating as a product manager, find ways to try it out:

• Offer to help a PM at your company or local startup with anything - market research, backlog grooming, wireframes, getting user feedback, etc.
• Launch a product you wish existed from scratch - even if it doesn't make any money, you'll have some great experiences to talk about in interviews

Good luck and may the Force be with you!