Season 03 - Newsletter 03 --> 12 Resources to Hack your Product MBA
Friends -
Shyvee Shi’s post on a 12-Month Product MBA really got me thinking and wanting to answer what 12 resources I would recommend for a Product MBA. As I put thought down to digital paper, I saw that while I had a bit of overlap, there was enough difference that it might provide While my list had a bit of overlap, it was different enough I thought I would share my list which includes book.
Q: If you were teaching a 12-Month Product MBA course, what would be on the reading list?
My Product MBA course would be a mix of foundational product management resources (heavy dose), with a focus on design growth and the social aspect of organization navigation.
Month 1: Competing Against Luck by Clay Christensen - There is simply no other book or alternative to it. It educates us on how to look at, capture and understand customer needs.
Month 2: Inspired by Marty Cagan - Simply puts it’s our artifact of record when it comes to product management. It teaches us what good looks like.
Month 3: Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard P. Rumelt - It reveals what true strategy is (hint most companies do planning) simply and quickly. It highlights what bad strategy looks like and provides a framework as a bonus.
Month 4: The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick - Demystifies customer development and/or research. How should you approach trying to understand true demand vs someone trying not to hurt your feelings.
Month 5: Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug - Consumers would benefit from more product manager reading this book. It’s the first book I recommend when someone is trying to understand good user experience.
Month 6: Take a break and visit Reforge.com and GoPractice.com - Yes neither are books but Reforge is a great resource to deep dive on a specific product skills, whether its marketing, strategy or retention. Bonus you learn it from practitioners. While GoPratice.com provides several simulators including a product management skills assessment. All their simulators are great tools to get a sense of good your product sense is when looking at data
Month 7: The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen - Comprehensive but easy to follow. Provides a step by step guide on how to build products customers will love
Month 8: Hacking Growth by Sean Ellis - Considered by many to be godfather of growth Sean’s book is a comprehensive guide for startups, entrepreneurs, and established businesses looking to implement growth hacking methodologies
Month 9: Escaping the built trap by Melissa Perri - If you work long enough at a company it will become a victim to the inescapable laws of being a feature factory (something about execution or delivery kills strategy for breakfast). Here is a primer on how to go back to outcomes.
Month 10: Beyond Hockey Stick Growth by Chris Bradley, Martin Hirt, Sven Smit - One of the few books that surfaces the truth. To make these big moves happen, you’re going to have to break through inertia, gamesmanship, and risk aversion. You’re going to have to mitigate human biases and manage group dynamics.
Month 11: Amazon Case Study presented via Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr - Get a firsthand insight as to how the Amazon machine was created and perhaps more importantly sustained. The 6-week look back, the press release are explained in depth in this great book
Month 12: Product Management Interview cheat sheet via Product Management’ s Sacred Seven by Parth Detroja and Neel Mehta - A comprehensive guide to the seven key skills that product managers need to be successful. The seven skills: Product Vision, Product Roadmap, Product Design, Product Launch, Product Metrics, Product Pricing, and Product Support.
I hope you find all of these resources useful and that as you leverage each one of them you see a positive and immediate impact professionally. If you have resources you think we’re missed please reply with them so that others may benefit from them.
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