INSPIRATIONS
BEING BLESSED TO EARN A LIVING BOTH CREATING AND LEARNING IS ONE OF THE GREAT JOYS OF WORKING IN TECHNOLOGY. BELOW ARE A FEW AREAS I BELIEVE CAN HELP OTHERS ON THEIR PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT JOURNEYS.
ON WRITING
STORYTELLING IS A CORE TENANT OF BEING A GREAT PRODUCT MANAGER. CREATING WORK THAT STANDS UP WHEN YOU ARE NOT IN THE ROOM TO EXPLAIN IT AND WRITING EFFECTIVE STORIES IS KEY. AI TOOLS HAVE MADE IT EASIER TO CREATE DOCUMENTATION, BUT ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR CREATIVE STORYTELLING. HERE’S A FEW BOOKS I STILL LEAN ON YEARS AFTER FIRST READING THEM.
Bird By Bird (Anne Lamott)
On Writing Well (William Zinsser)
If You Want To Write (Brenda Ueland)
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Stephen King)
Save The Cat! (Blake Snyder)
Associated Press Stylebook (The AP)
ON CREATIVITY
ARTICULATING YOURSELF WELL IS A NECESSARY BUT INSUFFICIENT SKILL FOR A PM. GREAT PM’S FIND UNIQUE INSIGHTS AND CREATIVE SOLUTIONS. BUILDING THE CREATIVE HABIT AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND NURTURING IT WITHIN OTHERS LEADS TO BETTER PRODUCTS AND HEALTHIER TEAMS. THE BOOKS BELOW HAVE NEVER FAILED TO SPARK NEW INSIGHTS ON HOW TO UNCOVER BIG IDEAS..
Creativity, Inc: Overcoming the Unforeseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration (Ed Catmull)
Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity (Hugh MacLeod)
The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life (John Loori)
Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self (Manoush Zomorodi)
focus (Leo Babauta)
The Art of Non-Conformity (Chris Gullebeau)
Think Like a Freak: Retrain Your Brain (Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner)
Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman)
ON PRESENTATIONS
MOST AGENTIC AI WILL HELP YOU CREATE A SLIDE DECK. IT WON’T HOWEVER DO YOUR PRESENTATIONS FOR YOU. EVERY TALENTED PM LEARNS HOW TO ARTICULATE THEIR IDEAS WELL. BUT NOT MANY BUILD PRESENTATIONS THAT INFORM AND ENTERTAIN WHILE MAKING A COMPELLING ARGUMENT FOR THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE. THESE BOOKS CAN GUIDE YOU ON THAT JOURNEY.
The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures (Dan Roam)
resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences (Nancy Duarte)
Design (Top Peters)
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Garr Reynolds)
Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentation Design (Nancy Duarte)
The Naked Presenter: Delivering Powerful Presentations With or Without Slides (Garr Reynolds)
Talk Like Ted: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds (Carmine Gallo)
ON WORK
THE NATURE OF BEING A GREAT PM IS CHANGING SO RAPIDLY THAT THERE’S LITTLE POINT IN READING THE LATEST GURU’S PROGNOSTICATION ON HOW IT WILL ALL PAN OUT. THE THINGS THAT WON’T CHANGE ARE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH WORK, YOUR PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, AND IMMUTABLE LEARNING SKILLS THAT HELP YOU BE PREPARED AND ADAPT TO WHATEVER HAPPENS NEXT. HERE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE GUIDES TO HELP YOU INVEST IN YOURSELF.
Story Driven: You don't need to compete when you know who you are (Bernadette Jiwa)
The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything (Ken Robinson)
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (Nassim Taleb)
Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Decision-Making and How To Overcome Them (Ed Russo)
Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will (Noel Tichy)
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (Greg McKeown)
Right/Wrong: How Technology Transforms Our Ethics How Technology Transforms Our Ethics (Juan Enriquez)
It's Not How Good You Are, It's how Good You Want To Be (Paul Arden)
It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work (Jason Fried)
The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company (David Price)