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4.6 on Amazon
7 HN comments

Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness
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4.6 on Amazon
7 HN comments

The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win
Jocko Willink, Leif Babin, et al.
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6 HN comments

Contagious: Why Things Catch On
Jonah Berger
4.7 on Amazon
6 HN comments

Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job in Technology
Gayle Laakmann McDowell and Jackie Bavaro
4.5 on Amazon
6 HN comments

Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake
4.8 on Amazon
6 HN comments

Orientalism
Edward Said, Peter Ganim, et al.
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King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine
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The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel
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5 HN comments

How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling
Frank Bettger, Arthur Morey, et al.
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5 HN comments

Harold and the Purple Crayon
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5 HN comments

Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do?
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All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel
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Elements of Programming Interviews in Python: The Insiders' Guide
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4 HN comments
seestrawonApr 17, 2021
rahimnathwanionDec 31, 2015
- Inspired
- The Product Manager's Desk Reference
- The Lean Startup
- Agile Product Management with Scrum
Targeted at interview preparation, but good for breadth:
- Decode & Conquer
- Cracking the PM interview
Other good books for PMs:
- Talking to Humans
- Hooked
- The Design of Everyday Things
- Zero to One
- Traction
nzealandonJan 24, 2017
Then try to find a job either in product management or in a related field e.g. development, consulting, marketing, customer success (not QA or documentation)...
source: I'm a manager of PM (product management)
crazygringoonMar 4, 2018
Read Cracking the PM Interview [1] (for an overview of the job, not the actual interview tips) and The Lean Startup [2] (for general philosophy).
35 is a great age for a PM, especially since PM's often start elsewhere -- maturity is a plus here. I'd say there are 3 main ways into it -- as an engineer, who starts to do PM-type stuff on a team where there's no PM. As a designer, who starts to do PM-type stuff on a team where there's no PM. Or as an MBA who has a good sense for engineering and design. Certifications generally don't mean anything -- communication and leadership skills, good judgment, experience and a proven track record are what matter. But all those things can be demonstrated in previous non-PM roles, in order to make the initial switch.
Also, if you want to be a PM then you'd better enjoy meetings, slides, people, and communicating & convincing all day long, day-in day-out. If those make you say an enthusiastic "yes that's me!" then jump right in. If not... you're gonna have a bad time...
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-Interview-Product-Technol...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous...
rahimnathwanionJuly 16, 2014
Whilst both are focused on interviews rather than doing the job, they each contain some nuggets about how to think.
As others have said, Inspired, Lean Startup and Four Steps are essential reading.
alanautonSep 17, 2016
I would highly recommend you read the book: Decode and Conquer. I would also recommend Cracking the Coding Interview and Cracking the PM Interview. If you can solve those problems on a white board, you can pass a technical SE interview.
I would also suggest you:
1. Work on a problem for a few minutes and try to solve it. If you can't, look at the solution and understand how the solution was derived. Go back and solve the problem again. You are not finished here. Go back a few days later and work on the same problem - repeating this several times a week. Over time, you will grow more confident and can quickly recall concepts that are potentially causing you to perform poorly on your technical interviews.
GL