Product Leadership: The Product Manager’’s Handbook

Product managers are creators of vision, strategy, design, products, services, and, ultimately, value. They must be equally comfortable with everything and everyone they work with, including engineering, sales, marketing, finance, and legal, and of course, customers and partners. A well-rounded product manager has a deep understanding of the product and the market. They must see the forest and the trees.

This book covers the whole gamut of product management: it starts by discussing core skills such as effective communication, continues with basic tasks like backlog management, and covers key topics like finding the right product to build. On top of that, it discusses the broader scope of work that product managers are involved in, including hiring, team management, sales, and marketing.

The book will guide you along the roller-coaster ride of the product life cycle and walk you through the ups and downs of the journey. It consists of short and mostly independent chapters describing best practices and pointing out pitfalls to avoid. The sum total provides a clear sense of how to do product management right and how to become an effective product leader.

Jay Harel is a product manager living and working in Silicon Valley. In the last twelve years he managed products in various markets including consumer internet, networking, and enterprise software. An engineer by training, Jay spent the early years of his career coding and leading engineering teams. He managed many a product life cycle and experienced the ups and downs of the journey.