Essential books for product builders—part 1

Lenny Rachitsky, author of the "Lenny's Newsletter," has curated a list of 36 essential books for product builders, organized by specific development goals such as improving communication and execution. The collection, which limits selections to three books per category and prioritizes titles over a decade old, aims to provide high-signal, lasting guidance for professionals seeking self-improvement.

Essential books for product builders—part 1 36 timeless books that’ll make you a better builder, leader, and person 👋 Hey there, I’m Lenny. Each week, I write about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career. For more: Lenny’s Podcast | Lennybot | How I AI | My favorite AI/PM courses, public speaking course, and interview prep copilot P.S. Get a full free year of Cursor, Google AI, Lovable, Replit, Notion, Manus, Gamma, n8n, Canva, ElevenLabs, Factory, Wispr Flow, Fin, Supabase, Bolt, Linear, PostHog, Framer, Railway, Granola, Warp, Gumloop, Magic Patterns, Mobbin, Stripe Atlas, and ChatPRD, by becoming an Insider subscriber. Yes, this is for real. I was a shy kid growing up, so I spent a lot of time reading books. I devoured sci-fi, non-fiction, and every programming book I could find. When the library didn’t have the C++ book I wanted, I taught myself to code by buying book after book from our local Borders RIP . I was tearing through so many coding books that my dad started returning the ones I’d finished to the bookstore so that we could afford to buy more. I’ve always thought it’s so cool that the smartest person in the world on a topic I care about spends 2+ years of their life distilling their best ideas into an enjoyable read, and I can get this for just $20. Amazing. There’s endless free content flying at us hourly now—newsletters, podcasts, tweets, oh my—but how many blog posts or tweets have had anywhere near the lasting impact on your life as a great book? To continue my essential-reads series don’t miss part 1 https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/essential-reading-for-product-builderspart and part 2 https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/essential-reading-for-product-builderspart-1ac of my favorite online essays , I’ve put together a collection of my all-time favorite books, organized by their jobs-to-be-done. When your manager tells you to work on a particular development area—or if you’re just feeling the itch for self-improvement—these are the books I recommend you read. To keep this list extremely high signal-to-noise, I forced myself to pick only three books per category so hard , and only books I’ve completed. I included both classics and under-the-radar gems. And I very much agree with Marc Andreessen’s take https://youtu.be/87Pm0SGTtN8?si=NsjVGWdFkfZ5cr l&t=5425 that you should mostly read books that are over 10 years old because those are the books that have stood the test of time , so you’ll notice very few new books. There are so many great books that I didn’t include here, either because I haven’t had a chance to read them or they just didn’t make the cut. I’m sorry if I didn’t include your book, or a book you love. I probably forgot some important titles, too. That’s why we’ll have a part 2 P.S. If you’re feeling like you have no time to read, I was in the same boat. Bryan Johnson’s suggestion of reading a book for 10 minutes before bed changed my life. I started reading more books, and I got better sleep Try it out. I want to improve my communication skills I had never written anything online before starting this newsletter, so once I realized this was going to be a thing, I decided I needed to learn something about writing. Friends recommended many different books, and I read them all. But these three had the most practical, impactful, and lasting advice, which is still lodged in my head even now. by Steven Pressfield Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh t https://www.amazon.com/Nobody-Wants-Read-Your-Tough-Love/dp/1936891492/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 by William Zinsser On Writing Well https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 by Matthew Dicks Storyworthy https://www.amazon.com/Storyworthy-Engage-Persuade-through-Storytelling/dp/1608685489/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 Check out my conversation with Matthew Dicks. I want to get better at executing If you love this newsletter, you crave actionable, tactical advice and frameworks that you can put into practice immediately. The first two books will give you exactly that, and the third will give you a meta-framework that’ll level up how you approach everything at work. by Matt Mochary The Great CEO Within https://www.amazon.com/Great-CEO-Within-Tactical-Building/dp/0578599287/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 by Claire Hughes Johnson Scaling People https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-People-Tactics-Management-Building/dp/1953953212/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 by Eliyahu Goldratt The Goal https://www.amazon.com/dp/0884271951?ref=cm sw r ffobk cp ud dp V0Y2V3TKM88SW42VTT90&ref =cm sw r ffobk cp ud dp V0Y2V3TKM88SW42VTT90&social share=cm sw r ffobk cp ud dp V0Y2V3TKM88SW42VTT90&bestFormat=true Check out my conversations with Matt Mochary and Claire Hughes Johnson. I want to get better at strategy I remember reading these books and feeling like, okay, I finally understand what “strategy” is. by Richard Rumelt Good Strategy/Bad Strategy https://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Bad-Difference-Matters/dp/0307886239/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 by Roger L. Martin Playing to Win https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-Strategy-Really-Works/dp/142218739X/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr Working Backwards https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 Check out my conversations with Richard Rumelt, Roger Martin, and Bill Carr. I want to be inspired to build something great This bucket of books might be my favorite of the bunch. They showed me how much a singular relentless mind can accomplish. Read them, and you’ll be ready to run through walls. Jordan Mechner The Making of Prince of Persia https://press.stripe.com/the-making-of-prince-of-persia byby Tony Fadell Build https://www.buildc.com/the-book by Phil Knight Shoe Dog https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike/dp/1501135910 I want to become a better manager These books are among the most mentioned on my podcast. I remember reading High Output Management when I was a baby manager, and it finally taught me what my job actually was. The Making of a Manager is the modern version of that book. And Radical Candor forever shifted how I think about hard feedback. by Andy Grove High Output Management https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 by Julie Zhuo The Making of a Manager https://www.amazon.com/Making-Manager-What-Everyone-Looks/dp/0735219567/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 by Kim Scott Radical Candor https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 Check out my conversations with Kim Scott and Julie Zhuo. I want to become a better leader I love how the combination of these three books sums up great leadership: push people to do the best work of their lives, but be human about it, and, in the end, the score will take care of itself. by Frank Slootman Amp It Up https://www.amazon.com/Amp-Unlocking-Hypergrowth-Expectations-Intensity/dp/1119836115/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Klemp The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership https://www.amazon.com/15-Commitments-Conscious-Leadership-Sustainable/dp/0990976904/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 by Bill Walsh The Score Takes Care of Itself https://www.amazon.com/Score-Takes-Care-Itself-Philosophy/dp/1591843472/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 I want to increase my product success rate These classics taught me the fundamentals of product management: talking to customers, prioritizing roadmaps, and what it takes to build something valuable and impactful. by Rob Fitzpatrick The Mom Test https://www.amazon.com/Mom-Test-customers-business-everyone/dp/1492180742/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 by Melissa Perri Escaping the Build Trap https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Build-Trap-Effective-Management/dp/149197379X/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 by Teresa Torres Continuous Discovery Habits https://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Discovery-Habits-Discover-Products/dp/1736633309/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 Check out my conversations with Melissa Perri and Teresa Torres. I want to level up my product org These books are also some of the most mentioned on my podcast, because they’ll shift how you think about the role of product within your organization, and how to make decisions in uncertain environments. by Marty Cagan Empowered https://www.svpg.com/books/empowered-ordinary-people-extraordinary-products/ by Marty Cagan Inspired https://www.svpg.com/books/inspired-how-to-create-tech-products-customers-love-2nd-edition/ by Annie Duke Thinking in Bets https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Bets-Making-Smarter-Decisions/dp/0735216355/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 Check out my conversations with Marty Cagan and, again, Marty Cagan and Annie Duke. I want to get better at sales and marketing With AI making it easier to build, distribution is becoming the bigger bottleneck. This is not a natural strength for most builders, which is why you need to develop your marketing and sales muscle. I learned more about marketing and sales from these three books than from anywhere else. by Seth Godin Purple Cow https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Cow-New-Transform-Remarkable/dp/1591843170/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 by April Dunford Obviously Awesome https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023080/ref=tmm hrd swatch 0 by Peter Kazanjy Founding Sales https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Sales-Go-Market-Handbook/dp/1734505117/ref=tmm pap swatch 0 Check out my conversations with Seth Godin, April Dunford, and Peter Kazanjy.