Product Management Essentials, part of the Self-Learning Management Series, is a great beginner’s guide to basic project management. It is laid out simply, starting with a brief intro to PM, how to identify PM opportunities, converting strategy into product, messaging and launching the product, what to do after the product launches, how to become successful as a PM, PM specializations, PM frameworks, and how to get into PM. There’s a bonus chapter for interview tips as well. I enjoyed all the visuals, diagrams, and quick facts scattered throughout the chapters. I also like that the chapters conclude with a summary of the key points and then offer a quiz. You will get out of this as much as you are willing to put into it, but the basics are covered.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley, and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

For anyone who wants to better understand the product management role, this is the book for them. I have worked with product managers (the very best and the very worst) for years, and really didn't understand what they did, besides sitting around and looking important. Now I know, and I would fire half of them. Well done.

This book provides a survey of models and ideas across product management.
It starts with an introduction to the field and then takes the reader through the life cycle of a product.
The are w huge number of ideas presented in the book, and they are presented in a structured and accessible way. All the ideas are referenced to aid the reader finding more information on a particular idea.

I found this a really good starting point to understand the basics of product management - to understand which ideas I already know about that are relevant and to understand what I need to learn more about.

I did not use the learning objectives that begin each chapter, or find the quiz at the end of each chapter useful - I wanted to spend more time on the content and reflect on it using my own experiences.

A decent PM primer for first time PMs and for those seeking entry into the field. Some of the advice is outdated and not necessarily applicable for all fields, limited by the author’s experience. As a PM myself, I found a bit of value in reading through this though not enough to justify keeping this on my bookshelf long-term.

Authors uses layman’s language to easily describe his thoughts and to get the point across. Documents well thr meaning of product manager.
Quizzes further reinforce the learnings. The focus areas for each chapter are well placed right before the quizzes. The substance of what he’s trying to convey is well reflected. It’s definitely a technical book. Links to YouTube add to the strength of the topic covered.