My Favorite Career Books
I’m a big believer in reading books to further your career, and here is a list of the books that truly shaped my journey.
Required Reading
Rise - Patty Azarello
This book is first on my list intentionally; it literally transformed my career and my entire life. Before this book, I couldn’t understand why my work was devalued and I was passed over for promotions. Rise gave me clarity on business fundamentals, leadership, and what employers truly value. It has practical advice for standing out as a leader and how to manage effectively.
This book is a must-read for anyone who feels their career is stalled or considering a people management role.
Getting To Yes - Roger Fisher and William Ury
This book is about negotiation, but its lessons apply to almost every social interaction. For most of my life, I put great effort into avoiding conflict. This book helped me realize that conflict is an unavoidable; it’s just two parties with opposing interests. Effective negotiation, however, only occurs when both parties reach a mutually-satisfactory resolution.
If you evaluate conflict through the lens of negotiation, it no longer seems frightening. It is simply an opportunity to solve a problem that makes all parties happy.
This book taught me a lot about emotional intelligence. I apply the lessons from this book to any tricky or difficult conversation with direct reports.
Top of the Class
Hello Startup - Yevgeniy Brinkman
Although a little dated, this book is a wonderful introduction to the business of software engineering. Part I, covering Product, should be required reading for junior developers and interns fresh out of school. I also found the chapter on hiring extremely helpful. Just please, whatever you do, skip the chapter about functional programming.
Empowered - Marty Cagan
I really liked this book’s perspective on Product, and shifting the emphasis on outcome rather than output (a theme of Rise as well). Development teams, this books suggests, are tasked with solving problems and not just building features. By pushing responsibility for the product’s outcome down to the team level, you force them to sympathize with the customer and understand the problem they are really trying to solve. The result is better products and a deeper team understanding of the customer and the market.
What They Didn’t Tell Me - Jawad Ahsan
Jawad Ahsan, former CFO of Axon (aka Taser), shares the hard lessons he’s learned over the years and his advice for readers who may be pursuing a leadership role.
Honorable Mentions
How to Measure Anything - Douglas Hubbard
This book is very technical, but I like that it encourages creative thinking and problem solving. Measurement, the book argues, is simply a reduction in uncertainty. By that definition, everything in the universe including abstract concepts like love or difficulty can be “measured.” This book also contains a great explanation of Monte Carlo simulations, and how to create one in Excel.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable - Patrick Lencioni
Patrick Lencioni lists the five traits that dysfunctional teams lack, and encourages readers to incorporate those qualities into their own teams. While an entertaining read, I found the practical value limited. I took away some good advice on keeping meetings engaging, but little else resonated.