Book Recommendations

The following is a collection of management books that we have found most impactful in up-leveling as Engineering Managers, especially from the strategy and people-management fronts. Please note that while we do earn a commission from these links, we've read every book recommended below and stand by our recommendations.

General People Management / Leadership

1. Good to Great by Jim Collins
   1. The book provides key factors in the creation of a great company, but the same factors directly translate to a team or even individual scale.
2. Surrounded by Bad Bosses and Lazy Employees by Thomas Erikson
   1. The book explores the Disc System for understanding behavior, and goes in-depth on how this system plays out in direct-manager and manager-direct interactions.
3. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick M. Lencioni
   1. The book vividly illustrates the common dysfunctions a team or an organization is likely to experience and shows how to approach them.
4. Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick M. Lencioni
   1. Provides practical exercises and ideas for overcoming the dysfunctions.

Negotiation / Feedback

1. Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher
   1. Once a required reading for US diplomats, the book, although dated, provides a useful framework for approaching disagreements by focusing on the meta-context of the issue.
2. Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, Emily Gregory
   1. A framework for approaching difficult conversations with the intent to achieve a productive outcome.
3. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
   1. Written by an ex-FBI hostage negotiator, the book provides practical tips for approaching a negotiation

Domain Knowledge

1. Google's SRE Handbook by Niall Richard Murphy, et al
   1. The book is a collection of articles outlining a proven approach to running a high-scale site, but the philosophies expressed especially in the first third of the book are applicable to any domain.
2. How to Measure Anything by Douglas W. Hubbard
   1. This book outlines an approach to measuring what's typically considered an intangible in a business setting, allowing the decisions to become more data-centric.