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Victor Kabdebon

Readings

Influential books

A list of books and articles that have changed how I think.

  • Empowered by Marty Cagan

    Another classic of Product Management, recommended for Product Leaders.
  • Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute

    Trust me. Just read it.
  • The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Sean Covey, Chris McChesney, Jim Huling

    If you’re an executive and you haven’t read this book, you’re missing out. I personally use many of the techniques and recommendations explored in the book. From day-to-day management, roadmap and personal focus this is a book you should have read at least once.
  • Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    I recommend this book to most entrepreneurs. There aren’t many directly usable pieces of advice in this book, but it shows how systems can be architected to be resilient to failure; or better yet, get stronger through failures. Used in conjunction with the “Field guide to understanding human error, it shows how to resiliency can be built directly into product management, for example.”
  • Driven to distraction by Edward M. Hallowell M.D., John J. Ratey M.D.

    I needed to read this book to recognize how deeply ADHD had influenced many events in my past.
  • Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt

    Most startup have a vision, a product roadmap and product teams working hard. However, I’m shocked at how often they’re missing a product strategy. This fantastic book walks through the fundamentals of good product strategy. A must read.
  • The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

    Another classic for entrepreneurs. It’s an important book to read as many of the concepts described are often misunderstood.
  • The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick

    Every Product Manager must read that book to understand why customers, colleagues, bosses lie about how good a product idea is.
  • The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

    Classic book for a reason, the checklist manifesto is a must-read for product managers and engineers. You don’t need to build airplanes like Boeing to benefit from great standards for what to build/how to launch safely.
  • The field guide to understanding human error by Sidney Dekker

    Good product teams should aspire to become anti-fragile; great teams use errors as opportunities to improve. Blaming errors on individuals stands in the the way of success. This book is a practical guide to see issues as systemic vs individual failures. It’s a great read for product leaders who want to understand the root cause of product failures.
  • What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz

    Culture is a key influence on what people do when you’re not looking. Wise leaders recognize that to scale you need a great culture.
  • Inspired by Marty Cagan

    If you’re a product manager and you haven’t read this book, I’m not sure what you’re waiting for.

Other books

  • Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

    This book is important to read at least once. We all benefit from different perspectives, Oliver Burkeman invites us to reconsider our relation with time. If you suffer from chronic fear of missing out, or simply feel that life is passing by too quickly, I invite you to check this one out.
  • Atomic Habits by James Clear
  • Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

    Cautionary tale for entrepreneurs
  • Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell
  • Bigger Leaner Stronger by Michael Matthews

    I rarely read health related books, as they are generally full of shoddy science and takes disproven a few months after their publication. This book, however, had a simple formula. Try to stick to the best science available and don’t make extraordinary claims.
  • Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman, Chris Yeh

    Solid account from a veteran entrepreneur of the stages of growth of a startup. For entrepreneurs, it allows you to anticipate the painpoints to come.
  • Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
  • Children of time by Daniel Todd Gilbert

    Maybe it was too high expectations, but I didn’t love the book. I salute its creativity, it’s the first time I read about spider history. Some parts of the books felt stretched and not that interesting. It’s part of a trilogy, maybe there will be a payoff to the ship storyline.
  • Enlightenment now by Steven Pinker

    While the book is a bit too long in my opinion, I enjoyed the attempt at fighting against the constant negativity barrage.
  • Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

    Who would have thought I’d enjoy this book… and yet, I’d recommend it!
  • Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined by Stephen Fry

    A fun take of greek mythology.
  • High Output Management by Andrew S Grove
  • No Rules, Rules by Erin Meyer, Reed Hastings

    A thought-provoking book on what happens if you crank empowerment to 11. It requires only two ingredients. First, you hire the most talented people you can find, and second, you relentlessly remove controls from the organization. It’s a great read if you’re in a position of leadership and can influence company culture.
  • On Having No Head by Douglas Harding

    I am not sure what to think about it so far.
  • On writing well by William Zinsser

    Unless you are a natural genius writer, I can’t recommend this book enough. I go through it once a year as a refresher. Great writing will benefit your communication on Slack, product specs, engineering designs etc… There’s no shortage of places where good writing will help you.
  • Predictable Revenue by Aaron Ross, Marylou Tyler
  • Principles by Ray Dalio

    A provocative take on how to create a culture of innovation and resilience. I enjoyed the take on psychometrics. There’s a lot of unproven science behind them, but it takes courage to be willing to try. This book is worth a read as a leader.
  • Reboot by Jerry Colonna
  • Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It by Scott Kupor

    Good book for entrepreneurs. It teaches the basics of raising money. You’ll be able to avoid many mistakes by going through that book once.
  • Taking Charge of Adult ADHD by Russell A. Barkley

    A must-read if you or someone you know suffers from ADHD. Russel is one of the only voice that takes ADHD seriously, without any pandering for people with the condition. The practical advice given in that help will help many.
  • The Alliance by Reid Hoffman

    Good read for founders and managers. Employees yearn for meaningful work while companies need to prepare for short employee tenures. This book tries to offer a compromise for employers and employees.
  • The coddling of the american mind by Greg Lukianoff, Johnathan Haidt

    As a french person, this was a not very surprising, yet very provocative book about the state of society. Even if ten or twenty percent of it is true, we should feel some concern about the independence of academia in the future.
  • The five dysfunction of a team by Patrick M. Lencioni
  • Mythical man month by Frederick Brooks Jr.

    I can’t say it was truly influential on how I approach projects. It’s a good book nonetheless. Is it useful to read? Yes, probably, if you’re an engineering manager.
  • Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

    I enjoyed the Three Body Problem book one, but I didn’t exactly love it. Maybe it has more to do with the reader than the book, but I struggled to get in the minds of characters. It was hard to follow their actions as their value system seem different from mind. With all that said, the author shows a great attention to details and creativity that very few other Science Fiction books even match. A must-read for Science Fiction authors.
  • Death's End by Cixin Liu

    My favorite book of the series. The fact that I love highly speculative Science Fiction explains it. That book is incredible in its scope and ideas. The twist at the end is so awesome. This book got me scared of the universe. It’s sad that some readers will stop at book one, and miss the best parts of the story.
  • The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

    Now we’re talking. If book one was good but not great, this one was great. Liu Cixin packs more science fiction in this book than other authors in their entire career. There’s still the puzzling dialogue/behavior from some characters, but it’s less jarring than in the first book. Read it.
  • Tribe by Sebastian Junger
  • Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg
  • Waking Up by Sam Harris

    I am familiar with Sam Harris through his podcast, meditation and discussions. Reading that book didn’t go further than what I’ve heard in other venues. If you’re new to Sam Harris, it’s a good introduction to his way of thinking about the world and a no nonsense approach to meditation.

Will read soon

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