Episode · Lenny's Podcast · 2026-08-02

Lenny Rachitsky & Tom Verrilli: books mentioned on Lenny's Podcast

This CPO regrets that product management exists | Tom Verrilli (CPO of Whatnot)

3 books · With Tom Verrilli · Listen · Watch on YouTube

Tom Verrilli is the chief product officer at Whatnot, a live shopping platform that’s become the fastest-growing U.S. marketplace business in history, with over $8 billion in GMV.

Tom Verrilli recommended The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, The purpose driven church by Rick Warren, and Babel by R. F Kuang.

Books mentioned, in the order they came up

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1. 

   The Hard Thing About Hard Things

   Ben Horowitz · at 1:17:56

   The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz is a practical business book about the trials of executive leadership and entrepreneurship.

   Recommended

   “Okay, uh, not to be clichéd, but The Hard Thing About Hard Things I still think is the best book written about product management. Um, just from a like breadth of things that you have to go through and try and do and screw up a lot.”

   Tom Verrilli This CPO regrets that product management exists | Tom Verrilli (CPO of… 2026-08-02 Listen at 1:17:56

   Where to get it

   Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon
2. 

   The purpose driven church

   Rick Warren · at 1:18:13

   The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren is a book about community building and organizational focus that argues every institution needs to define its core mission rather than trying to do everything.

   Recommended

   “Slightly left field, um, but the best book anyone's ever recommended to me to read which I now recommend to others, um, is The Purpose Driven Church by a pastor called Rick Warren. Uh, Emmett Shear, the CEO at at Twitch used to basically make sure that people read it.”

   Tom Verrilli This CPO regrets that product management exists | Tom Verrilli (CPO of… 2026-08-02 Listen at 1:18:13

   Where to get it

   Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon
3. 

   Babel

   R. F Kuang · at 1:18:40

   Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution is a speculative fantasy novel by R.F. Kuang that examines themes of imperialism, language, and cultural appropriation within an alternate, magic-infused historical setting.

   Recommended

   “Definitely worth a read if you're in a community product of any form. Uh and the last one is if you're looking for kind of like fiction or fantasy, which is where I tend to go in the evening, Babel by R.F. Kuang.”

   Tom Verrilli This CPO regrets that product management exists | Tom Verrilli (CPO of… 2026-08-02 Listen at 1:18:40

   Where to get it

   Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon