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Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in 30+ years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia.
So that's what this book is. An advice encyclopedia. A mentor in a box.
Written for anyone who wants to grow at work-from young grads navigating their first jobs to CEOs deciding whether to sell their company-Build is full of personal stories, practical advice and fascinating insights into some of the most impactful products and people of the 20th century.
Each quick 5-20 page entry builds on the previous one, charting Tony's personal journey from a product designer to a leader, from a startup founder to an executive to a mentor. Tony uses examples that are instantly captivating, like the process of building the very first iPod and iPhone. Every chapter is designed to help readers with a problem they're facing right now-how to get funding for their startup, whether to quit their job or not, or just how to deal with the jerk in the next cubicle.
Tony forged his path to success alongside mentors like Steve Jobs and Bill Campbell, icons of Silicon Valley who succeeded time and time again. But Tony doesn't follow the Silicon Valley credo that you have to reinvent everything from scratch to make something great. His advice is unorthodox because it's old school. Because Tony's learned that human nature doesn't change. You don't have to reinvent how you lead and manage-just what you make.
And Tony's ready to help everyone make things worth making.
So that's what this book is. An advice encyclopedia. A mentor in a box.
Written for anyone who wants to grow at work-from young grads navigating their first jobs to CEOs deciding whether to sell their company-Build is full of personal stories, practical advice and fascinating insights into some of the most impactful products and people of the 20th century.
Each quick 5-20 page entry builds on the previous one, charting Tony's personal journey from a product designer to a leader, from a startup founder to an executive to a mentor. Tony uses examples that are instantly captivating, like the process of building the very first iPod and iPhone. Every chapter is designed to help readers with a problem they're facing right now-how to get funding for their startup, whether to quit their job or not, or just how to deal with the jerk in the next cubicle.
Tony forged his path to success alongside mentors like Steve Jobs and Bill Campbell, icons of Silicon Valley who succeeded time and time again. But Tony doesn't follow the Silicon Valley credo that you have to reinvent everything from scratch to make something great. His advice is unorthodox because it's old school. Because Tony's learned that human nature doesn't change. You don't have to reinvent how you lead and manage-just what you make.
And Tony's ready to help everyone make things worth making.
Editorial Reviews
"Tony Fadell is one of the world's great experts in starting companies and creating insanely great products. He's distilled his wisdom in this book, providing wildly useful mentorship in a delightfully readable set of stories." -- Walter Isaacson, author and biographer of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and Leonardo da Vinci
"Tony Fadell has made more cool stuff than almost anyone else in the history of Silicon Valley, and in Build he tells us how. This is the most fun-and the most fascinating-memoir of curiosity and invention I've ever read." -- Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of Outliers and Talking to Strangers
"Based on hard-won, real-life lessons as an entrepreneur, Tony Fadell's Build delivers priceless advice for any young person who wants to build something great or change the world for the better. I wish I had this book when I was twenty-one." -- Ben Horowitz, founding partner of Andreessen Horowitz
"Insightful. Funny. Instructive. Unvarnished. In a book brimming with energy and enthusiasm, Tony Fadell, builder of epoch-defining products, draws on his experience with failure and accomplishment to coach you through every stage of your career." -- Joanna Hoffman, former vice president of marketing at General Magic and member of the original Macintosh team
"Tony Fadell distills his epic career into refreshingly candid, often contrarian advice that you can put into practice right away. Whether you're looking to build a great product, a creative team, a strong culture, or a meaningful career, Tony's guidance will get you thinking and rethinking." -- Adam Grant, author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
"Tony Fadell has made more cool stuff than almost anyone else in the history of Silicon Valley, and in Build he tells us how. This is the most fun-and the most fascinating-memoir of curiosity and invention I've ever read." -- Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of Outliers and Talking to Strangers
"Based on hard-won, real-life lessons as an entrepreneur, Tony Fadell's Build delivers priceless advice for any young person who wants to build something great or change the world for the better. I wish I had this book when I was twenty-one." -- Ben Horowitz, founding partner of Andreessen Horowitz
"Insightful. Funny. Instructive. Unvarnished. In a book brimming with energy and enthusiasm, Tony Fadell, builder of epoch-defining products, draws on his experience with failure and accomplishment to coach you through every stage of your career." -- Joanna Hoffman, former vice president of marketing at General Magic and member of the original Macintosh team
"Tony Fadell distills his epic career into refreshingly candid, often contrarian advice that you can put into practice right away. Whether you're looking to build a great product, a creative team, a strong culture, or a meaningful career, Tony's guidance will get you thinking and rethinking." -- Adam Grant, author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
Readers Top Reviews
Chris Moore
How could you ask for better insights than Tony offers here -- he has had us many many ups and some downs along the way, shares those experiences and nicely boils down meaningful insights. Tony is likely the most accomplished product creator we will ever know. I for one am grateful he has taken time to put his life lessons on paper for us. Favorite chapter: The one about holes on the backside (Amazon won't let me use the word). So true.
Armen A. Vidian
The only untruth that Tony Fadell tells in his new book, Build, is that he’s a terrible writer. He certainly can write and it’s an amazing gift to any professional. Far from a prescriptive guide to follow neat lines and structured paths to stardom, Build shows us how the messiness of failure is critical to help define our later success. Tony volunteers himself as a flawed fellow traveler like any of us trying to make a difference in this world. At turns funny and blunt, he shows how he developed not just skills but self-awareness so he could turn hard knocks into personal learning and ultimate success. Sure, he’s technical, but he’s also an empathetic and relatable mentor cheering you from the front lines of hard work. As it turns out, he encountered the same challenges and disappointments that the rest of us do, and he generously shows us how to get through those. There are few people who have as much nuanced wisdom to give as Tony, and he gives all of it in this book. This is that book I wish had at 25. And at 30, 35, and so on…because every 5 years it’ll mean something different but equally important. Thanks, Tony.
Walt Mossberg
Tony Fadell helped give the world the iPod, the iPhone and the Nest thermostat. And much more. This book, Build, is his latest 5-star product. It’s not another boring business book. It’s not abstract theory. It’s a skillfully woven combination of a memoir and real, actionable, brass tacks advice for everyone from new employees to CEOs. It’s a must read for anyone wanting to start a great career or found a great company. Best of all, the stories he tells - about Apple, Nest, and a cool but failed startup named General Magic - are true. I know. As a tech journalist back then, I covered all of them and the personalities Tony recalls.
Christopher Pedersen
I'm not finished reading it yet, but I'm so glad Tony Fadell wrote this book! I ordered it on pre sale after hearing Tony on Tim Ferriss's podcast, and started listening today on Audible. So far it's been really inspiring, includes practical advice for your own creative endeavors, and also has tons of cool stories from Tony's life. My favorite story so far is the one about creating the Philips Velo hand held PC. I remember seeing a computer like that when I was a kid at a Sharper Image store and thought it was so cool! Had no idea one of the people behind the iPhone created that. (I don't know if the model I saw in that store was the Philips Velo or not, but I'm just going to pretend that it was.)
