Build

An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making

By: Tony Fadell

Narrated by: Roger Wayne

Brought to you by Penguin.

Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in over 30 years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopaedia.

So that's what this book is. An advice encyclopaedia. 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 companies—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 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 listeners 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Tony Fadell (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"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 that I've ever read." (Malcolm Gladwell, host of the Revisionist History podcast, author of Outliers and Talking to Strangers)

"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 DaVinci)

Delightful. Bold.

Enjoyed this entirely. Such relevant and succinct learnings. A must read for those in or new to the product / design world.

Awesome

A great book with loads of insights! Audio book is well read and understandable, will keep coming back!

Great experience sharing

It's great that people with such a unique experience find time and will to write these kinds of books.