Build cover art

Build

An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making

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Build

By: Tony Fadell
Narrated by: Roger Wayne
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About this listen

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
Entrepreneurship Self-Esteem Technology & Society Silicon Valley Business

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)

What listeners say about Build

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Invaluable, opinionated, inspiring.

Packed with keen, hard won insights on business, product development and doing your life’s work. Pulls no punches, but each strong opinion is backed by a bloody good story. An jam packed career’s worth of lessons.

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Nothing short of a goldmine

Tony opens Build by pointing out that most business books contain one or two gems hidden in hundreds of pages. Instead he has flipped that equation. You'll find a hard won nugget of gold on the audio equivalent of every page or two sourced from an incredible career full of success and failure.

For me, this has come at just the right time, highlighting many blindspots I would have otherwise had to have struggled through.

He wastes no time and has organised his learnings into chronological order from a young lad in his first job to an experienced founder. It means there is actionable information no matter where you are in your career. I will be referring back to the book many times as my own company and career progresses.

If you need any final convincing, a great preview is his interview with Nilay Patel on the podcast Decoder, the episode is called How big companies kill ideas - and how to fight back.

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IT’S TIME TO BUILD!

I can’t advise more highly for fellow founders to ditch the news and pick up this EPIC book.

This is exactly what is need led to help us build our way out of a down turn 🙏🏽 #itstimetobuild

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A brilliant guide for anyone building a product

Loved this. A must for product owners or founders crossing chasmsand building teams to scale.

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Great read

Good insights to start ups and business
Good easy to understand knowledge of creative side of business

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The best so far

I loved this book. It has to be the best book I have heard on audible so far. I am already listening to it for a second time.

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The book I didn’t know I needed to much

This was exactly the book I needed to give me more clarity and direction. It opened up doors and knowledge to specifics within the industry; things I always wanted to know but didn’t know how to find out. Thank you Tony

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just brilliant

I loved the practical advice in this book. brilliantly written and simple to understand

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brilliant, smart, funny

made me think, made me laugh, recommend for anyone, even if not building a business

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Powerful book for all creators!

Highly recommend for all people looking to drive change at the nexus of product and people.

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