Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making - The New York Times bestseller
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- Create Date：2022-06-27 09:21:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Tony Fadell
- ISBN：B09CF2YB6Z
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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 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 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 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 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。
Reviews
Jonathan Birnbaum
，
It was a delight to learn from Tony's recounts of his various career exploits across failures - General Magic - and successes in entrepreneurship - iPod， Nest。 The story of how he honed in on disrupting the thermostat ushering in the smart home revolution is a case study in how an entrepreneur can attack a sleepy market and succeed。 An extraordinary level of thought and research went into every facet of customer experience which resulted in a beautiful product that is mostly taken for granted by It was a delight to learn from Tony's recounts of his various career exploits across failures - General Magic - and successes in entrepreneurship - iPod， Nest。 The story of how he honed in on disrupting the thermostat ushering in the smart home revolution is a case study in how an entrepreneur can attack a sleepy market and succeed。 An extraordinary level of thought and research went into every facet of customer experience which resulted in a beautiful product that is mostly taken for granted by the end customer。 Also interesting is the story of integration into Google and how that was anything but smooth sailing。 Strong recommend for any builders and or those interested in what it takes to build。 。。。more
Ricardo Urresti
，
This book has two important parts: the first chapters goes along Tony Fadell’s own story， and bring a lot of good advice for younger professionals and entrepreneurs: I would be more successful if someone told me those advice in my early twenties。 Se second part goes for entrepreneurs， with several tips and distinct point of views regarding how evolve your startup， with a nice touch of customer focus and why is important to be spartan in your decisions。
Chip Huyen
，
A lot of great no-nonsense advice for people who want to build something from nothing。
Krithika
，
Tony clearly owned his roles very deeply—in many parts of the book， you can palpably sense that the raw emotion of the situations still persists in his mind quite strongly
Michal Guzowski
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Solid book about being manager and managing others （people and things）。Favorite thoughts: * Managing others is all about managing yourself and your emotions and how other perceive them * Outsourcing a problem you don't understand is delaying the problem。 Of course it may be on purpose but need to be conscious。 * The best marketing is to say the truth * Outsource before insource。 Outsource is cheaper in total unless become FTE cooperation * Share the load: find a co-founder * Have a mentor * Look Solid book about being manager and managing others （people and things）。Favorite thoughts: * Managing others is all about managing yourself and your emotions and how other perceive them * Outsourcing a problem you don't understand is delaying the problem。 Of course it may be on purpose but need to be conscious。 * The best marketing is to say the truth * Outsource before insource。 Outsource is cheaper in total unless become FTE cooperation * Share the load: find a co-founder * Have a mentor * Look for an investor when you don't need a money！ It'll put you in the position of power * Heartbeat of Services company vs Product company 。。。more
Yağız “Yaz” Erkan
，
Very enjoyable and packed with good information。 The author covers a lot of ground without getting too deep in any topic， which makes the book very enjoyable and easy to read。 After I turned the last page it felt like I had just spoke to a mentor who gave me all this incredible advice on his professional life。
Charlie Nagelschmidt
，
This book is an instant classic for innovation - the strategy， the process and the leadership at all levels。
Andrew Balyk
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Найкорисніша і просто чудова книга。 Я хотів би повернутися в минуле з копією цієї книги; це заощадило б роки часу， та напевно я б уникнув море помилок。 Хоча я не шкодую， що намагався з’ясувати щось для себе сам， я був би не проти кількох історій Тоні， які дуже перегукуються з тим， що я зустірчав на своєму шляху。Фаделл ділить свою книгу на шість частин: Побудуй себе; Побудуйте свою кар'єру; Створіть свій продукт; Побудуйте свій бізнес; Створіть свою команду; Бути генеральним директором。 Кожна час Найкорисніша і просто чудова книга。 Я хотів би повернутися в минуле з копією цієї книги; це заощадило б роки часу， та напевно я б уникнув море помилок。 Хоча я не шкодую， що намагався з’ясувати щось для себе сам， я був би не проти кількох історій Тоні， які дуже перегукуються з тим， що я зустірчав на своєму шляху。Фаделл ділить свою книгу на шість частин: Побудуй себе; Побудуйте свою кар'єру; Створіть свій продукт; Побудуйте свій бізнес; Створіть свою команду; Бути генеральним директором。 Кожна частина складається з кількох розділів， які розповідають історії з його кар’єри разом із засвоєними уроками。Це не чергова нудна бізнес-книга。 Це не абстрактна теорія。 Це ніби ви сидите і спілкуєтеся з винахідником і дизайнером деяких з найуспішніших продуктів в історії。 。。。more
Danny
，
Part sound advice， part venting session about past employers and colleagues。
Cristian
，
Outstanding book about how to assemble effective and cohesive teams （that build things people actually want） written by no other than then man behind building the iPod， the first 3 iPhones and the Nest ecosystem。As I read the book， I felt fortunate to connect the dots on what Fadell was explaining， the way he narrates the story is compelling and very natural， the flow captures the attention of the reader from chapter 1。When I knew 'what he has done' I was very curious to know how he would give a Outstanding book about how to assemble effective and cohesive teams （that build things people actually want） written by no other than then man behind building the iPod， the first 3 iPhones and the Nest ecosystem。As I read the book， I felt fortunate to connect the dots on what Fadell was explaining， the way he narrates the story is compelling and very natural， the flow captures the attention of the reader from chapter 1。When I knew 'what he has done' I was very curious to know how he would give a glimpse into （1） Steve Jobs ruthless leadership style and （2） why he left Next after being acquired。 I got great answers to both and in all honesty I was surprise on what the real Google looks like once you're in。Some interesting bits through the book were t- The attention to details and how each touch point will deliver a unique experience to the customert- The communications matrix t- The Nest screwdriver as a marketing toolt- For non-designers， why is it important to look at this discipline with the respect it should have。 A good （or bad） design will have a massive impact on your productt- It is really interesting to see how someone as brilliant as the author thinks and how he approaches the creative process but most importantly - to me - how he delivers 。。。more
Jelle Victoor
，
A nice overall view on what it means to be a founder， a ceo and a leader in a successful and less successful startup。I found the first chapters less intriguing because These are things that are captured in other books， but the more it progressed， the more interesting it got。 From individual contributor， to founder， to ceo， to mentor。
Max Kostyukov
，
By far my new most favourite career-development book。 Highly recommend。The reason is that most of these “start-up” books only focus on the startup side of things。 Tony explains his story of how he grew as an individual - through failure in both corporate and startup world。
Peter Tillman
，
WSJ review: https://www。wsj。com/articles/build-bo。。。Excerpt:"Tony Fadell， the author of more than 300 patents， has made a career of navigating such challenges: His credits include the Apple iPod， the Apple iPhone and the Nest Learning Thermostat。 In “Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making，” Mr。 Fadell， who is now mentoring the next generation of startups at his Paris firm Future Shape， recounts his life in the idea maze。“Build，” which is less a memoir than an “advice encycloped WSJ review: https://www。wsj。com/articles/build-bo。。。Excerpt:"Tony Fadell， the author of more than 300 patents， has made a career of navigating such challenges: His credits include the Apple iPod， the Apple iPhone and the Nest Learning Thermostat。 In “Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making，” Mr。 Fadell， who is now mentoring the next generation of startups at his Paris firm Future Shape， recounts his life in the idea maze。“Build，” which is less a memoir than an “advice encyclopedia，” imparts nuggets of wisdom in six sections: Build Yourself， Your Career， Your Product， Your Business， Your Team—and Be CEO。 An engineer’s engineer， Mr。 Fadell presents a series of bullet-pointed chapters， numbered like a software product for easy cross-referencing （e。g。， Chapter 5。4: “A Method to the Marketing”）。 Each chapter is eminently digestible on its own but also works as part of the overall narrative。 Mr。 Fadell details problems encountered over the course of his 30-year career， how he tried to solve them， what he did when his initial ideas failed， and what ultimately worked。"（Paywalled。 As always， I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers） 。。。more
Björn Brynjúlfur
，
Frekar furðuleg blanda af sjálfsævisögu og handbók。 Tony Fadell bjó til iPod， iPhone og Nest og sögurnar sem hann segir af því eru margar hverjar mjög áhugaverðar。 En 60% af bókinni eru heilræði sem eru oftast leiðinleg aflestrar og gamaldags。 Endaði á að hraðlesa bókina og hoppa yfir heilræðin til að lesa bara sögurnar。 Hún skilur góða hluti eftir sig en heilt yfir var fyrirhöfnin við að finna þá of mikil。
Martin
，
The book I needed 10 years ago…… but reading it now was still very insightful for me。After reading the introduction I almost got discouraged from reading further。 It seemed there will be a lot of author’s ego present and that it will not be my cup of coffee， but on the contrary。The book reads as Tony Fadell’s career bio， but is structured into very short， neatly organized chapters。 It strikes a good balance between having an engaging overarching story， and giving approachable insights into busin The book I needed 10 years ago…… but reading it now was still very insightful for me。After reading the introduction I almost got discouraged from reading further。 It seemed there will be a lot of author’s ego present and that it will not be my cup of coffee， but on the contrary。The book reads as Tony Fadell’s career bio， but is structured into very short， neatly organized chapters。 It strikes a good balance between having an engaging overarching story， and giving approachable insights into business， product development and management。Yes， there are parts of the book I disagree with。 Stuff that might have worked for the author but that doesn’t mean it is a good practice。But are books supposed to be black / white？ Agree disagree with the whole thing？ I don’t think so。 I think good business books should be windows to some ways of thinking。 An opportunity to confront your ideas and see if they hold up。 To update your thinking according to what makes sense to your personal experience and journey。 This is opinions territory after all。 。。。more
Samcwright
，
I have mixed feelings about this book。 On the one hand I think you can some really valuable ideas and information when building a company。 His comments about building teams， culture， and about dealing with boards are really helpful。 On the other hand， it feels like someone just wrote this document in word and didn’t rely on a good editor to help shape the narrative。 I felt like it could be a much more compelling book。 More engaging。 But it’s got some good information in there and if you’re a pro I have mixed feelings about this book。 On the one hand I think you can some really valuable ideas and information when building a company。 His comments about building teams， culture， and about dealing with boards are really helpful。 On the other hand， it feels like someone just wrote this document in word and didn’t rely on a good editor to help shape the narrative。 I felt like it could be a much more compelling book。 More engaging。 But it’s got some good information in there and if you’re a product manager or an entrepreneur it may be worth your time to go through at once。 You’re going to read a lot of information you already know but there are some good nuggets in there。 。。。more
Kang T。 Lee
，
Tony Fadell wrote this book to tell you about his journey from the start of his career until the end with Nest。 This book talks about how to build a product， a business， a career， a relationship in business and career。 This book is not necessarily only for entrepreneurs。 It's for anyone who wants to build。 Build a career， a team， a service， a product。 This book can help you to realise what you should care about in your career （spoilers， it's the customers！）。 Tony Fadell wrote this book to tell you about his journey from the start of his career until the end with Nest。 This book talks about how to build a product， a business， a career， a relationship in business and career。 This book is not necessarily only for entrepreneurs。 It's for anyone who wants to build。 Build a career， a team， a service， a product。 This book can help you to realise what you should care about in your career （spoilers， it's the customers！）。 。。。more
Pavel Kasperovich
，
This is what a true business book should be: straight to the point vs generic BS， deep real-life personal stories vs interpreting some external information and examples。 While I have spent my whole life in consulting （spoiler - Tony asks NOT to go there:））， this book resonates a lot with what I saw and learn over the years。 Amazing book to read！！！
Carlo Torniai
，
I've just finished reading Build by Tony Fadell。This book is like no other "business book" I've read。Doesn't matter the stage of your career you're in （I'm not exactly a novice） going through these pages you'll find what the author is promising: a mentor。Tony， directly or indirectly， either if you read the book cover to cover， as I did， or if you pick and choose your particular topics of interest， is gong to tell you what you need to hear， the right thing for the moment or the phase you're going I've just finished reading Build by Tony Fadell。This book is like no other "business book" I've read。Doesn't matter the stage of your career you're in （I'm not exactly a novice） going through these pages you'll find what the author is promising: a mentor。Tony， directly or indirectly， either if you read the book cover to cover， as I did， or if you pick and choose your particular topics of interest， is gong to tell you what you need to hear， the right thing for the moment or the phase you're going through in your path。It can be things you've always known or something that you haven't quite formalized exactly in the way he's stating it but what you read， be reminded of， or discover for the first time will help you put things in the right place。 。。。more
Grant Glas
，
Any book that uses profane language in a beautiful way is an automatic 5-star。 Tony manages to produce a read that belongs with the titans of business books like， the Hard Things About Hard Things。 From an operators perspective you feel every bump on the way to Nests accession to creating a new consumer category。 Tony is raw in his candor and pulls no bs。 Want to start a business？ Keep this book handy。
Chengxi Zou
，
practical product and company building guide。 The author has an impressive background in helping to create iPod， iPhone， and Nest。 Good products and companies need polish and lots of failure。Good products are painkillers， not vitamins。Story first。 Answer why product before what product。
Jonathan Rosenberg
，
If you're going to try to make a difference in the world and contribute to building great products there is no one better credentialed and more articulate person to learn from than Tony Fadell。 Tony is the guy behind the success of world class home runs including the iPod and Nest Thermostat。 Tony knows how to share stories and sheds an insider's light on the key moments that led to some of the most important breakthroughs in Silicon Valley in the last couple of decades。Readers will learn If you're going to try to make a difference in the world and contribute to building great products there is no one better credentialed and more articulate person to learn from than Tony Fadell。 Tony is the guy behind the success of world class home runs including the iPod and Nest Thermostat。 Tony knows how to share stories and sheds an insider's light on the key moments that led to some of the most important breakthroughs in Silicon Valley in the last couple of decades。Readers will learn how to build not only products but their careers and businesses and teams。Tony is an all around great guy and exemplifies leadership by sharing his lessons for future Generations in this easy to read， well organized and fascinating book。I worked directly with Tony when I was SVP of products for Google and had the pleasure of meeting and working with many folks on the terrific Nest team。 If you're interested in developing great products and building a successful business around them， this book is a must read。 。。。more
Biminator
，
ฟัง audible ไปถึง chapterr 2。4 เบื่อก่อนไม่จบเล่ม เล่มนี้ดูเหมาะกับ professional ในบริษัท สาย entrepreneur ฟังๆ ไปแล้วอาจจะเบื่อๆ ได้ มี detail เรื่องการทำงาน การเมือง อยู่ในบริษัท รู้ยังไงว่าเราต้องลาออก นู้นนี้นั้น + ประสบการณ์ชีวิตที่สร้าง ipod ขึ้นมา
katia de lasteyrie
，
Starting something new？ Product？ Project？ Venture？If you have time to read only one book this year， this is it: #Build by Tony Fadell。Inspiring， thought-provoking， this book， is both timely and timeless and will serve as a guide for all who aspire to create with purpose。
Paul Szydlowski
，
Tony Fadell worked for General Magic， which designed a smart phone that let users place place phone calls， make flight reservations， send faxes and a a host of other tasks via icons on a touch screen。 Nothing toorevolutionary about it， except they built this thing in 1992， before there was an internet。 General Magic failed， but Tony would go on to lead development of the iPod and iPhone before going on to found Nest and begin the whole connected-home ecosystem。 Though this book begins as a caree Tony Fadell worked for General Magic， which designed a smart phone that let users place place phone calls， make flight reservations， send faxes and a a host of other tasks via icons on a touch screen。 Nothing toorevolutionary about it， except they built this thing in 1992， before there was an internet。 General Magic failed， but Tony would go on to lead development of the iPod and iPhone before going on to found Nest and begin the whole connected-home ecosystem。 Though this book begins as a career guide for those just entering the working world， it quickly becomes both a fascinating look into the history of our connected world and valuable reference for anyone tasked with building products for a rapidly changing world。 Though he references Crossing the Chasm， this is far more interesting and timely。 。。。more
Sunil Rajasekar
，
Did not enjoy this book like I though it would。 Ended up becoming a slog to finish the book。 It was a loose set of experiences and suggestions with no clear thread tying them together。 The ideas and insights all seemed rudimentary and run of the mill。 Suggest passing unless you are a Apple super fan on which case you will enjoy the Apple and Jobs stories。
Z
，
Adding this to my shortlist of recommended materials for entrepreneurs。 The best books lead to other books， and I have my fair share of further reading （starting the Perfect Thing this afternoon in fact） and Fadell mentioned he left ~350 pages on the cutting room floor 。。。I would be up for reading the b-sides。 absolutely essentially for founders， esp founders of a design bent。
Tuomas Silverang
，
Meh。 For building products， no really big insights for me。 And not sure what's supposedly "unorthodox"， since overall Fadell's learnings are solid but similar to those in many other Lean Startup / Design Thinking books。 Mainly interesting as a memoir - nice look behind the curtains at Apple， Nest and Google。 Meh。 For building products， no really big insights for me。 And not sure what's supposedly "unorthodox"， since overall Fadell's learnings are solid but similar to those in many other Lean Startup / Design Thinking books。 Mainly interesting as a memoir - nice look behind the curtains at Apple， Nest and Google。 。。。more
Merrick Christensen
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Full of practical advice and doesn’t shy away from some uncomfortable truths。 Enjoyed learning about the whole start up journey。
Héctor Palomares
，