A Book Review “Build” by Tony Fadell

“Build” by Tony Fadell is a book that encapsulates his career from discovering his passion which was computer programming and how he pursued and evolved that into a career. Then he talks about all the startups that he worked with, all furnished with experiences he had with them. All of this led up to working at Apple where he was leading the innovation teams to build the iPod and iPhone. The latter part of the book is about his departure from Apple to build another startup Nest which turned into a very successful venture, so much so that Google purchased it for 3.2 billion dollars. His experiences with this and with Google are talked about as well.

In this book, Tony not only conveys his experiences in building companies and how he put teams together that pushed technology, but there are also some lessons here in history.  There is some insight as to how innovation is developed and the reader will develop a better understanding of how our world has been shaped. In addition, there are many examples and explanations of what it is like to work for struggling startups. The reader will understand why some startups fail and some succeed. There are some real lessons in business, as well.  As his career moves along in the book, he provides an in-depth view of what it is like to work for or be a part of large high-tech firms such as Apple and Google. There are some real surprises here. Tony’s career did focus on the high-tech industry which is reflected in this book. With that said, I will show in this blog how his advice can pertain to other sectors as well.

Following our interests and pursuing them is something that stands out in the book and it is very good advice. Tony was interested in computer programming and he attended the University of Michigan and graduated with a B.Sc.  in computer engineering. More importantly, though he wanted to know as much as he could about the industry.  He talks about reading all the magazines that were coming out and what the leaders in this industry had to say. In essence, he was a student of this industry.

Gino Arcaro said the same thing in his interview https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/a-career-in-law-enforcement-and-much-more-part-1. He talks about his early years on the police force in his interview and how he was a sponge, as he wanted to absorb as much information as he could. It was this attitude which instigates a willingness to learn that has helped him move his career into being a detective, teacher, business owner, author, and strength and football coach. No matter what profession we are in there will always be more that we can learn. In doing so other opportunities will present themselves to us and Gino is a good example of this as he is very accomplished.

Tony worked for an array of small businesses and startups and then, of course, he worked for Apple a well-established big corporation. His resume was extensive and he was well-experienced before he started his start-up which is Nest. It was his insight from all his undertakings that helped his startup become successful. As he puts it if our ambition is to develop a start-up work for one first and learn from other people’s fortunes and mistakes. Also, his experience with Apple is extensive. He established a sense of how to develop and instigate new technology (iPod and iPhone) in the marketplace. More importantly, though it was this combination of experiences that he better developed a sense of himself first, and with that, he knew what he wanted to do with his career.

My interview with Paul Rogalski https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/a-chef-that-is-continually-re-inventing-himself indicates that he followed a very similar path. He apprenticed in a fine dining restaurant for several years. He traveled abroad working for a big hotel chain in other countries and then came back to Calgary his home town to work for other establishments before he opened his restaurant. It was all these experiences that he gained throughout the years that have helped him prosper. Simply put he had a solid 20 years working in the hospitality industry as a chef before he opened his restaurant.

Also, maturity plays a role in this as well. Tony points out in his book that most successful new ventures are started by people in their 40s. This is important to note that it does play in our favor to have some experiences before we start a business or even establish ourselves in a career that we love. Society tends to paint an illusion portraying young people as happy and successful in their careers. This is rare, more so than not as developing a business and a rewarding career takes time, effort, and experience. Being patient with ourselves and willing to learn by experimenting and being curious would be key. And above all, it takes time and effort and more importantly try not to rush the process as well as it is a learning experience. This all leads to knowing and understanding one’s self better.

This is supported in this book by a chapter called “Adulthood”. This is where the author does indicate the influences that our families have on us and how it takes years for us to figure ourselves out. This is supported by a blog I wrote just over a year ago discussing the same thing https://www.thecareerguy.ca/blog/family-friends-and-career-development. Furthermore, generally speaking, as pointed out, most people will establish themselves in a career in their late 30s to early 40s and this is supported by all the interviews that I have done so far. Very few people have it figured out and a young age. However, there are exceptions such as Leo King https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/a-leader-in-the-fitness-industry it is circumstances that led him down the right path and he is very mature for his age which helped.

The book describes how Nest started within a garage just a basic startup with an idea of how to solve a particular problem, in this case, thermostats, and how to make them more efficient. It does illustrate how this business got traction and in doing so it grew and the growing pains they encountered along the way. Some lessons the book portrays are more towards how corporate governance is materialized. This is insightful because as a potential employee in any business, it is beneficial to understand how the business is structured which indicates how they make decisions and how a person will fit in or not. As I indicated in a previous blog https://www.thecareerguy.ca/blog/a-book-review-the-fifth-discipline-by-peter-siege we should do our homework on a business and see if it fits our ambitions. There are no surprises in life we need to be aware of what we are getting ourselves into when accepting a position with a business.

This is a good easy read I could give so many more examples from the book but I want to leave this blog short. There are chapters that pertain to topics on how to deal with difficult people, management is not for everyone, and the cost of introducing new technology into the market. As indicated, this book does deal with the high-tech industry but I have shown in this blog that it is relevant to any industry.  That is why I recommend it to anyone that wants to have some more ideas on how to approach their career better, to be a better business person, invest better, and of course history in technology. Thanks for reading and I hope this blog helped.