Tony Fadell started his 30+ year Silicon Valley career at General Magic, the most influential startup nobody has ever heard of. Then he went on to make the iPod and iPhone, start Nest and create the Nest Learning Thermostat. Throughout his career Tony has authored more than 300 patents. He now leads the investment and advisory firm Future Shape, where he mentors the next generation of startups that are changing the world.
"For every career crisis, every fork in the road, you need someone to talk to. Someone who’s been there before, who knows exactly how wobbly and conflicted you feel, who can give it to you straight:
Here’s how to think about choosing a job.
Here’s how to be a better manager.
Here’s how to approach design.
Here’s how to start a company.
Here’s how to run it.
Tony Fadell learned all these lessons the hard way. He spent the first 10 years of his career in Silicon Valley failing spectacularly, and the next 20 building some of the most impactful devices in history – the iPod, iPhone, and Nest Learning Thermostat. He has enough stories and advice about leadership, design, startups, mentorship, decision making, devastating screwups, and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia.
So that’s what this book is.
An advice encyclopedia.
A mentor in a box.
But Tony doesn’t follow the standard Silicon Valley credo that in order to build something amazing, you have to reinvent everything, throw out the old, start from scratch. His advice is unorthodox because it’s old school. Because it acknowledges that products evolve from humans, and human nature doesn’t change.
You don’t need to reinvent how you lead and manage – just what you make.
And Tony’s ready to help everyone make things worth making."
what a fantastic guidebook. i listened in audio, partner read paper version, and we gifted one to a friend who is about to start something cool. tony is a dream mentor.