Book SummaryBuild, by Tony Fadell

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Build

What are the secrets to being successful in your career? How do you build a world-changing product-based business? Entrepreneur Tony Fadell answers these questions and more in Build. The book is part career encyclopedia and part memoir, detailing Fadell’s...

Build Summary Fadell’s Career: A Primer

Fadell’s lessons stem from his own career. In the early 1990s, Fadell’s passion for computers led him to a job at General Magic with the software industry’s leaders. Fadell was thrilled to be building Magic Link, a then-revolutionary handheld computing device that would let users connect to the internet, play games, and more. (Shortform note: In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that people who succeed early in life have an advantage, as these early opportunities tend to snowball into larger advantages. Fadell’s career trajectory demonstrates this; much of his later success stemmed from the knowledge he gained and people he met building Magic Link.)

However, Fadell soon realized that the Magic Link was bound to fail: It was directed toward the average American, who had no need or desire for it. He urged company leadership to redesign the product for businesspeople, who would benefit from a handheld computing device. Despite Fadell’s best efforts, company leadership refused, and the Magic Link failed to sell. (Shortform note: What should you do if you...

Build Summary How to Create a Successful Career

Now that we’ve discussed how Fadell built his career, we’ll share his tips on building a successful career at three stages of your professional life: when you’re starting out, when you’re managing, and when you’re CEO.

How to Start Your Career

The first step to creating a successful career, according to Fadell, is to figure out what you want to do. This doesn’t entail a specific salary or position; rather, ask yourself: What “mission,” or objective, inspires me to learn? For example, Fadell’s objective was to make handheld computing devices, which inspired him to learn everything he could about making them. Knowing what you want to accomplish will help you make better career decisions.

(Shortform note: If you don’t have a clear objective, The Defining Decade author Meg Jay recommends that you seek out experiences that will help you build “identity capital”: the collection of things you’ve done long enough or well enough that they become part of who you are. For example, if you’re interested in filmmaking, seek...

Build Summary How to Create a Product-Based Business

Now we’ll share Fadell’s advice on how to create a product-based business (a business that sells a tangible item). We’ll first discuss the three stages of building your product-based business: Get ready, discover your story, and release and evolve your product. Then, we’ll describe Fadell’s strategies for handling three major problems you may face: a lack of funds, a lack of work/life balance, and a potential catastrophe.

Get Ready

Fadell asserts that being ready to start your own company requires that you have an incredible idea. A good idea proposes a solution to a real, tangible problem that people face consistently in their daily lives, and it has a clear why, or reason, for existing. Moreover, it’s something you can’t stop thinking about. If you’re going to commit years of your life to an idea, do research. What exactly are you getting yourself into? What issues might you face, and how might you get around those? If, after at least a month, you’re still excited by the idea, that’s a great sign that you should pursue it.

(Shortform note: Not all experts believe that having a great company starts with a great idea. In _[Built to...

Build Summary How to Create the Right Team

In this section, we’ll first discuss how to hire people effectively. Then, we’ll share how to keep those people engaged at the company. Finally, we’ll discuss the four types of people you need on your team.

How to Hire the Right People

The first key to building an amazing team, Fadell explains, is to hire the right people. This should be your company’s biggest priority in the growth stage, as the people will make or break your company. To do it well, Fadell recommends that you develop a hiring structure that helps you decide whether the candidate will work well in the company by letting the candidate’s internal customers (ICs) make hiring decisions. As discussed earlier, everybody in a company has ICs—the people with whom they share deliverables. For example, a writer’s IC is their editor, as that’s to whom they submit their manuscript. ICs should vet candidates so that they can ensure they’ll work well together.

(Shortform note: In The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, Patrick Lencioni agrees that [hiring effectively is essential to building your...

Shortform Exercise: Are You Working at the Right Company?

Fadell argues that if you want to build a successful startup, you must learn as much as you can by working at the right company. In this exercise, you’ll evaluate whether your current position is helping you pave the right path.

What mission or objective are you chasing right now? Recall that Fadell’s mission was to create handheld computing devices.