Episode description
Episode description
Rob is joined by entrepreneur, consultant and author Tony Fadell. Tony opens up about his time at Apple, his thoughts on Steve Jobs and what he was like to work with and how he pitched the idea of the iPod to him!
Tony managed to retire at 40 after 20+ years in Silicon Valley through designing the nest learning thermostat. He explains how this was all possible and also talks about the importance of needing others, how anything worth creating and making requires a powerful team and his passion for climate change too.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Inventing things is important but there is always a team involved, especially when it comes to making it commercial.
- The iPod marketing slogan “1000 songs in your pocket” was a stroke of marketing genius, it encapsulated so much of what the product was about and became a guideline for future taglines
- Tony has been in many companies with indecisive leaders, Steve Jobs was not one of these, his attitude and confidence was a breath of fresh air.
- Threatening to leave Apple when he didn’t feel like the best was being done for the company and customer was the last resort for Tony. He wasn’t being listened to and this was the only way for Apple to take notice of what he was saying
- Whilst at Apple, Tony learned all about the customer journey through Steve Jobs eyes, an invaluable learning experience that has shaped everything he has done since.
- It was whilst taking a year out of Silicon Valley with his family that Tony realised the scale of issues with heating and cooling in peoples homes. This was how the concept for the nest learning thermostat was born.
- There was no competition in the thermostat industry but a serious lack of customer choice, this was perfect industry for Tony to disrupt.
- You can have an innovative product and it be a commercial or business failure. A great idea isn’t enough on its own.
- Tony recognises the people in his life that have guided and steered him to where he is today. These mentors were the starts of inspiration for his book “Build: an unorthodox guide to making things worth making”
- Always stay as a beginner, a student, ensure you are constantly learning and also continuing to fail too.!
- Tony has always been passionate about the environment but it was when he had his child in 2008 and the conversation around climate change dialed up he became more actively involved.
BEST MOMENTS
“It says a lot about the person if they can’t give credit to other people”
“He [Steve Jobs] always loved to take it to the very easiest way to understand”
“It wasn’t just about the product, it was about the customer journey”
“The reason there’s no innovation is because there’s no competition”
“I think it’s really important that you do things with people”
VALUABLE RESOURCES
ABOUT THE HOST
Rob Moore is an author of 9 business books, 5 UK bestsellers, holds 3 world records for public speaking, entrepreneur, property investor, and property educator. Author of the global bestseller “Life Leverage” Host of UK’s No.1 business podcast “Disruptors”
“If you don't risk anything, you risk everything”
CONTACT METHOD
Rob’s official website: https://robmoore.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robmooreprogressive/?ref=br_rs
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robmoore1979