iPod & iPhone Inventor, Tony Fadell: Why Saying No Was Steve Jobs’ Biggest Skill

Today, we're joined by Tony Fadell, the inventor of the iPod and co-inventor of the iPhone. Tony is the founder of Nest (the smart thermostat acquired by Google) and the New York Times best-selling author of Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making.

In this second episode, Tommy Stadlen talks to Tony about his years working alongside Steve Jobs and what he's learned about building a career, why he thinks saying "no" is the most underrated skill in product, and why giving credit away is the thing most leaders get wrong.

He speaks about:

• what Steve Jobs was truly great at, and the one thing he was bad at
• the two types of assholes, and how to tell ego from mission
• why giving credit to your team is the most joyful part of leading
• hustling his way into General Magic with seven months of letters and cold calls
• chasing heroes instead of brands early in your career
• why the best mentors (like Bill Campbell) know people, not tech
• the General Magic crash at 25 that taught him to stay grounded

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Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING.

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