RSS
Email
Twitter
Facebook
Fortune Sr. Editor-at-Large Adam Lashinsky spent the last few years digging deep inside Apple looking for what makes Apple, Inc., tick. Fortune ran a bit earlier this year in a cover story called “How Apple works: Inside the world’s biggest startup,” and it holds up as a fascinating read. The full version of the book, “Inside Apple,” is tabulated at 240-to-272 pages and hits stores Jan. 25. It is currently available for pre-order at $16.92 for the hardcover or $12.99 for the Kindle version and $17.92 for the Audio version (which appears to be shipping now).
The publisher provided us with an exclusive excerpt that deals with Tony Fadell, the “father of the iPod” and his subsequent move to startup Nest:
Since ending his relationship with Apple, Tony Fadell began a high-stakes experiment: testing the hypothesis that Apple executives can translate their skills outside Infinite Loop. Top Apple people have left to join other companies, but most don’t. Fadell is the first member of the modern Apple executive team to start a consumer-electronics company from scratch. Given his triumphs at Apple, his success or failure will speak volumes to how well the Apple experience translates.
It is better to talk about Fadell than HP’s Jon Rubinstein whose departure landed him at “unfavorable departure destination” Elevation Partners with former Apple CFO Fred Anderson and others. Eventually he was leading Palm when it was bought, and it is in the process of being gutted by HP. Another ex-Apple employee Mark Papermaster turned up at Cisco, but back to Fadell:
Fadell’s new company, Nest, doesn’t compete with Apple. Not yet anyway. It markets a “learning thermostat,” a $249 device that mildly competent do-it-yourselfers can install to replace the dumb thermostat in their homes. Nest’s device is intelligent. (Fadell calls it a “smartphone with some temperature controls.”) It learns a user’s desired behavior and adjusts the environment according to whether someone is home or away, among other energy-saving tricks. The device wouldn’t look out of place at an Apple Store, with smooth chrome circular design housing an LED screen. Though he didn’t work in product marketing at Apple, Fadell has mastered the keep-it-simple playbook for describing a new product. The three key facets of the Nest thermostat verily trip off his tongue: “It saves energy, it programs itself, and it’s beautiful.”
Fadell worked at other companies before Apple, including Philips Electronics and the now defunct General Magic [with Andy "Android" Rubin], itself a popular repository of Apple alumni from an earlier generation. This gives him perspective on what he’ll take from his Apple experience and what he won’t—or, in some cases, can’t. “Even if you have constrained resources, do not cut corners,” said Fadell, stating his number one rule from Apple. “People will feel it.” He noted that Nest spends far more than a typical start-up. For example, it includes a custom-designed screwdriver with each thermostat—a bit of customer handholding meant to ease the pain of installation. “Our ops guys are like, ‘Get rid of it,’” said Fadell, citing their argument that customers already have screwdrivers and the unnecessary expense will hurt margins. Fadell defends the screwdriver for its contribution to user experience. On the flip side, Nest by necessity is a humbler company than Apple. He likened it to the Apple of 2001 and 2002, “when we were trying to prove we had something of value” with the iPod. Nest must outsource customer service, unlike Apple. “We also don’t have Apple’s leverage with Best Buy,” said Fadell. “It’s more of a shared relationship.”
If Tony Fadell had risen up the ranks at General Electric rather than Apple, it’s likely he’d be running a major corporation today….
Judging whether the Apple way is a portable system is trickier for a couple of reasons. Apple’s senior executives tend to stick around a long time and often are exhausted—and very wealthy—when they’re done. Apple hasn’t until very recently begun to train managers in any formal way. Much of the learning has been by osmosis, and even so, huge swaths of relatively senior executives aren’t exposed to something as basic as a financial analysis. For many years, it was rare to see an ex–Apple executive reappearing in a leadership role at another tech company compared with the number of former Oracle executives, for example, who have gone on to run billion-dollar enterprises including Salesforce.com, PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems, Veritas, and Informatica.
The data set of Apple alumni leaving Cupertino and trying their hands elsewhere, in other words, is small [Ron Johnson at JC Penney being the other big one to watch].
Interestingly, I was able to talk to the Nest folks including cofounder and former iPhone lead engineer Matt Rogers. They offered to send me a demo unit but have sold so many that they have run out. The few remaining are meant for orders that are weeks old while a second run ramps up. It sounds like they are in good shape.
The full version of the book, “Inside Apple,” which is tabulated at 240-to-272 pages, hits stores Jan. 25. It is currently available for pre-order at $16.92 for the hardcover, or $12.99 for the Kindle version and $17.92 for the Audio version.
Incoming search terms:
- everything about tony fadell
- book inside apple
Comments