
How Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote, Works - bmaeser
http://lifehacker.com/5982051/im-phil-libin-ceo-of-evernote-and-this-is-how-i-work
======
AlexDanger
Is it a bad sign that I googled for 'Fire' and 'The Wheel' thinking they were
some kind of hip Web 2.0 productivity tools?

~~~
hammock
Don't blame yourself entirely. They were (incorrectly) capitalized in the
article.

------
edanm
A lot of people seem to be taking this interview in a negative way. I find it
nice an humorous, lacking in "real" content - but then most of these articles
are lacking in content. Much as a I love the "Uses This" type series, it's
basically "geek gossip magazine" - how much does it really tell you to hear
that another person is using a MacBook with Sonos speakers and TextMate?

One nugget from the interview is the "Todo" questions, which makes me really
think that Phil knows his product well:

"Q: What's your favorite to-do list manager?

A: You know, I don't actually have one. I use Evernote, which isn't
particularly great for to-dos yet. Yet."

I've started moving more and more of my thing into Evernote, and I think the
biggest thing it does wrong is: it doesn't do any one thing very well. One of
those One Things I'd love it to get right is TODO management, and Phil is here
hinting that it's in the works.

All in all, I came out of this interview with a smile on my face, and some
more hope for the future of a product that I use a lot, and really really want
to love.

------
speeder
Funny interview but to me it sounded like the guy was trying too hard to look
human, or he wanted to hide something, or he wanted to embarrass the
interviewer, or he is a stand-up comedian wannabe in real life.

I am all for humor, but reply the interviewer questions! Don't act like a
politician!

~~~
ScotterC
I thought he was just a genuinely funny guy.

~~~
StuieK
He really is. Had the pleasure of running into him last week and he is one of
the most genuinely nice people I have ever met.

~~~
kisielk
So did he talk to you first? or did you have to start?

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abolibibelot
Cliff's notes:

    
    
      Like pretty much everyone else in that space, I use all
      the iOS devices and a mac osx desktop. And my company's app.
    
      My nugget of wisdom: nerds don't get laid.

~~~
phaus
You forgot the Macbook.

------
incision
Personally, I find the "everything" nature of Evernote to be in conflict with
the statement...

"That's what we aspire to build at Evernote. Something fundamentally tool."

Via browser or phone, Evernote is multiple panes, functions and I don't how
many buttons where every action seems to come with an extra dialog, step or
three.

That doesn't say tool to me, more like a borrowed toolbox. Sure, I can
accomplish a lot with the assortment found inside, but I'd get things done a
lot faster and easier with purpose-built tools.

Also, I find the inclusion of both a mini-bat and sledge on the on the desk
shot a bit odd.

~~~
ScotterC
There are people that organize their entire lives with it. Following GTD and
<http://www.thesecretweapon.org/>. For them it's absolutely fundamental.

~~~
incision
That's great, but evoking the inclined plane sets a totally different context
for the meaning of "fundamental" than does an organizer.

------
techteam
Am I the only one who on hearing investors and top enterpreneurs saying oh I
love Uber sound like saying oh I am rich and love my Rolex? Sometimes the talk
about comparing expensive limousines to taxis seems so absurd.

~~~
rdouble
The last time I was in SF, I found that using Uberx and Uber Taxi was only a
dollar or two more than taking a cab.

~~~
ajju
UberX is $1 more _per mile_ than a taxi. Also, the minimum fare is $10 for
UberX vs $3.50 for a cab.

Uber Taxi charges a fixed 20% tip and $1 booking fee.

Sources:

<https://www.uber.com/cities/san-francisco>

<http://www.sfmta.com/cms/xcust/indxtxcust.htm>

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louthy
I'm sorry, but this is such a 'try hard' interview it's painful. Tell us what
you really think, it doesn't matter if it's a bit left of centre or weird,
it'd be much more interesting than this saccharine take on what you think the
geeks "wanna hear".

"I think it's important to have an identity mug."

No, it isn't.

~~~
mcherm
> Tell us what you really think, it doesn't matter if it's a bit left of
> centre or weird

I think it's important to have an identity mug.

> No it isn't.

??

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lifeguard
Yuck, open office plan?

<http://img.gawkerassets.com/post/17/2013/02/phil_desk.jpg>

~~~
segmondy
open office plan is for grown ups. i wish we had an open office plan, i hate
these cubicles and walls that divide.

~~~
cheeseprocedure
I wish I was blessed with your mental filters for blocking out distractions.
Open office plans drive me absolutely bonkers.

~~~
easytiger
agreed. for me i think the cubicle farms are perfect for technology work

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taylorbuley
My favorite Phil Libin quote:

 _I’m here to talk about entrepreneurship. I travel around quite a bit, and
I’m lucky enough to be able to coach and mentor lots of entrepreneurs
worldwide, and the common question I get asked is what advice I have for
someone who is thinking of being an entrepreneur.

I’ve narrowed it down, really boiled it down, to one core piece of advice. If
I can only say one thing, and I don’t know you any better, it’s: don’t. Don’t
do it. Seriously._

[http://thenextweb.com/video/2012/04/27/evernote-ceo-phil-
lib...](http://thenextweb.com/video/2012/04/27/evernote-ceo-phil-libin-my-
advice-to-aspiring-entrepreneurs-dont-do-it-video/)

------
mitchellhislop
I, for one, am VERY excited to see the todo features that he hinted at in the
article. Evernote is fantastic, and I'm not sure it would be a main todo
system, but if there is an area it has been lacking, it is in the handling of
todos.

------
zem
this was really well put:

> That's the real magic of the human brain; how quickly it rewires itself
> around a fundamental new tool as soon as you really grok it. Think about it:
> at some point in your life you didn't understand the concept of "hammer",
> and then you understood it and the whole world changed in front of your
> eyes. Now, when you look at the world, you do it with the understanding that
> hammers exist. Same thing for Skype. One day you're worrying about how
> you'll pay for that call and the next day you just know that you can talk to
> anyone at any time. That's what we aspire to build at Evernote. Something
> fundamentally tool.

------
zalzane
What really upsets me about this article is how he gave advice to that friend
of his to suppress his hobbies/interests to get a girlfriend. What kind of
bullshit advice is that?

That left me pretty sour, and makes the article feel a lot more
artificial/fake.

~~~
dawernik
Come on. Not about suppressing your hobby, it's about not being identified
solely with it.

That's the stuff you pull out after you get married. Then it eventually ends
up in a small closet about 5 years later. Ultimately, it ends up being what
you have around you as you get old again. Life's funny that way.

~~~
stinkytaco
I agree with _your_ advice, but I don't think that's what he's saying.

I mean, a paragraph later he talks about getting an "identity mug" and earlier
about wanting to get Shire wallpaper and how he listens to dwarf music. I
can't tell if he's being ironic or dense or if he doesn't like Star Trek.

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Ologn
"The Evernote office is all open seating. My desk is the messiest. We don't
have any desk phones, but lots of conference rooms if you want to talk to
someone."

Is a lack of desk phones unique to Evernote, or is this becoming more common
in the Bay area? It's not a bad idea. Sitting next to someone saying "Thank
you for calling Initech, please hold..." all day can be distracting. As can a
phone which rings every fifteen minutes with someone who wants some minor
thing.

~~~
arindone
Maybe it's a West Coast thing...I've worked jobs in Los Angeles and now the
valley and company cell phones in lieu of desk phones is the new standard I
think. That, and Facebook video chat/Google chat/Skype...

------
dysoco
Loved the Star Trek story. Although I'd love to hear more about what software
he uses: he only mentioned Evernote, Google and a couple more.

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aiculedssul
It isn't cross-platform: no Linux support at all.

~~~
rl1987
Nixnote [1] (formerly Nevernote) is an unofficial Evernote client for Linux.

[1] <http://sourceforge.net/projects/nevernote/>

~~~
gwern
I use Nixnote every so often to export/backup my evernotes. (I learned my
lesson long ago about leaving data like that on a company's servers.) It seems
to work fine for that purpose, although it's Java so installation can be a bit
odd and it sometimes just breaks.

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31reasons
"I actually sleep really well; it's sort of my core competency; I can fall
asleep anywhere, at any time, on command. My brain doesn't understand time
zones and I don't get jet lag. This is my super power. I go to sleep at random
times and wake up at random times, but I probably get about eight hours of
sleep on average. I know how incredibly lucky this makes me."

His brain seems pretty unusual regarding sleep. I never heard something like
this. We need to study his brain asap!

~~~
interpol_p
I have that sleep pattern.

Fall asleep anywhere, any time. Wake up at random hours and do work.

I think it's a product of having your life be your work, or the other way
around.

------
zwieback
I was impressed that that long German word was both spelled correctly and
grammatically internally consistent. It shows an attention to detail that's
often lacking in this day and age and something you don't see often. And I
don't even try to use umlauts on my US keyboard anymore.

------
networkjester
Excellent article. I love Phil's sense of humor. Seems like a great guy
running a great company!

------
TimJRobinson
Anyone know where I can find more in depth articles like this? I'd really like
to see a breakdown of the habits and daily routines of successful people more
than just the normal 'work hard and do something you enjoy and you'll be
successful'

~~~
jfernandez
Not necessarily an article but the video series produced by Kevin Rose,
<http://foundation.kr/>, are pretty insightful into the more human elements of
some of the people you may have heard of.

------
Zolomon
Are you supposed to interpret his answer to the best advice he ever received
as to cheat?

~~~
incision
I guess you could.

My first thought was "He must be a truly terrible player". By the time the
first Konami code game showed up he would have been 14.

~~~
maguay
Most likely it was a joke...

------
lopatin
Interesting that his girl advice was to suppress your geekiness, not own it.

------
dhimes
_Best advice I ever got was: Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right B, A,
Start_

OK, I'll admit it: I had to Google it.

This was a cute read, but there isn't much of a takeaway.

------
Inebas
Can someone explain to me about the best advice he's given? The star trek
enterprise and rearranging it and what does that mean?

~~~
Shank
It's the "only geeks like Star-Trek" cliche. By making it less obvious that
he's into Star-Trek, he's more likely to gain a girl.

~~~
Inebas
Thanks @Shank. So basically, he is saying be less geeky? Btw, not trolling
because I like technology but haven't watched star trek series or even the
first star wars.

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tluyben2
Nice article. And he knows (and likes) the Konami code! Memories of Gradius on
the NES. Don't know if other versions had it?

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xrt
> Also, I want to know how to make Evernote better! Email me and let me know.

I've got a few ideas. What is your email address?

~~~
nvr219
Considering you know his name, title, and company, there are like 4 different
possibilities, just email them all.

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omegote
No wonder why the windows evernote app sucks so much once you realize what a
huge apple fanboy the CEO is.

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jaredcwhite
I think this ranks pretty much up at the top of my list of "Best Interviews
with a CEO _Evah_ "

