Evernote 的執行長，同時也是科技公司的連續創業者 Phil Libin 過去在聽到別人認為 Evernote 是一種數位筆記本後總會很生氣。他將這項產品視為頭腦的延伸，雖然它只完成了百分之五。然而，最近他學會這樣的歸類。畢竟是一群謙虛的做筆記者，透過將 Evernote 整個更新為更優質的版本，並包含光學識別字元(對做生意用的名片和收據來說很好用)以及共同編輯筆記的功能(適合團隊合作)，才能讓來自美國加州紅杉市的 Evernote 在2011年開始獲利。今年，Evernote 為滿足 Libin 更大的野心，希望能變成像行動裝置上的微軟 Office 一樣，而不斷擴大規模，造成公司又再次負債累累。又或者，如同 Libin 在與 WIRED (美國科技公司)的訪談中提到的 : 「就像為頭腦設計的 Nike。」
Evernote 330個員工被分成許多小組，每組不超過8個人，對 Libin 來說這樣剛好能讓組員圍著桌子進行簡單的討論。沒有一組的專案能做超過9個月，也沒有組別能彼此分享程式碼(這對矽谷的軟體界來說是罪不可赦的)。最近一個陽光普照的星期五，當工程師們在他背後努力重寫 iPhone 和 iPad 版的 Evernote 時，我們問了 Libin 許多和公司的過去、現在、未來有關的問題。
(以下為訪談內容)
WIRED : 現在大家都做浸入式的遊戲 app、畫圖的 app、音樂的 app、社交的 app。你卻選擇做相較之下非常無聊的筆記 app，為什麼?
Libin : 我們想為自己做一些東西。我們的想法是希望能讓所有人以最簡單的方法記下想到的資訊，不論是以聲音、圖像、文字、網頁擷取或文件都可以。這是一個你可以把所有東西都放進來，並隨時可以找到的地方。我們可以替白板照張相並搜尋上面的文字。從這個想法又衍伸出其他的識別問題。我們希望可以重新定義生產力該有的樣子。我們從不認為 Evernote 只是個筆記軟體，而是我們的另一個頭腦。
WIRED : 今天的 Evernote 已經是理想中的樣子，還是仍在朝理想目標前進?
Libin : 當然是仍在朝目標前進。我們是一個要維持百年的新創產業。幾個禮拜前我們才度過五周年紀念日，所以我們只完成了百分之五。
WIRED : 你認為你們的產品會朝哪個方向前進?
Libin : 最讓我讚嘆的公司是 Nike。Nike 新創時已有 Adidas、Puma 和其他傑出的運動鞋品牌，但他們是最先突破主流的品牌。Nike 現在已是那些渴望或認為自己是運動員的人心中象徵性的品牌。我們希望 Evernote 可以成為那些渴望或自認為聰明又多產的人心中象徵性的品牌。
這將會變成實體產品和數位產品的結合。這就是一個百年產業運作的方式。
WIRED : 現在有一些競爭力強的公司自認為能讓人們變得聰明而多產。例如微軟和 Google，這只是其中二例。
Libin : 我們之間永遠都會有競爭。2008年的時候，我們有全世界最糟糕的風險投資提案。當時正值金融危機，我們才剛成立 Evernote 所以也沒有任何引響力。我走進投資人的辦公室時大概會說 : 「我們打算做一個能讓你在電腦和手機上記錄東西的軟體，然後我們打算免費提供。我可以有一千萬的資金嗎?」通常我們會被趕出來，但有些投資人出於禮貌會問一些問題，第一個問題通常是 : 「誰是你的競爭對手?」這問題並不會讓提案變得比較好，因為我會說 : 「每台電腦、手機、個人數位助理或其他已被發行裝置，都已經有免費又好用的筆記軟體了。」但我們從沒那樣想過。與我們合作，同時也是我們最多客戶來源的五家公司 Apple、Google、Microsoft、Facebook、Amazon (沒有按照順序)，他們同時也是我們的競爭者。這個行業就是如此。當你早晨起來時如果能夠思考 : 「我今天要建造什麼好東西?」而不是想 : 「今天誰是我的敵人?我今天要打敗誰?」那麼你就可以活得比較快樂。
我們要贏過其他做得很好又令人驚豔的大公司，就只能靠做出非常好的產品。我們將會花費所有的時間找出如何讓我們產品變得更好。
WIRED : 百年計畫似乎在暗示 Evernote 將創造出比記事軟體更複雜的產品。
Libin : 我們現在想的東西都不夠聰明，我們希望能讓它變得更聰明。Evernote 的目標就是要讓公司變得更智慧。會議是壞決定和愚笨的主要來源之一，過去 20年開會文化就漸漸腐敗了，所以我們正努力改善中。
另一個思考的方法就是透過連線時間。Micorsoft Office 過去25年都是生產力的代表。它的連線時間大約是一到二小時，所以你通常是坐在個人電腦前使用 Word 或 Excel 打字。智慧型手機讓連線時間縮短至二到五分鐘。那就是為何我認為 Microsoft 要進攻行動裝置市場是有困難的，因為他們的想法基本上是不同的。「我要如何在兩分鐘以內生產出東西?」那就不會是用 Office。
再過幾年不同的裝置又將讓平均連線時間縮短至幾秒鐘。例如 Google Glass。而你的智慧型手錶大約只需瞥一眼，也就是一秒的連線時間。你將會找到更多的例子來定義生產力。將會和現在的智慧型手機很不一樣，就如同智慧型手機與桌上型電腦的不同。
WIRED : 產品的使用者有哪些人?
Libin : 不知道如何讓工作與生活平衡的人都是。他們總是忙著思考每一件事。那些星期六晚上11點仍在回覆 email 的人，或是在辦公室閱讀餐廳評論和推薦的人也是。總之就是現代靠著知識工作的人。
WIRED : 很多記者都是你們產品的使用者，那是好事還是壞事?
Libin : 那是好事，這是規劃好的。我們很早就說過希望 Evernote 對記者和投資人來說很好用，並且試著做出這樣的東西。因此當我們向創投公司提案時，有一半的機會他們會在會議中使用 Evernote。對記者來說也是如此。這是一個非常有效的策略。
WIRED : 最近公司的情況如何?
Libin : 公司情況非常好。我們正在漸漸擴張，所以有更多事需要關注。大概幾個月之前我可能認識這裡的每個人，但似乎一夕之間公司人數就從100人變為300人。我才離開公司大約一到兩個禮拜，這裡就多出許多生面孔。
我似乎花費我所有的時間在煩惱文化、團隊、規模的問題。我們非常小心何時公司會失去創新能力並衰敗。我想那是當有員工雖然在工作卻不知道為何他們要這麼做，並且覺得這是一件愚蠢的事情。我想關鍵就是我們必須隨時對抗這種情況。
WIRED : 你們做了什麼來預防這種情況發生?
Libin : 我們每個禮拜都會在中央樓梯那舉行20分鐘到半個小時的員工大會。通常都是我發言，有時也會由其他人發言。我們會介紹新員工並討論一些重要的事情。但百分之八十的時間都在為員工們不該有的感覺訂下標準，然後我們就會開始隨意聊天。主管會議時我會確保每位主管都知道他們的責任並且不要在工作場所製造神祕感。所有人都不該有「我不了解為何事情會這樣發展」的感覺。有時這不可避免的會發生，解決方法就是抓住這感覺並在它擴散之前改正它。
WIRED : 你最近在忙些什麼?有什麼有趣的事嗎?
Libin : 我妻子出城去了所以我要開始
工作了(大笑)。通常假日時我都試著只工作半天這樣才能和妻子一起做事。但她在紐約拜訪家人，所以我就會像是「好吧!多了兩個完整的工作天!」。我就住在附近的山丘之間，我將會坐在沙發上，伴隨我的筆電和好用的 Sonos 戶外喇叭。就像我說的，Evernote 大部分的用戶都無法在工作和生活間平衡，我就是最好的例子。
(延伸閱讀 >> Evernote : 與行動裝置完美結合的筆記本)
原文(來源:wired.com) :
Evernote Wants to Become the Nike for Your Brain: 10 Questions With CEO Phil Libin
Evernote is known for its eponymous note-taking app, a seemingly modest piece of software that has brought in a heap of money. Evernote has topped 10 million downloads in the iOS and Android app stores and accumulated more than 65 million users across its mobile, web, and desktop versions.
CEO and serial tech entrepreneur Phil Libin used to bristle when people would refer to Evernote as a digital notebook. He sees the product as an extension of the mind, albeit one that’s only about 5 percent complete. These days, though, he’s learned to embrace the pigeonholing. After all, it was humble note-takers who brought Redwood City, California-based Evernote to profitability in 2011 by upgrading en masse to a premium version that includes optical character recognition (handy for pictures of business cards and receipts) and collaborative note editing (great for workgroups).
This year, Evernote is in the red again as the company scales up to reach Libin’s bigger ambition — becoming something like Microsoft Office for mobile devices. Or, as Libin put it in an hourlong interview with WIRED, “like Nike for your mind.”
Evernote’s staff of 330 is divided into teams of no more than eight members — small enough, as Libin sees it, to sit around a dinner table and have a single conversation. No team project can last more than nine months, and none of the teams share any code, which is something close to sacrilege among the software priests of Silicon Valley. One recent sunny Friday, while programmers behind him raced to rewrite the iPhone and iPad versions of Evernote from scratch, we pelted Libin with questions about the past, present, and future of his company.
WIRED: People make apps that are immersive video games. They make painting apps. They make music apps. They make social networking apps. You chose to make a note-taking app, which in comparison could seem pretty boring. Why notes?
Libin: We wanted to make something for ourselves. The idea was to let you remember all the information coming at you in whatever way was easiest at the time, whether it was audio, images, text, web clips, or documents. One place where you can put everything and always be able to find it. We would take a picture of the white board and search for the words in it and find it. Then from there it grew to other cognitive problems. We wanted to make a new definition of what productivity should be. We never thought Evernote was notetaking. We thought of it as an external brain.
WIRED: Is today’s Evernote the realization of the vision or a step toward the vision?
Libin: It’s definitely just a step. We’re a hundred-year startup. We had our five-year anniversary a few weeks ago, so we are five percent done.
WIRED: Where do you see the product going?
Libin: The company that most inspires me is Nike. Nike started out with Adidas and Puma and all those other athletic shoe brands that are very niche. Nike was the first mainstream breakout brand. They’ve become the signature brand for people who aspire to, or self-identify as, being athletic. We want Evernote to be the signature brand for people who aspire to, or self-identify as, being smart, as being productive.
It will be a combination of physical products and digital products at the intersection of those two things. That’s the hundred-year brand play.
WIRED: There are some formidable companies who see themselves making smart people productive. Microsoft and Google, to name just two.
Libin: There’s always been infinite competition for us. We had the world’s worst venture capital pitch back in 2008. It was the height of the financial crisis and we had just launched Evernote so we didn’t have any traction yet. And I’d go in like, “We’re going to make this thing that’s going to let you write things down on computers and phones and we’re going to give it away for free. Can I have $10 million?” Usually they would throw us out, but sometimes out of politeness the VCs would ask some questions and the first question was always, “Who is your competition?” And the pitch didn’t get better at that point, because I was like, “Well, every single computer or phone or PDA or any other device that’s ever been released. They already come with free note-taking software that’s pretty good.”.
But we’ve never thought about it. The top five companies that we probably get the most users from, that we are partnering with are, not necessarily in order, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon, and all five of them compete with us in some way. That’s what life is. It’s a much happier way to live your life if you wake up in the morning and you think, “What I am going to build that’s great?”, not if you wake up saying, “Who are my enemies today, who do I have to beat?”
The way we’re going to succeed against all these other fantastic, inspiring, great companies, is just by making really great products. We’re going to spend all our time figuring out how to make our stuff better.
WIRED: A 100-year plan seems to imply Evernote will be creating products that allow you to create things a little more complex than text notes.
Libin: Anything that we think is stupid right now, we want to make it a little bit smarter. Evernote Business is aimed at making companies smarter. Meetings are a giant source of bad decisions and stupidity; meeting culture has become completely corrupted over the past 20 years, so we’re working on that.
Another way to think about it is session lengths. Microsoft Office was the definition of productivity for like 25 years. The average session length was probably an hour or two. You would sit down at your PC and you would like type stuff on Word or Excel. Then smartphones shrank the average session time to like two minutes, maybe five minutes. That’s part of why I think Microsoft is continuing to have a such a hard time getting into mobile, because it’s a fundamentally different way of thinking. “What can I do to be productive two minutes at a time?” It isn’t Office.
Over the next couple of years the different devices are going to shrink the average session times to seconds. So the session time for Glass is going to be a few seconds. The session time for your (smart) watch is going to be a glance, just like a second. You will have to come up with new use cases, new definitions of what it means to be productive. That is going to be just as different from mobile phones as mobile phones were over desktops.
WIRED: Who are your users?
Libin: Someone who has a poor understanding of life-work balance. They’re always thinking about everything. Someone who’s answering email at 11 p.m. on a Saturday, but also someone who’s reading restaurant reviews and recommendations at the office. The modern knowledge worker.
WIRED: You have a lot of journalists who are users. Is that a blessing or a curse?
Libin: It is a blessing. It was intentional. We specifically said early on that we wanted Evernote to be great for journalists and investors, and tried to make something so that when we went to pitch a venture capital firm, chances are half of them were sitting there using Evernote during the meeting. And the same thing with journalists. That was an effective strategy.
WIRED: What’s business like these days?
Libin: Business is great. We’re getting bigger, so there’s more and more things to keep track of. Up to a few months ago I probably knew everyone. But then it seems like overnight we went from 100 people to 300. I’m out of the office for a week or two and come back there’s all these people that I’ve never seen before.
I probably spend most of my time worrying about the culture, and the team, and then scaling. We’re very careful about when does a company stop being a startup and become something worse. I think it’s when you get one employee who’s doing a job and they don’t know why they’re doing it. And they kind of think it’s stupid. I think the key is just to militantly fight that.
WIRED: What’s in place to prevent that kind of thing from happening?
Libin: We have a weekly all-hands meeting that’s 20 minutes to a half hour on the central stairs over there. Usually with me, sometimes we have other people speak. We introduce new employees, and we talk about important things, and 80 percent of it is just setting the tone that you should never feel that way. And then, just walk around and talk, and in all the managers’ meetings I make sure that all the managers know that it’s their responsibility to not have mystery in the office. There should be no sense of, “I don’t understand why something is going on.” It inevitably happens from time to time, but the idea is to just catch it and correct it before it spreads.
WIRED: What are you up to this weekend — anything fun?
Libin: My wife is out of town so I’m going to work. (Laughs.) Usually I try to work only half a day on the weekend so we can do stuff together, but she’s visiting her family in New York, so I’m like, “Alright! Two solid days of work!” I live around here, in those hills. I’m going to sit on my porch with my laptop, and my nice Sonos outdoor speakers. Like I said, the average Evernote user has no work/life balance, and I’m the target customer.
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