Taking Note: Conversations with Evernote

A new year is a time for new beginnings, whether we’re pursuing a goal, changing careers… or re-launching a podcast. In the premiere episode of Taking Note, leadership mentor Michael Hyatt explains how clarity, discomfort, and courage can help you turn New Years resolutions into lasting achievements.

Want to be more organized? You want to meet Joshua Zerkel, a Certified Professional Organizer who travels the world running Evernote’s community programs. In the first half of a two-part conversation, Josh reveals the hidden source of organizational frustration, suggests an easy way to gain control over clutter, and tells us how he wound up with such a cool job in the first place.

In Part 1 of a two-part conversation with productivity consultant Tiago Forte, we look at the chaos of the modern workplace, the virtues of small-batch productivity vs. deep work, and the system Tiago has devised to organize his thinking in Evernote.

For the second episode of "Taking Note," we chat with tech evangelist Guy Kawasaki about how he juggles his busy schedule, talk Canva and Apple, and discuss "earning the right to promote" on social media. We also get the lowdown on recent company news from three members of the Evernote management team.

In the second half of our conversation, organization expert and Evernote Community director Joshua Zerkel tells us how he structures his time and notes to help him focus. He also explains how his job connects productivity enthusiasts around the world, and how you can get involved.

In the second half of our interview with productivity consultant Tiago Forte, we look deeper into his approach to note-taking, avoiding the perfection trap, and finding the place where productivity and creativity meet.    Please note that this episode builds on concepts introduced in Episode 5, such as the “PARA” organizing system (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives) and Tiago's argument for breaking down work projects into “intermediate packets.”

Feedback is hard, but it's essential if we want to learn, grow, and succeed. In this episode, we talk with Kim Scott, author of the book "Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity," about how building a culture of candor at work can help us all become more effective in whatever we do. We also check in with Evernote's Director of Customer Experience to learn how Evernote’s customer support and Help Center are working to address feedback from the public.

If your organization has an online presence, you'd better be thinking about content strategy. But as Kristina Halvorson of Brain Traffic explains, it's not just a matter of what you say, but how well your content serves your readers or customers. Kristina explains the fundamentals and more in an engaging interview. We also hear from Beat Bühlmann, Evernote's GM of EMEA, who tells us about his system of personal development. Beat's "Swiss PDP Approach" goes beyond standard concepts of work/life balance to get to the center of who we are as individuals.

Jess Lee is currently a Partner at Sequoia Capital, and was the Co-Founder & CEO of Polyvore until 2016. Jess first began her career as a project manager at Google where she learned some important lessons about company culture.   Jess made use of those lessons at Polyvore, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2015. Although she was inexperienced as a CEO at the time, she took the challenge in stride and surrounded herself with amazing talent to help grow the company.   In this episode, Jess discusses what she learned at Google, how it helped her career at Polyvore, why some companies are unable to cultivate good company culture, and why women in the tech industry are still struggling to get ahead. She also shares her methods for staying grounded and organized throughout her day.   Highlights: [1:20] What does Jess’s work week typically look like? [2:00] What motivates Jess? [2:30] How did Jess end up working for Google? [4:00] What is Polyvore? [6:10] What skills from her time at Google did Jess bring to Polyvore? [6:50] When Jess first joined Polyvore, there were only 4 people on the team. Over time, they grew to 125 people. [7:20] What kind of important leadership lessons did Jess learn as Polyvore was growing? [8:00] It took Jess a while to figure out what her leadership style was and how to lead authentically. [9:35] If you’re not an experienced CEO, surround yourself with awesome and inspiring people, to help you fill in the gaps. [10:20] As an introvert, how does Jess survive in an extrovert-dominated environment? [11:55] What is Jess most proud of from her time at Polyvore? [12:55] Jess is now in venture capital, why the shift? [14:20] How does Jess help entrepreneurs save time? [14:55] What areas of innovation have Jess’s attention right now? [16:55] What are some of the biggest roadblocks to companies trying to innovate? [18:30] How can companies welcome innovation when they start to get larger than life? [20:00] When does an entrepreneur know they have a ‘good’ idea? [20:40] About to start your first company? Build something useful, and delightful! Also remember, good companies take a while to grow. Polyvore was an 8.5 year journey. [22:25] Why is it still difficult for women to get ahead in the tech industry? [24:55] How can we fix toxic culture? [26:45] How does culture impact innovation and creativity? [28:45] From a VC standpoint, what does Jess look for in a company? [30:25] Empathy is important in business. You need to be able to put yourself in other people’s shoes. [33:50] What is Jess’s daily routine? [36:10] How does Jess manage information overload? [36:40] Fun fact: Jess is a huge fan of comics and anime! [38:25] What’s next for Jess?

Too often, we let life become something that happens to us, rather than something that comes from within. We forget that we can be in control of ourselves. And we forget that the people around us can help, if we just take the time to build strong relationships. So how do we break out of our ruts and regain clarity? How do we reclaim those dusty, forgotten goals we might have set back in January, or even decades ago? And how do we build the trust and influence that will get others on board, so those goals can become a reality? In this episode of Taking Note, we’ll hear from two experts who can guide us there. First, we invited leadership mentor Michael Hyatt to tell us how we can reconnect with our goals and have the best year ever, no matter what month you start counting from. Then, we’ll hear a conversation with Marvell Allen, a coach who helps people discover their leadership potential in the office, regardless of experience or job title.