I’m Kevin Gibbs, Creator of Google Suggest, and This Is How I Work
Kevin Gibbs has created something you can use every day. Gibbs created Google Suggest before founding workplace software company Quip and selling it to Salesforce. We talked to him about starting and running a company using the company’s own product and the insights that made him a better speaker. His answers are insightful and humble — we are truly proud to present you with this edition of How I Work.
Name: Kevin Gibbs. Location : San Francisco, California. Current place of work: CEO of Quip, Salesforce. One word that best describes how you work: Pac-Man (I only do what is in front of me and I forget everything else). Current mobile device: Pixel 2 XL Current computer: 15-inch MacBook Pro (so I can pretend I’m still writing code)
First of all, tell us a little about your past and how you got where you are now.
I got my first job in technology when I was in high school around 1992. I didn’t write code, but worked with a flatbed scanner, scanned documents for a lawyer. Each scan took about 9 seconds, and then maybe another 15 seconds for the computer to process as I sat and clicked. I know exactly how long each scan took because I can still reproduce the screeching sounds of the scanner in my head. This job really pushed me to go to college. <rimshot>
After completing my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science, I went to work at Google, where I started my career as a software engineer in the systems infrastructure group. I ended up building Google App Engine (Google’s first “cloud computing” product) and Google Suggest. After 8 years of running my own teams at Google, I was eager to start my own company called Quip, which was acquired by Salesforce just over a year ago.
What apps, gadgets or tools can’t you live without?
I love (in no particular order) my Pixel 2 XL, analog watch, and Apple TV. I love my Pixel 2 because I live on my phone. I’m always on the go, but with my phone I can see everything that’s going on and still feel connected to my team at Quip. I love my analog clock because when I’m not working I really enjoy turning everything off and being completely offline. And I love my Apple TV because … I have two young children.
How is your workplace arranged?
I have a desk with a monitor and some knickknacks on it, but to be honest, I never use it. I have to get rid of the table. I do all my work either on my phone or on my laptop. My laptop is designed for high bandwidth document writing and annotation. My phone is designed for talking and documents, and doing the same job in a more stable, low bandwidth mode. I recently installed a time counter on my phone, so I know I spend about an hour a day at Quip (mostly at work), an hour a day in email (at work and personal use), and an hour a day on my laptop.
What’s your best time-saver or life hack?
I know I’m going to appear here as a shilling, but the answer is Kuip. I spend my entire personal and work life on Quip (we have an account switcher so the two halves are easy to separate). This saves me a huge amount of time. My wife and I are planning a weekly dinner menu, our upcoming trips, what we need to do this week on home projects. Then, during those eight hours a day called work, I run all aspects of Quip on Quip.
Who are the people who help you achieve results, and how do you rely on them?
As a CEO, honestly, the answer is everyone . The people closest to me that I answer the most include my leadership team, Patrick Moran, Lori Shedler and Alice Heman, my team of product managers, engineers and our design leader, and of course Amber, who provides executive support to all our team.
I rely on each group in different ways. When it comes to leaders, I try to give them complete autonomy in managing their organizations, and I see my job as helping to set goals and getting feedback. As far as my product management and engineering management team is concerned, I rely on them to balance a lot of autonomy and – when we do our job well – to work in some fusion with me, in terms of my product and management philosophy. …
This is a lofty goal, but when it works, I think it means that we communicate often, but anticipate each other’s goals and needs.
How do you keep track of what you need to do?
I keep track of my to-do list on the Kanban board at Quip. Categories: Today, This Week, and Later. The Kanban board design kind of forces you to limit the total number of things you want to do, like stickers.
Then I have a 1: 1 document in Quip with every person I work closely with attached to my sidebar. Each document has a generic to-do list, which I believe is a really direct way of making requests and keeping track of tasks. Each of us can add work or topics for discussion to it. And I always know if there is anything new to discuss since my sidebar is highlighted with an unread period.
What do you enjoy doing the most and how do you deal with it?
Honestly written and public speaking. (It was difficult!) Any attempt to attract the attention of a wide audience gives me great anxiety, and I tend to be afraid of it. I deal with this by remembering what my wife Paige told me, which is that public speaking is a performance and I’m not a performer by profession. It’s natural that this will make me nervous and that I won’t do the perfect job! It helps me remember to relax and unwind a little. Then I can usually dive into it and have fun.
How do you replenish? What do you do when you want to forget about work?
I think I’m going either high or low: doing sports or disconnecting. I try to exercise for an hour 5 days a week, usually right before work, and in the last two years I have made great strides. It really helps me to reduce stress and get a positive fluid and endorphin release in the morning. Then, after a long day at work and taking care of the children in the evening, I love to sit down and watch TV for an hour. I would like the answer to be “learn Mandarin” or “create a machine learning project”, but I am right here. Also, we live in the golden age of television (” Crazy Ex-girlfriend” or ” Love me , anyone?”).
What’s your favorite side project?
I love to cook and work on projects in the kitchen. So my favorite side project right now is making liqueurs and bitters at home. I launched a large batch of nocino (Italian green walnut liqueur) last spring and I’m interested in checking it out regularly and watching it develop.
What are you reading now or what do you recommend?
I am a big fan of science fiction and fantasy. I started when I was 8 or so, I didn’t stop. Currently, I am urgently awaiting for Qixin Liu and Patrick Rothfuss to finish their next books.
Fill in the blank: I would like ________ to answer these same questions.
Elon Musk. Anyone else answer this question differently? I’m serious.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Be guided by your intuition.