I’m Carl Pei, Co-Founder of OnePlus, and This Is How I Work
The OnePlus One has caused some shake-up in the market for affordable Android phones: it’s non-contract, works with Cyanogenmod, has good hardware at a reasonable price – and it wasn’t developed in Silicon Valley but hails from Shenzhen.
OnePlus was founded in 2013 with the slogan “never settle,” and the multinational team is committed to delivering the best devices they can get without compromise. Carl Pei is the company’s co-founder and CEO of OnePlus Global. We spoke with Karl to find out a little about how he interacts with the team, including those far from the headquarters in Shenzhen, and how he works.
Location : OnePlus Headquarters, Shenzhen. Current job position : Co-founder and CEO of OnePlus Global. Current mobile device : OnePlus One. Current computer : Apple iMac 27 “
What apps, software or tools can’t you live without? Why?
From day one of using OnePlus, we have used several tools that have really helped us as we grow. One of them is WeChat , a messaging app that is especially useful for large group chats. It’s an easy way to send pictures, voice memos, and tag people to get their attention in large chats. It also allows us to stay connected and informed when people are out of the office.
Google Drive is also a key tool for our company. We’re a very close-knit team that travels frequently, so real-time editing and the ability to save your work to the cloud and take it to another device are critical.
The most important tool that I personally have is my phone; it probably comes as no surprise that I use One. Recently, this is the easiest way to keep everything in one place and with excellent battery life.
I used to wear Google Glass too, but didn’t see the development that I think most people expected, so I sold it.
How is your workplace arranged?
My workplace is really very dirty. I try to do all my work in the office and not take it home. This often means that I am very late and there are a lot of things on my desk.
My workstation consists of a 27-inch iMac with Magic Trackpad to the left of the keyboard. For music, I use the nuForce u-DAC 2 and theGraham Slee Solo amplifier along with the Sennheiser HD650s . This is bliss.
I also have a small figure of Steve Jobs who accompanied me throughout my career. I like it when he is there; it reminds me to strive for excellence and never stop there.
What’s your best time-saver or life hack?
I’ve tried many different types of hacks, but haven’t been able to apply any of them in the long run. The addition of a gym in our office has been a huge help lately. It’s pretty small with no bells and whistles, but it’s a huge time-saver if you just walk a few feet instead of driving somewhere. It’s also a good way to clear my head and get away from work, ultimately making me use my time more efficiently.
If I’ve learned anything over the past year, it’s that there are no shortcuts in the early stages of a startup; you just need to take the time to be successful. I think anyone who says otherwise at a startup is either not effective enough or has gone through the early stages and is confident in their short-term survival.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
My inbox and calendar are my main to-do lists. When we were smaller, a lot happened in person or through messaging apps. We try to be better organized and better document things with tools like Asana, Trello and Jira ; we are still experimenting and open to suggestions!
Things are constantly changing for us, and lately I’ve found that I spend most of my time talking with people, so now I need less personal to-do lists and more need a well-organized calendar.
What device, besides a phone and a computer, can you not live without and why?
I’ve been spending a lot of time with my Kindle Paperwhite lately. This is much better than looking at a bright screen, and in terms of volume, such an improvement over traditional books!
I love trying the latest gadgets, but often end up giving them away if I don’t really like them. I ditched Glass after a couple of months and have yet to find a smartwatch that I like , although many have a Moto 360 in the office. I’ve learned more about photography lately, so my last big tech purchase was the Leica M240 .
What are some of your best everyday activities?
There are dozens of foreign colleagues at our headquarters in Shenzhen. Many of our Chinese colleagues speak English, and in fact many foreign colleagues speak Chinese very well, but sometimes our deeper meaning can be lost in translation.
I was born in China, moved to the US for a couple of years, and then grew up mainly in Sweden, so I believe I can communicate complex nuances or colloquial expressions well in different languages.
What do you listen to while you work?
The quality of the music is important to me, and I try to listen to as much music as possible without loss. Currently I really like the latest Coldplay album, Ghost Stories. I also listen to John Mayer a lot.
I also listen to Pandora and Spotify radio a lot. I was drawn to the great music thanks to the generated playlists that I would never have found myself.
What are you reading now?
I just finished The Hard Thing About Hard Things , a book written by Ben Horowitz about his experience in overcoming the difficulties of startups. We face the same scaling challenges as many other startups, and it’s good to see how others are dealing with them.
As we grow, we also find better ways to manage our team as we become a more global and geographically dispersed company. I found How Google Works by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg is really inspiring. It included many new ideas for running any business, but especially best practices for companies trying to survive in today’s technology industry.
Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?
It really depends on what I am doing. I get bored quickly and can seem aloof at times. But if I’m interested, I’ll be very passionate about it.
What is your sleep pattern?
I usually try to sleep at midnight for eight hours and use my phone as an alarm clock. As I travel more and more, I need to find ways to deal with the jetlag. The best methods I’ve found so far are to stay awake long before the flight and have a glass of wine as soon as I board the plane so that I can try to sleep most of the way. I also tried small doses of melatonin to try and get into the correct time zone and stay out of the sun as much as possible.
Fill in the blank: I would like _________ to answer these same questions.
Jeff Bezos. He thinks for a long time and has built an incredibly strong business. I want to know how he juggles with all this!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
This is actually a quote from Steve Jobs from his famous Stanford University admission speech . He said that everything around you was created by someone at some point. If others can create and change things, so can you. It has stuck with me since I heard it, and gave me the courage to entertain and implement some of my more outlandish ideas.