One of Evernote CEO Phil Libin’s primary responsibilities is influencing—guiding the activities of Evernote employees to enhance the accomplishment of organizational objectives. Libin could perform this function by leading such individuals as division managers or software engineers, by motivating them to do better jobs, by working well with various groups of employees, by encouraging creativity and innovation, and by communicating successfully with employees.

Of all of these influencing activities, however, communicating should be especially important to Libin. Communication is the main tool through which Libin and his leadership team should, at least to some extent, accomplish their duties. As an example in the Challenge Case, his announcements at weekly all-employee meetings contribute to his goal of ensuring that employees understand how their work contributes to the company’s larger vision. Almost any impact (planning, organizing, or controlling) Libin plans to exert on Evernote will require him to communicate with other Evernote employees. In essence, Libin must be a good communicator if he is to be a successful manager at Evernote.

In discussing Phil Libin’s ability to communicate, we are actually discussing his ability to share ideas with other Evernote employees. For Libin to be a successful communicator, he must concentrate on the three essential elements of the communication process. The first element is the source—the individual who wishes to share information with another. For example, when Libin is sharing the company’s vision with employees, he is the source. The second element is the signal—the message transmitted by Libin. The third element is the destination—in this example, the Evernote employees with whom Libin wishes to share information. Libin should communicate with Evernote employees by determining what information he wants to share, encoding the information, and then transmitting the message. The employees will then interpret the message and respond accordingly. Libin’s communication is successful if subordinates interpret messages as he intends.

If Libin is to be a successful communicator, he must minimize the impact of numerous communication barriers. These barriers include the following:

1. Evernote employees needing to have more information and more complex information to do their jobs

2. Message interference

3. Libin’s view of the destination as well as the destination’s view of Libin

4. The perceptual process of the people involved in the communication attempt

5. Multimeaning words

The employees’ reactions to Libin’s messages can provide him with perhaps his most useful tool for making communication successful—feedback. When feedback does not seem appropriate, Libin should transmit another message to clarify the meaning of his first message. He must be alert to both verbal and nonverbal feedback. Over time, if feedback indicates that Libin is a relatively unsuccessful communicator, he should analyze the situation carefully to improve his communication effectiveness. He might find, for instance, that he is using vocabulary that is generally inappropriate for certain employees or that he is not following one or more of the 10 commandments of good communication.

In addition, Libin must remember that he can communicate without using words. His facial expressions, gestures, and even the tone of his voice convey things to people. Most of Libin’s communication situations involve both verbal and nonverbal messages to Evernote employees. Because the impact of a message may be generated mostly by its nonverbal components, Libin must be certain that his nonverbal messages complement his verbal messages. For example, with his use of a robot to visit employees’ work areas, as mentioned in the Challenge Case, Libin conveys the message that he wants employees to interact with him even when he is away from the office.

As CEO of Evernote, Phil Libin must strive to understand the intricacies of organizational communication—that is, interpersonal communication as it takes place within the organization. The success of organizational communication at Evernote is an important factor in determining the company’s level of success. Libin can communicate with his people in two basic ways: formally and informally.

In general, Libin’s formal communication should follow the lines on the organization chart. Libin can communicate downward to, for example, divisional managers or upward to, for example, Evernote’s board of directors. Libin’s downward communication will commonly focus on the company’s vision and the activities subordinates are performing. His upward communication will usually illustrate how the company is performing. Because Libin is CEO and has no one else at the same level within the organization, he would not communicate laterally. He should, however, take steps to ensure that lateral communication does occur at other organizational levels in order to enhance planning and coordination at Evernote.

It is certain that an extensive grapevine exists at Evernote. Although the company grapevine must be dealt with, Libin may not be able to influence it significantly. Evernote employees, like employees at any other company, typically are involved in grapevines for self-interest and because the formal organization has not furnished them with the information they believe they need.

By developing various social relationships, Libin could conceivably become part of the grapevine and obtain valuable feedback from it. Also, because grapevines generate rumors that could have a detrimental effect on Evernote’s success, Libin should try to ensure that personnel are given, through formal organization communication, all the information they need to do their jobs well, thereby reducing the need for a grapevine.

Because formal organizational communication is vitally important to Evernote, Libin should try to encourage its flow as much as possible. By listening intently to messages that come to him over formal channels, supporting the flow of clear messages, and making sure that all Evernote employees have access to these channels, Libin can make sure that Evernote’s communication is the best it can be.