Stritar's chronolog

Tesla Model S is from the future

Wed, 10 Jul 2013 21:39:46 GMT

In two years, we were supposed to have self-lacing shoes, weather control and flying cars. Instead, all we got are non-self-lacing shoes, global warming, and well - no flying cars. Of course, most of us have phones that are more powerful than a typical computer ten years ago, but who cares about that, that doesn't feel like the future. Or a guy that's been singing and broadcasting Space Oddity from space. Or Google's awesome new toy that will take ages to come around. No, that doesn't cut it. We need something that's available to have right here, right now!

Not that Tesla Model S is available to a normal person. But it's here now, and it's definitely from the future.

Welcome aboard

Make yourself comfortable

Ready to takeoff

The rumors are true

Did I mention she's beautiful?

I've had the opportunity to try out how it feels (thanks mihazerko!). The complete package is like nothing you've ever seen before, not even close. Beautiful, silent, high-tech. A spaceship. There aren't any knobs or handles anywhere inside, just screens. Just software, minimal and effective. What an iPad is compared to a PC, Tesla S is compared to a regular car. Which is a fucking huge deal. We have different expectations about the evolution of cars than we do about gadgets. We know computers advance with light speed, but cars have been the same for decades. And they're still not flying.

But Tesla Model S is so awesome it doesn't need to fly to be from the future. It only needs to deliver the experience of it.

Be an apprentice. Evolve as a manager.

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:22:18 GMT

Being a manager is not something that's in my DNA. I'm primarily an engineer, a scientist, a software developer. I find it hard to spend time on governing activities that have no direct output, and prefer doing things rather than guiding and supervising how things are done. Some people are natural organizers, others need to somehow learn and adopt that specific set of technical and social skills that help teams operate smoothly and efficiently. While I may have the technical skills of understanding how things should be done, my problems lie elsewhere.

The truth is, I don't feel that good when I'm telling people what to do, I don't see myself as a superior who sets the goals and awards or punishes people based on their results. At the same time I fully recognize this is something that needs to be done one way or another, otherwise, inefficiency. I must admit I did advance on the field in the past years, since I'm trying hard to learn how to do it. Slowly. And to my great surprise, it seems one of my latest ventures will unexpectedly help me evolve as a manager as well. As you will see, I happened to find myself on the other side of the story.

After many years, even decades, I'm finally an apprentice again! By dedicating multiple 10.000 hours to system architecture, database design, development, (digital) marketing, design and user experience, I've done or heard about pretty much everything that is associated with the fields of software development. That's what I do for living, and even if I embark on something new, I always have enough initial knowledge to prevent me from being an apprentice. Now I understand this fact made me miss out on a few very important realizations that come from being one.

My grandfather has left me this really cool car. A Yugoslavian Zastava 101, built in 1978. She hasn't been driven in about 20 years, but now, the time has come to bring it back to life. My girlfriend's uncle happened to be a car mechanic for 20 years, and he was specialized in repairing Zastavas. Lucky bastard me! He was very happy to help me out, and in the past weeks, we have spent a few session in his garage, coming close to making the beauty run.

I wanted to be there when repairs happen, to help and to learn. Which makes me an apprentice car mechanic. Swiping the floor, cleaning up spark plugs, screwing and unscrewing stuff, holding things aside, moving the flashlight, operating the car jack. I even managed to disassemble the wheels and brakes and felt amazing about it. My teacher is very patient and I don't feel bad at all for being ordered around and doing all the small things. I understand this is my role in this specific project, and I love playing it.

I did this. I will also have to put it back together.

I learned so much already, not only about cars and engines, but about management as well. The most important one being that people don't feel bad if they're ordered what to do, rather the opposite. They need to know why things are happening and how we will get there. It has nothing to do with someone being something more than the other, it's just a person's role in the specific situation. Perhaps those managed will be the ones who will give out orders in a few years, who knows. But today, I'm the one who is expected to do so, and it's becoming clearer, how. It's a bit ironic that I learned that by fixing up an old car that was waiting 20 years for me to take care of it.

Funny, how things are interconnected, how everything is everything. I probably wouldn't perceive the whole apprentice experience the way I do now if I wouldn't be where I am now, but what's even funnier, is that I can imagine having the same epiphany who knows where as well. I was ready for this, this needed to happen. We evolve every day, and sometimes, the next steps are achieved under very weird circumstances. That's why you and I need to do as many crazy things as possible. Being an apprentice somewhere to become a better manager somewhere else? Why not. Life is like a box of chocolates.

Volkswagen. Das Auto. Simply brilliant.

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:57:59 GMT

You know when car manufacturers try to market their products with meaningful slogans? "Today. Tomorrow. Toyota.", "Seat. Auto emoción.", "Ford. Build for the road ahead.", "Citroën. Créative technologie.", "Volvo. For life.", "Audi. Keeping ahead through technology.", "Škoda. Simply clever.", "Porsche. There is no substitute.", "Mercedes. The best or nothing.", "Hyundai. New thinking. New possibilities.", "Cadillac. Creating a higher standard." and similar? I'm sure you do.

These words try to capture the essence of each automotive company, but at the same time unwillingly determine which of them will be perceived similarly. Some try to be technology driven (Toyota, Audi, Citroën), some try to be luxurious and irreplaceable (Mercedes, Porsche, Cadillac), some try to be the rational choice (Škoda), some try to influence emotion (Seat, Citroën), some try to look ahead (Hyundai, Ford) and some try be long lasting (Toyota, Volvo). You have many choices about who you want to be when you're buying a new car.

When presented together, you can see that these slogans are no so different from each other, since it's hard to go over the top with just a few words. But there is a car brand that managed to do just that. I don't own a Volkswagen or have plans to buy one in the future, but I can't help myself - this is simply awesome:

Volkswagen. Das Auto.

"Das" works great. It sounds rough and manly, and it's unmistakably German. The German economy is relatively healthy compared to other countries in Europe, and the quality of German engineering is known worldwide. "Das Auto" or "The (German) Car" symbolizes all of that and much more.

This slogan, even though more simple than all of the above, actually delivers the same the message as all of them combined. Technology driven: checked. Looking ahead: checked. High quality and long lasting: checked. Rational choice (combined with Volkswagen or people's car): checked. And if you have a fetish for German products, like many cultures do, you can check the emotional and luxury component as well. All of it packed in two words that tell everything: Das Auto. I want one.

Trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners.

The Silicon Valley tour, part 7: A few exciting new business models that actually work

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 17:28:22 GMT

Visiting Silicon Valley enabled me too peek into the future a bit. Finding out about new technology trends, meeting disruptive new software startups and seeing fascinating new business models that are proven to work. There are even more futuristic products / services than the ones mentioned in this post, but these are the ones that made the biggest impression on me. And they all share similar competitive advantages: using smartphones and other mobile devices, canceling middlemen and supporting cashless commerce.

Mobile payments and Square

While Square may already be mainstream in the States, something like it is far away from being used in Europe, not to mention Slovenia. Square is focused on mobile payments, and is currently offering three different services:

a credit card reader that you can plug into your mobile device
an iPad register app for merchants, supporting invoices, payments and inventory
an app for paying with your smartphone

Square is on fire, and there are tons of places in San Francisco where you can use it. Electronic payment industry leaders such as PayPal are already looking for ways to conquer the same market.

A place that accepts all major credit cards and Square

Personal chauffeur and Uber

Uber can only be described as taxi on steroids, bypassing the dispatcher. Ok, it's actually a chauffeur. Using a mobile app, you make a request, and one of the drivers answers it. After that, you can see where the driver is, when he will pick you up, how your driver looks like, and get a direct link to call them. A guy in a suit driving a Lincoln picks you up, takes you wherever you want, and after it, you just exit, without paying. You get an invoice on your email, together with the map of the route, and the fare gets deducted from your credit card. It's a bit more expensive than a cab, but still, a pretty awesome service, that will be expanding to other countries soon.

With Uber, you get picked up by a Lincoln like this

Carsharing and Zipcar

The next generation of rent-a-car is called carsharing, and it's offered by Zipcar. No agents, just your card that you use to unlock the car you've rented. Everything happens online, where you make a request for a car, get directed to a designated pick-up area, and the car is already waiting for you there. Petrol is included in the price, and if the fuel tank drops below 1/4, you just use their credit card to top it up. Results: rent-a-car has never been easier, cheaper and less stressful.

One of the Zipcar pick-up places. They are everywhere.

bonus: Co-working and NextSpace

Co-working represents shared offices that people from different startups and companies can use. Besides being cheaper than renting your own office, you also get a chance to spend time with other people, share knowledge and ideas, which is something I found out to be invaluable. NextSpace is an established co-working space in San Francisco, with more than 175 members and packages ranging from a few hundred dollars monthly for a desk to around a thousand for a complete office. Something similar is already happening in Slovenia, so if you are interested, please visit coworking.si.

Tables, offices, conference rooms. All available with NextSpace.

Conclusion

Some of these business models might not work as well outside the curious and tech-savvy culture of Silicon Valley, but they can still help as a demonstrator of things that can be done and an announcer of things to come. Let's face it, in technology, Silicon Valley is still miles ahead, so if you're looking for trends, the smartest thing to do is just to go along with it.

Trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners.

Check out the complete The Silicon Valley tour series.