Mika Tienhaara's See Beyond Show: Recent Episodes
Mika Tienhaara
Business, Technology, Innovation, Startups - I invite people to bring their own expertise and profound knowledge to the audience.
mikatienhaara.substack.com
Building the “Intelligent Facilities of the Future”
It was a real privilege to host two Houston-based energy superstars - Amy Henry and Thomas Henry - for a dynamic and thought-provoking conversation on the future of energy, infrastructure, and innovation.
Amy Henry, CEO of Trident Energy Group and a seasoned leader with roots in Shell and venture building, brings decades of experience at the intersection of technology, commercialization, and the evolving energy landscape.
Alongside her, Thomas Henry - a highly experienced project delivery leader and Chief Development Officer, known for driving large-scale energy infrastructure projects — jumped straight into the discussion with his trademark passion (so much so that he forgot to introduce himself!) - he is clearly Mr. Passionate!
🚀 From “Midlife Crisis” to a New Energy Paradigm
What started humorously as Amy’s “midlife crisis” is in fact a bold and timely venture: Trident Energy Group - an IPP focused on building, owning, and operating next-generation energy infrastructure.
Their vision goes far beyond traditional asset development. At its core is the concept of “Intelligent Facilities of the Future” - digitally native, AI-enabled infrastructure that integrates:
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Real-time data and neural networks across assets
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Digital twins and contextualized models from day one
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Autonomous operations to optimize performance and flexibility
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Seamless interaction with data centers and industrial demand
The ambition? To move from slow, linear project delivery cycles toward adaptive, responsive, and truly digital infrastructure ecosystems.
⚡ Closing the Gap: AI Meets Energy Infrastructure
A central theme of the discussion was the massive disconnect between traditional energy project timelines (7–10 years) and the rapid scaling needs of data centers (12–18 months).
Amy highlighted how AI is already compressing engineering timelines from weeks to hours, fundamentally altering how infrastructure can be designed and deployed.
This convergence is not theoretical - it’s happening now. The question is no longer if the industry will change, but how fast it can adapt.
🧩 Scaling Innovation: The Real Barriers
Thomas laid out a clear framework for what it takes to move technologies from concept to scale:
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Lower costs through learning curves and manufacturing scale
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Build enabling infrastructure (e.g., grids, pipelines, storage)
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Accelerate deployment from pilot to commercial
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Ensure stable regulatory frameworks
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Strengthen collaboration across stakeholders
But perhaps the most important insight:👉 The biggest barriers are not technical — they are commercial, financial, and organizational.
Who carries the risk? Who pays? And how do you align incentives across developers, investors, governments, and customers?
🌍 Why Houston? A Unique Energy Ecosystem
Houston emerged as a key enabler in this story — not just as an energy capital, but as a living laboratory for the energy transition:
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Existing industrial scale and infrastructure
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Carbon management and CCS potential
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Strong investment and talent inflows
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A culture of execution, not just innovation
In short: a place where new ideas can actually be deployed and scaled.
🔄 Rethinking the System - Not Just the Technology
One of the strongest messages was the need to move beyond incremental optimization:
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It’s not about improving a single technology
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It’s about re-engineering entire systems and value chains
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And ensuring organizations are ready to adopt change
This includes rethinking how projects are financed, delivered, and operated — and designing assets that can evolve over decades, not just meet today’s needs.
🌱 A Call to Action
Amy shared a powerful reflection: the real “valley of death” may not just apply to startups - but to the energy industry itself if it fails to adapt.
The opportunity ahead is immense:
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Build smarter infrastructure
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Accelerate decarbonization
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Improve affordability and access to energy
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And bring together technology, capital, and people in new ways
🔮 Looking Ahead
In the next 3–5 years, the ambition is clear:
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Demonstrate the viability of intelligent, digitally native energy assets
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Expand from greenfield into brownfield transformation
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And inspire a broader shift in how infrastructure is conceived globally
💬 A huge thank you to Amy and Thomas for sharing their insights, energy, and vision. This is a journey worth following - and perhaps even joining.
/Mika - See Beyond Show
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What does it really take to scale the energy transition - from hype to hard infrastructure?
In this episode of See Beyond, Mika Tienhaara sits down with Jeremiah Dutton from InnoEnergy to unpack why the future isn’t just about breakthrough technologies - but about building ecosystems, managing risk, and re-industrializing Europe. From carbon capture to e-fuels, this is a grounded look at how big ideas become real-world impact.
Top 5 Learnings & Conclusions
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Scaling = Collaboration, not competitionLarge energy transition projects only work when multiple industrial players collaborate to share risk and align value chains.
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The Nordics have structural advantagesStrong grids, access to low-cost green energy, and CO₂ storage capacity make the region a leading hub for energy-intensive transition projects.
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Hype cycles hide real opportunitiesWhile hydrogen hype cooled, sectors like aviation e-fuels—and electrification—remain critical and underappreciated.
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This is industrial, not digital scalingEnergy transition projects are long-term, capital-intensive, and infrastructure-heavy—requiring patience, realism, thorough de-risking and strong partnerships.
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Transparency builds credibility and progressSuccess depends on honest communication about risks, timelines, and dependencies—especially in first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects driven by regulation and evolving markets.
Tune in to hear practical insights from the frontline of climate tech and industrial scale-up.
SeeBeyond #EnergyTransition #ClimateTech #InnoEnergy #Sustainability #IndustrialTransformation #Leadership #Podcast
/Mika, the creator and host of the See Beyond show
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In this episode of See Beyond, Mika Tienhaara hosts Steven Puri, founder and CEO of The Sukha Company, to explore the concept of flow states and their role in productivity, creativity, and well-being in an increasingly digital and distracted world. Steven shares his fascinating journey from Hollywood film production—where he worked on blockbuster movies like Independence Day—to becoming a tech entrepreneur focused on helping people achieve deep work and fulfillment.
The conversation touches on:
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Origins of the See Beyond podcast during the pandemic as a way to give back and foster meaningful discussions.
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Steven’s personal story: overcoming cancer, becoming a parent, and shifting from entertainment to tech with a mission to help people focus.
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The science and psychology of flow, based on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s seminal work, and why it’s essential in a world where repetitive tasks are increasingly automated by AI.
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Practical tools and triggers for entering flow states, including music (60–90 BPM, non-vocal), environmental sounds (rain, coffee shop ambience), and distraction blockers.
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The importance of community and accountability in sustaining focus, drawing parallels to Nike Run Club and creative hubs like coffee shops.
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Steven’s platform, The Sukha, which integrates timers, curated music, and community features to help users achieve flow and accomplish meaningful work.
Key Takeaways
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Flow State Defined: A mental state of deep focus where time perception fades, distractions disappear, and productivity peaks.
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Why Flow Matters: In an era of AI and automation, creativity and deep work remain uniquely human advantages.
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Triggers for Flow:
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Music with specific characteristics (60–90 BPM, instrumental, repetitive patterns).
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Environmental cues like rain sounds or coffee shop ambience.
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Tools to minimize distractions (e.g., Chrome extensions).
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Community Amplifies Success: Shared accountability and encouragement help individuals sustain focus and achieve goals.
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Practical Access: The Sukha platform offers free trials, curated playlists, and a supportive community to help users build a flow practice.
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Mindset Shift: Moving from passive consumption (social media) to intentional creation is key to personal fulfillment.
Any own experiences or best practices to share, how to make your working day (especially for remote work) free from distractions and both productive and healthy?
Please share in the comments!
/Mika Tienhaara, creator and host of the SEE BEYOND.
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Episode #55 of The See Beyond Show was a deep dive into the evolving role of sales with Matthew Whyatt of Tech Torque. We explored how businesses can adapt and thrive in complex markets like in technology (and the recipe works in almost any B2B area!) - with Four Steps to Transform Your Sales Strategy for 2026 and Beyond!
Key Takeaways:✅ Sales is no longer just about pitching – It’s about guiding customers through unfamiliar buying processes. Many clients have never purchased your solution before, so consultative selling is critical.✅ Break down the sales cycle – Matthew shared a powerful 4-step framework:
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Know your target deeply (not just demographics, but KPIs and pain points).
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Get their attention – Build a circle of influence and show up where they network.
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Build trust through value – Share insights, not just brochures.
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De-risk the offer – Start with a consulting piece before the big-ticket solution.✅ AI won’t replace salespeople – It will augment them. The real value lies in diagnosis and emotional intelligence (EQ), not just automation.✅ Marketing now does 90% of the work – Salespeople have one shot to nail the conversation. If you speak more than 30% in that first call, you’re likely losing the deal.✅ Start small, stay consistent – Whether it’s webinars, LinkedIn posts, or newsletters, discipline beats perfection. “Be OK with being crappy to start with,” as Matthew says.
Final thought:Sales is becoming more strategic, more human, and more media-driven. If you’re in B2B, now is the time to embrace content, community, and consultative approaches.
🎧 Listen to the full episode for actionable insights on transforming your B2B sales strategy!
/Mika Tienhaara, See Beyond
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In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Makoto Kern of IIIMPACT, about bridging business goals with cutting-edge technology and creating user-centric solutions in high-stakes environments.
How do you balance speed, user experience, and AI adoption when launching new digital products? -Get the insights in this SEE BEYOND #54 episode!
Key Takeaways:
From Robotics to UX Leadership – Makoto shared his journey from engineering and lean manufacturing to building a consultancy that accelerates enterprise software delivery.
The Triple Pillar Approach – Success in digital transformation requires alignment across business, users, and development.
AI Adoption & The “Competence Mirage” – AI is a powerful force multiplier, but it won’t replace experienced teams. Companies must avoid the illusion that AI alone solves everything.
Enterprise UX Revolution – Many organizations still build software like houses without asking what users want. Makoto’s “cheat codes” emphasize early alignment, rapid prototyping, and continuous feedback.
Future Outlook – Expect faster innovation cycles, AI-driven tools, and even physical robots reshaping industries. Education must adapt to teach critical thinking and AI fluency.
Makoto’s advice for leaders: “Speed and direction matter. If you stop innovating or ignore user experience, you’ll be left behind.”
/Mika Tienhaara, See Beyond host and producer
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What about lean and leadership - and where do you start when to develop your people and teams, what about yourself?
Here is an insightful discussion with coach George, who has been evolving to where he is now with developing individuals and teams to achieve breakthrough results.
Go to his website:
https://georgetrachilis.com/
to learn more and access the downloads.
And thank you George for this vivid and fun discussion!
/Mika
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In this episode we move to the Silicon Valley, to listen to the co-founder and CEO of the robot orchestration scale-up InOrbit. What is moving in the world of making robots work efficiently together - this episode, which will also be made into a visual separately, gives some exciting insights and thoughts into the industrial applications and physical AI with the insights of Florian. In addition, InOrbit has more news, in terms of just having closed a funding round!
/Mika
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It was very interesting to get the insights and views of Peter concerning the automotive industry, around the ongoing three storms. How do we manage the industrial challenges in Scandinavia and Europe, how do we make ourselves attractive and competitive?
/Mika
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A great discussion with Robert Widell, sharing his own personal opinions on the transformation and development happening in the heavy transport sector, in terms of powertrains and energy carriers - are we heading towards hydrogen, battery-electric, or does diesel still have a role to play? And what are the regional differences, how is the global competition field looking like? What type of companies will most likely be the future winners?
The “Easter Egg”, for those interested, is a part II, where we discuss our music influences and our own creativity and creation of electronic music, which can be found on my “Im Rhythmus Bleiben” substack forum…
Thank you Robert for joining and sharing your insights!
/Mika Tienhaara
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Yet, another inspiring encounter with the great Sandy Munro, of Munro & Associates, and with their activities in product design, engineering and manufacturing solutions, that has revolutionized industries over decades.
In this episode, we hear Sandy Munro emphasizing the importance of manufacturing, and the profound knowledge it carries, and in a geo-political context of United States, Europe and China in particular. And the wisdoms shared are not few - remarkable to hear about the story with Toyoda-san on “where there is arrogance, there is opportunity” - and much more!
I can recall since the early days of my industrial experiences, as a student doing internships, and working in final assembly of car manufacturing. I learnt so much, and manufacturing and fabrication has been a backbone since then. There were times when arrogance of management, did not allow me to harvest the profound knowledge from manufacturing.
These days, the sentiments are to have a stronger inhouse control of the vertical value chain, it is back to the origins of what Mr. Ford once set up, and mimicked by many founders, CEOs and companies to various success.
A big thank you to Sandy, a giant in the product engineering and manufacturing space, and ready to share own knowledge with others…
/Mika
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Time passes by at close to warp speed, or at least quickly enough…a few years back Matt was a guest in the podcast, and now he is back - as a British GT Champion!
Obviously with a lot more experience under his belt, we talked about racing, and the similarities with entrepreneurship. He actually is both - a true racing driver, but also an entrepreneur. So how do we get past the next bend, and as quickly as possible?
Matt is still pursuing his dream goal… listen to the podcast to learn more and to go fast!
/Mika
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I always enjoy the very engaging and insightful discussions with Eric, a passionate entrepreneur in the carbon capture space. And this podcast interview is no exception! Thank you Eric, for such enjoyable time to discuss how we can accelerate and scale-up carbon capture, both for small and large emitters.
/Mika
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I’ve had the great opportunity to meet and talk with Kenneth Juul many times over the past years, as we are involved in their first carbon capture project Rakkestad here in Norway.
Carbon capture has been a focus on the larger point emitters to lead the way, but is there a path forward for the small emitters to find solutions to decarbonize their operations?
Here at least, is a good example. And what can we do to scale it up - listen to the podcast to learn more.
And thank you Kenneth for the engaging discussion!
/Mika
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…and we continue with Houston, where we left off last time: the 2nd stage is on!
/Mika
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikatienhaara.substack.com
A wonderful conversation with Paul Morel, Vattenfall on branding, the systemic industrial change and collaborations, on the path to fossil-free living.
See the Vattenfall industrial emissions face mist video here:
Industrial Emissions Face Mist - Vattenfall
/Mika
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…and there is a story about whisky also!
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Thanks for reading Mika Tienhaara's See Beyond Show - On Innovation & Entrepreneurship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts/podcast episodes and support my work. /Mika
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikatienhaara.substack.com
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikatienhaara.substack.com
To drift your business into a commodity is the kiss of death. Whether you are a startup or a well-established corporate, you must utilize the power of your products, services, and offerings to make them stand out and differentiate.
With his team and company, Barry has a unique way of collaborating with companies, which he calls JAM SESSIONS. To make the most out of your jam - you have to listen.
It was great talking, no, having a jam session with Barry and discussing the importance of innovation and differentiation - learn more about this from the podcast.
In about six months, Barry will launch his book “The Power of Differentiation” Keep a look out for this launch; I am confident that it will change mindsets.
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It was great talking to Enrico Biscaro, the author of “Resonance”, about storytelling to make an impact with your team and business—storytelling matters in discussions one-on-one with a colleague and in the board room.
This talk was so enriching and extraordinary - leadership is not easy, be humble, open-minded, and ready to learn from mistakes. Make your team happy, and your business will be successful and thrive!
/Mika
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Amy, the “reluctant entrepreneur” according to herself, with an extensive international corporate career, launched her startup a few years back: She brings the right mindset and tools to accelerate the energy transition - and we probably need thousands of new technologies and solutions to get to net zero.
Amy talks about the Dual Chasm - to make an impact with innovation, it is about getting the entrepreneurs and energy companies aligned and able to make an impact with the innovation required for the energy transition. How do we go beyond paid piloting? How to get funding for these ventures? We explore the creation and development of innovation ecosystems and what to expect of entrepreneurs.
The talk with Amy was fantastic, so energetic and rich of reflections. Thank you!
Eunike Ventures: www.eunikeventures.com
/Mika
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Some straightforward statements, predictions, and reveals by the great Sandy Munro.
What company will win the EV battle: Tesla. Perhaps not a big surprise, but it is highly interesting to listen to the reasoning behind this. But who is going to be no. 2 - maybe a surprise! And what about the EV chargers - a very clear answer too!
Product design and manufacturing play an important role in our “new normal” and new age of business.
Where does Sandy want to go - a busy schedule for the coming months, but also a wish for a European visit.
We have in the US and Europe been outsourcing and offshoring manufacturing for decades, but there is a big change happening.
And will Sandy ever attempt to star in any movies, after the success with YouTube - well, hear his answer in the podcast episode.
We got technology working, but then had some issues again…well, you get the “imperfection” as part of this podcast.
I hope you as a listener enjoy this as much as I did talking with Sandy Munro.
/Mika
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Guest: Florian Pestoni, co-founder and CEO of InOrbit.
We had such a great pre-talk, probably about half an hour (sorry cannot share that in the podcast)…and we wanted to talk about what we think about the year 2023. The weather and climate brings us to Bomb Cyclones - and this brings us to the Business Bomb Cyclone (BBC) going on! And creating companies means you are making mistakes and making a fool out of yourself - so we try something new also during this episode...
Companies: InOrbit: www.inorbit.com; Rocsole: www.rocsole.com
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Amazing, I’ve reached 20 episodes of the Season 2!
This episode could have been named: Who ate my ramen noodles? We’ll get back to that in the podcast.
In early May I was in Houston, TX, moderating (MC!) an innovation panel at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). We wanted to recap our learnings from this event and also talk about what else is going on in the energy industry, how to fund startups and to deploy technology at scale.
We give some of our feedback and recommendations for the coming year - what do we want to see more of. What to focus on, and how to attract Gen. Y.
The energy transition is so key for our future and we need to build strong collaborative forums, deploy new technology at scale (impact) and much more. What is the format for License to operate with ESG and energy transition on the agenda for oil and gas operations? And is energy transition really about energy management?
Also, how can we build a sharing culture also cross-borders, and cross-industries? For profound knowledge, we have to look outside. In my own opinion, the entrepreneurs and innovators need to get a larger focus and place at the table in committees and organizations.
We use ROCSOLE as a case study as scaleup, what is Thomas’ advice to us and the industry for the adoption of new technology.
I am also looking forward to the next OTC and other industry events in Houston coming up…
I enjoyed very much this dynamic discussion with Thomas.
/Mika
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Storedot is developing fast-charging batteries, but there is so much news and buzz about the company. I sat down with Doron Myersdorf to understand what is so special about StoreDot, their journey to date, and where they are heading.
From the beginning, there has been a clear mission from StoreDot’s side to achieve extremely fast-charging batteries. They have some 2,000 tests and experiments ongoing in world-class laboratories at all times. And attracting 200 million $ in funding from companies such as BP, Daimler, Vinfast, Ola Electric, and Volvo Cars, there is serious interest in scaling up the technology. And how to go from the early-stage failures from which you draw the learnings to a scaleup when failure is not an option.
Globally, there is a need to establish probably some 100 gigafactories and we are only in the beginning of this journey.
It was great getting the insights into the technology and the company also from Doron. Thanks for the participation; good luck with your continued commercial traction.
/Mika
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I enjoy the opportunities to discuss business strategies with future orientation with Prof. Göran Roos very much.
Göran is a fabulous combination of working as an academic and consultant. He provides his services to corporates and governments around the world in the space of digitalization and green transition, two very central topics in these times of transition.
His insights, jumping into almost any discussion and topic is enormous. No need for Google or Wiki with Göran engaged!
Disruptive times bring a lot of business opportunities, the future is very blurry, so constant scenario planning and operational and strategic adaptions are necessary. Not everything will work and there will be disappointments along the road.
Having this chance to ask and challenge Göran, we got into really engaging discussions: What is a feasible business strategy, how to plan for the future? What is the recipe for winners? I put Prof. Roos in the hot seat and asked him a lot of very complex and difficult questions resulting in a comprehensive analysis and dissection of the topics giving advice to policymakers, governments, corporates, and startups (hey, great for me in terms of the scale-up ambitions we have with ROCSOLE).
And Göran stayed firm on his seat, so I believe a new challenge is a must later on (season 3?).
If you are interested to learn more or consulting Göran, then please let me know and I will put you in direct contact.
A big thanks to Göran, I enjoyed this talk very much!
/Mika
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Had an interesting talk with Gilad Fisher from Addionics, a startup company with unique 3D electrodes for batteries and their utilization of AI to customize and optimize the battery architecture.
We are in times with the energy transition and the future of mobility is shaping up. Battery electric vehicles’ share of sales is growing rapidly. Many gigafactories are in the planning and building phases. As such, the areas of electrification, batteries, renewable energy are opportunities for entrepreneurs, startups and established corporates, to build new businesses around. The job opportunities are massive in all these “new” industries and businesses.
Addionics is one exciting startup company. They raised 27 million $ in their Series A, to aid them to accelerate the scale-up and start manufacturing.
It was great talking about the challenges scale-up companies are encountering, as I share the passion for entrepreneurs and scale-ups, running my own company to scale up. Talent is something that everyone is looking for, listen to how Addionics deal with this by listening to the podcast.
Thanks for the engaging talk Gilad!
/Mika
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It was great visiting an industrial city of the might of Västerås and entering ABB's historical areas and buildings. This city had, in my mind, been a robotic city for a long time. Peter Löfgren, CEO Synerleap corrected me: it is even more significant - we are part of the Electrification Valley. And Peter started this off with the essence of this discussion: “How to leverage innovation and value creation through an innovation ecosystem.”
To innovate, passion is crucial, and this can be seen in the team of Synerleap. And they have been part of the journey for some unicorns and soonicorns (Northvolt, Einride, Volta Trucks…), so clearly, there is some “magic” happening here. To make an impact, we need to pair corporates with startups. This is a natural role for innovation ecosystems if you make it work properly and make all parties winners.
ROCSOLE is also a member of the family, and we are together with Synerleap exploring the avenues in how to build synergies with corporates…Peter and his team are determined to make it happen. Get into action!
Peter gives examples of how startups have had successes and how it has helped ABB to improve - here you can get the win-win proven.
(Unfortunately, I wanted to make this to a YouTube version, but I struggled with the video/wifi this time. Technology…). Also - the pandemic has put face-to-face meetings on hold; I was the first startup member to visit the Synerleap since the pandemic! I hope there are many more visits, projects coming up for us and other startups. Collaboration is key to making an impact with innovation. Synerleap is also onboarding more industrial corporate partners.
So if you are an entrepreneur, startup company, or corporate innovator - get in touch with Synerleap, to see if you jointly can unlock some potential!
Thanks to Camilla, Martin and Peter. Looking forward to the continuation!
/Mika
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In the middle of the pandemic, I had Tushar Kansal from Kansaltancy Ventures joining the podcast show as one of the first guests (S1E2). Now, we made a new episode! What has changed in this period for investors and entrepreneurs?
Tushar has been through 200 webinars amongst others in a year; he works with many startups and entrepreneurs for funding and strategic advice. The number of startups set up is booming; we have seen 81 new unicorns in the first two months, and in India, there are now 88 unicorns. In the podcast, we look at what type of businesses investors are looking at.
We covered so much, and if the questions below are something you are thinking of, we might have some answers!
As an entrepreneur, be open and honest, show your passion. Prepare for working long-term to make your startup a success. Should you do it all by yourself, or what about the team? What type of investor should you look for? What kind of support can they give? Do I have to have a ready product first before approaching investors? How do we find the customers, and are large corporates unapproachable?
Listen to the whole podcast episode, and you will learn a lot about what to do as an entrepreneur - and even maybe this sparks your interest to start your own company or help you take the following steps as an entrepreneur.
For startups/entrepreneurs/investors, especially in India - get in touch with Tushar to join forces. I am sure there will be some magic created.
Thank you, Tushar; so great talking to you; best of luck further!
/Mika
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It was a pleasure inviting Thomas Henry, Eunike Ventures, to discuss the energy transition and how to enable new technology to be deployed faster at scale.
We also had a summary of the CERAWEEK and what we would like to see next year. We encourage the organizers to include more USE CASES to boost the open innovation and collaboration further. What has worked, how did you get there, what mistakes did you learn from? We need to do so much at a significant scale; we need to collaborate to get there.
Innovation ecosystems do not only need to have venture capital to invest; there is a significant need to test new technology and have scalability. We discuss ways of technology adoption and technology readiness. All new technology is not all about software, AI, and apps. There is a need for equipment and infrastructure; hydrogen is one area that requires this.
Below is the API 17N Technology Readiness Level ladder (credit: NASA/DoD) for support.
Listen to the whole podcast for more insights, and a big thanks to Thomas for sharing his views on the energy transition.
/Mika
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It brings joy and “quality of life” talking and engaging with Ernesto Sirolli.
Sirolli and his team has been part of starting some 55,000 business globally!
For those who wants to climb the mountain as entrepreneurs, they are self-selected and Ernesto can be the “sherpa” to guide and support you getting to the peak.
How to get to the position where you can do what you love and get paid? The entrepreneurial know-how is essential to get there. Remember, you cannot do this by yourself, there needs to be a trinity of fantastic product (service), exquisite marketing communication and perfect financial management. (NOTE: I apply this myself, in terms of my BLACK DIAMOND rules, for TEAM, Marketing, Product and Funding). This is a form of entrepreneurial elegance.
And what did Ernesto tell in the “Millionaire” magazine interview about the NEW ELEGANCE…or the true legends of Silicon Valley - listen to the podcast and you will learn this and much more about the new beautiful and quality of life. The story about Henry Ford, how he became one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, going through two prior bankruptcies.
A big thanks to Ernesto, with such engaging topics and his absolute passion about how to bring entrepreneurs to the peak.
Check out Sirolli’s Trinity of Management courses, here is a fantastic source for entrepreneurs: https://sirolli.com/trinity-of-management
/Mika
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What a great talk with Florian Pestoni! He’s been working at both startups and well-recognized tech companies like Microsoft and Facebook. Right now, he is working as a co-founder with InOrbit. So where is his heart - with established corporates or startups? (I believe you will guess the right answer…).
For Florian, the new robotics generation which is perceptive smart robots, we are finding a lot of new application areas and don’t need to keep humans away from them. The automation and collaboration human-robot will allow for a lot of efficiency increases and helping us humans to avoid a lot of physically demanding jobs.
This new generation of robotics is creating so many new opportunities - at the same time there has been both fear and expectations of perhaps empathy in robots for a hundred years (NOTE: R.U.R. is a 1920 science-fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Capek "R.U.R.”, from where the word ROBOT was first derived into the English language - I haven’t seen it, but have read the play many years back. My affection to robots and science-fiction started in my youth).
Are robots taking away our jobs - what is the future of work?
At least for entrepreneurs there are vast opportunities into robotics. In this field it has never been easier to make a startup.
And Florian has a great wisdom to share: “don’t fall in love with your technology, but with…”. Listen to the podcast and you will learn about this and many other things.
A big thanks to Florian, and I am looking forward to the evening when we can enjoy a pizza together.
/Mika
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Bikes have seen a lot in material and design changes, think about how mountain bikes have changed in frame design, material choices etc. But what about crank arms - they have looked very much the same for ages (maybe a century!) - Sean showcases how generative design and additive manufacturing was used in collaboration with the company SRAM. With the new methods the future of making is allowing for new shapes, cloud computing (extremely fast results) and collaborations are taking new forms in terms of the creation of meeting places and innovation ecosystems, which are helping companies with agile and better decision making.
Customer wants “bigger - faster - lighter - stronger”: as a service provider you have to use the tools and have the customer as your co-designer.
Autodesk Generative Design Fieldlab in Chicago is located at the MxD (Manufacturing x Digital), a 100,000 squarefoot innovation center.
Automation is helping to leverage product creation and improving processes - listen further to understand how this is part of defining the future of work and the future of making.
A big thanks for the amazing insights Sean, looking forward to a keeping in touch.
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This was such an engaging and interesting discussion with Eva Nahari, DNX Ventures.
She has had a career in tech, product development and customer projects prior to switching over to the venture capital side. How has her career shaped her, what learnings are helpful in her present role?
How to match founders with the right investors - what should you consider?
And what about nordic innovation and innovators - what are we good at? What can we learn from the Silicon Valley mentality. And there could be really good combinations to consider! We can benefit from each others’ superpowers!
And the conversation leads us to flavors of ice cream…
But what does Eva think about 2022?
Listen to the podcast with a lot of deep insights, engaging talk and advice for both founders and investors.
Thank you for your time Eva, I enjoyed this a lot and looking forward to when we actually can meet in person.
/Mika
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A talk about what’s happening in the world of manufacturing and production systems research with Lennart Malmsköld, University West. And as a matter of fact, he is one of my former teachers (yeah, some hundred years ago or so…). So instead of him asking me a lot of questions from those days, I had the opportunity to ask him!
Talking with Lennart, I think the future of manufacturing is super-exciting! It is about data, collaborative robots and with the much improved technology the frontier of automating with flexibility is up for grabs.
And is actually local/inhouse manufacturing becoming an advantage?! Insourcing production is happening, I would believe that is also part of the complexity of production systems, need for skills and competence and the pandemic is also part of disrupting the value chains.
And sorry for my mix up, I meant of course the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), in terms of statistics (ifr.org)... Here is a graph on robot density from IFR:
And did you know that the five major markets for industrial robots are China, Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Germany. These countries account for 76% of global robot installations. The electrical/electronics industry is the new king, overtaking automotive in amount of new robots installed. (Again statistics from IFR).
Education systems and courses are also being adapted, listen to what Lennart has to tell about the new opportunities at University West.
Thanks for the insights, I enjoyed this talk very much.
/Mika
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A view on the Norwegian Process Industry:
It was great to have Lars Petter Maltby as a guest - he has a long career working in the processing industry with material production. But also he has a keen interest in business development and innovation.
18% of Norwegian exports (excluding oil /gas) comes from the processing industry.
Additionally he has been in the Norwegian expert group working on the Prosess21. So he is a man with many hats… The Prosess21 has involved over a thousand people, creating a large open innovation and collaboration group.
Norway is known for being an exporter of natural resources (oil, minerals, metals) - with the transformative times, how can new business opportunities be created?
Key materials for batteries are required and the Norwegian industry could profit and contribute - but this is requiring adaptions to the innovation ecosystems and governmental agencies support in the early phase for business development. Also Norway needs to look at how to collaborate with other nations, especially the close Nordic neighbors.
The Battery Norway initiative including the Eyde Cluster is working on key topics to gain knowledge and to foster cooperation.
Learn more about these topics by listening to the podcast.
/Mika
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This was actually my first recording for the Season 2! However I have been saving this recording until now. We did have some technical challenges with Filippo being on a remote Greek islands, but nevertheless we manage to talk about his startup UNFIA and how to disrupt and make an business like wine (from farm/vineyard to table) more efficient and reduce overall costs.
I am after the same in general industries, but great to listen and learn from another angle and a business you might not have considered the disruption occuring in. It will be most interesting to follow Filippo and UNFIA in their further progress.
Enjoy your glass of wine and the episode!
/Mika
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I had the opportunity to meet Roger Atkins, EV-angelist (and much more!) in-person. We had the opportunity to chat and talk about the future, EVs and his recent experiences at the Nordic EV Summit held in the Oslo region. The future of mobility is changing and those changes are huge. Listen for more insights, and don’t forget to subscribe! :)
Und wir haben unsere Show in Deutsch angefangen…
What is the USER EXPERIENCE with EV’s - charging is still an issue.
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It was very insightful talking with my friend Robert Widell, Teradata on how data is enabling business improvements with examples taken from the automotive sector.
How important the product creation is, and the data gathering and possibilities to utilize use/user data to reduce the amount of required testing and simulation.
This also made me refer to Munro&Associates/Sandy Munro’s “who casts the biggest shadow”:
The amount of data will just increase, the business systems will take even more of AI and deep learning in use.
Data is also an enabler for ESG monitoring and enabling decarbonization - listen to the podcast for more insights. This will probably also support the further work to change value chains and ways of manufacturing and producing goods and services - we have pollution and emissions from all activities - the lifecycle aspect for the Bill of Material is key but also complex to figure out. But certainly more research, development and work in this field is going to support the further push towards carbon-neutral activities.
Going digital allows us to spend more time on creative activities:
Robert and myself were “early-adaptors” of electronic music, utilizing computers (from the early age of Commodores…) and software to create music. It gave us so many opportunities using and manipulating sounds and samples in the product creation phase. This probably also contributes today to us both working with making data useful for industry and users to improve efficiency and making an effort to make the future better.
More insight you can find on the blog by Robert/Teradata:
https://www.teradata.com/Blogs/Connecting-R-D-to-the-Digital-Thread
And what about the music - have a listen to DPOINT (available on Spotify):
My favorite lead is “The Higher I Fly”, which I once made a cover version of and also performed that live.
Thank you for the great talk Robert!
Rate this episode:
https://www.podchaser.com/MikaTienhaaraSeeBeyondShow
/Mika
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About industrial design, and learning more about industrial design guru Einar Hareide how design and artistic expressions belong together.
I have been looking so much forward to this talk with Einar, I remember in my early career days that I had the fantastic opportunity to visit SAAB Automobile’s Design Center where Einar was leading the design efforts. It was just a fantastic experience!
What is so interesting is that Einar has background also as a welder, building things. His focus on ergonomics and materials is at the core. Actually I wanted to hear more from him on the SAAB story, but that will be another time…
Did you know that Einar took the Mercedes-Benz heritage with round headlamps and brought it back as a statement of the design.
Cars are sculptures! Aren’t we missing this today in car design?
And do business people have more fun in the US?
Material science is pushing the boundaries - design very much starts with what type of materials you select.
We also hear Einar’s views on the future of automotive.
My learnings from this talk: To do great design, also see how you can express your artistic sides and embed that with ergonomics and smart use of materials.
Thank you Einar, you are one of my industry heroes, and I look forward to talking to you again.
/Mika
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With clean energy investment banker Laurent Segalen.
This was in a sense part two on the hydrogen development - are going to use a fuel to produce another lower grade fuel... I agree with Laurent’s comments - show me the buyers! But if you find the right use cases, there are some potential.
But there was so much more:
Gas - not cheap (look at the huge price hikes recently), not reliable and not clean.
Do we need more inventions, or do we need innovation to be scaled up (make an impact)?
So what is the future of energy? The outlook and opportunities are enormous - and think about how you are managing the risks…
A big thanks to Laurent for the inspiring talk!
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A fantastic talk with Erik Rakhou on the European energy sector and his own reflections from the last 20 years. We have an ongoing energy transition taking place. Having been working on the EU energy policies on the gas market, which also resulted in a book, he is now gathering thoughts and ideas for his upcoming hydrogen book (please get in touch with him for any input and aspects to consider!).
Erik gets to the point with hydrogen, the added production volume should be using renewable energy for the generation and also be utilized for steel mills and similar (and not as a fuel). We need to approach industrial applications with a net-zero mindset.
And he talks about his teddy bear moment…
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It’s time for a new season!
We start with a BANG - racing driver Matt Cowley is back to tell about his recent racing experiences and what has changed compared to pre-COVID. Actually the competition got tougher!
If you are interested to learn more or sponsor Matt’s further success, then contact him via his homepage or twitter.
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I had a highly interesting talk with Asif Moghal from Autodesk UK. Asif’s role in business development is to screen the markets, understand the upcoming trends and enable new developments together with a lot of various companies. He is also seriously into mountaineering and trekking. No mountain seems to be too high or steep to climb - from Aconcagua and a planned/postponed trip to Himalaya.
What is happening in the industry in terms of digitization, the Industry 4.0 as a broad and general aspect for industry, is now a more grounds-up approach for digital transformation of companies. And actually the COVID-19 pandemic is an accelerator for this to happen.
Sustainability and digitization - do they belong together?
The world is changing rapidly, we are in the midst of a variety of transformations; digital, transportation and mobility - we are seeing the electrification speeding up and it also affects the industrial value chains drastically and energy sources with more renewables.
The future is cool!
The future of work with the evolution of job descriptions are definitely changing. You need to have multi-skills and soft-skills. And a great quote from Asif: “Engineers will definitely save the world”.
At the same time, work interaction is a hot topic in terms of flexibility, home/remote office and hybrid models. Still we need human interaction, and how does this affect both motivation and productivity. Flexibility will be key for most people.
And climate change carries weight in the actual microchip shortage - listen to learn more. Sustainability is also here a key factor. We need to take care of our planet.
Yet again, this is another example how we need to couple capabilities and in an agile way connect demand and supply. Collaboration is just getting even more important to make an impact.
Wrapping up talking about mountaineering, we came to talk about mental health and Asif mentioned a great charity - Mind over Mountains.
A great thanks to Asif and Autodesk for sharing all these valuable insights.
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My podcast started with Sandy, and now he is back. Listen to the recent developments in the BEV market - Sandy Munro has been testing (and doing or planning teardowns - some insights shared on components and system engineering) the VW ID.4, Polestar 2 and Ford Mustang Mach E. He tells his verdicts and impressions - both on good and bad. One vehicle was a disappointment (but still with a lot of good features) and two were really good - which ones? And what rating does he gives his old employer (Ford)?
Shortly about Sandy Munro and his Munrolive channel:
“Don't miss your chance to take a step behind the doors of a world-renowned engineering and manufacturing consulting firm and get direct access to thoughts and insights from the man himself, Sandy Munro.” Text from Munrolive.
CHARGING - that is still a challenge…
And the acceleration of the death of the ICE age…(see also my previous article):
The quick transition speed should not be underestimated - remember in the 1900s the horse and carriage was removed in 5 years in New York, so what about ICE to BEV?2030 is a milestone, and the transition is going quicker than we think!
The future of mobility is inseparably coupled with the future of energy.
Innovation is more about psychology than technology, listen why…and what are the sources of energy in the future?
I believe even Sandy is starting to get convinced about electrical vehicles…
The US is also the prime market for pick-up trucks, so there’s going to be interesting times with the Cybertruck, Rivian and the Lightning. And what about the Hummer?
Further, the electrical vehicles need batteries - gigafactories are being built many places and the real crunch might be concerning minerals and chips.
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Italian car design of the past was filled with glory from Turin, but the whole automotive atmosphere has changed. The city is still searching for its’ identity in the 3rd millennium. Matteo was a designer in this motor city, but did not find it fulfilling. With the transformation and challenges in the industry, Matteo did find himself in a crisis but turned that to an opportunity. Now pursuing a passion for cars with being an automotive historian. And what I have heard from also other entrepreneurs - social media has enabled pivoting and opened career opportunities.
Matteo’s YouTube Channel - Roadster Life is so filled with quality, rich in details of past models design and history. Matteo’s passion and interest shines through and brings all those vintage models alive again. For any car enthusiast - you have to check out his channel. It is a fantastic gem!
Sports cars will never die, says Matteo and it is as late Ferdinand Porsche stated: “the last car produced will be a sports car”
Has car design lost its’ touch? With all the digital tools available, has it more brought temptation to add more than create a great design? What is the greatest roadster…?
Listen also how Matteo is trying to preserve automotive history, but the auctioning of Bertone’s archives and other automotive gems being lost forever. In that sense, our discussion also touched on SAAB and how the heritage is preserved in the SAAB museum in Trollhättan.
I believe Matteo hinted a bit about future potential knowledge that will be shared, as he recently spoke and met with Mr. Fioravanti, a legend in the automotive history.
This is our first discussion together, and definitely not the last. I hope to have the opportunity to do some future episodes both in Italy and in Sweden together with Matteo. In the meantime - stay tuned to this channel and check out the Roadster Life!
You should also check out Matteo’s books.
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Future of Energy: How to build a successful business seeing the energy transition as an opportunity.
What could be more appropriate when talking about the energy transition with the ongoing societal changes and drive for carbon-neutrality, than to have two energy professionals from HOUSTON - the energy capital, participating?
Well, I am very glad that Aruna Viswanathan, COO of Alpha Decision Sciences and Kareemah Mohamed, Global Energy Transition Advisor at KBR could join and share their views on the topic. Between the both of them, there is a combined expertise working with complex energy questions in corporates, startups, committees, private equity and venture capital.
First of all; solving the energy issues are complex and takes time. It is not just a matter of renewables or oil & gas, it is a matter of enabling the global population to have access to energy and resources. There are societal changes taking place, where low-carbon or carbon-neutral industrial activities are transforming our thinking and actions. The need for energy is not going away, we need to think also about regulations and policies. At the same time less-developed countries can take a direct leap into renewables or transition quicker. The global dynamics are changing!
It is clear that innovation is required, both in corporates and enabled by startups. Don’t wait for the regulatory frameworks to change, we need to be agile and make our big ideas count. “Pressure makes diamonds”, as Kareemah put it, and at the same time we need patience and persistence, being agile and with full speed ahead.
What are investors looking at, how can you attract funding? Corporate investing in oil and gas are actually going for Cybersecurity and IoT having a footprint in multiple sectors and taking part in high-growth sectors, according to Aruna. Even as an entrepreneur, you need to have a long-term perspective and your solution gains attraction having a multi-sector usability. Technology transfer is important, and at the same time can be very complicated - so what about the Oil&Gas sector. Are people/ideas/startups stuck? Well, it is probably both - you need sector specific technology as well as universal solutions. Being multi-domain it is easier to find interested investors and funding.
The energy transition is a huge opportunity for all and carries a big importance for our joint future.
Hopefully this discussion can give some sparks to fuel your ideas, development and contributions for the energy transition and innovation required for the future in a collaborative manner.
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Guest: Professor Göran Roos, a Swedish academic, technologist, author and businessman. He is a specialist in the field of intellectual capital and an expert in innovation management and strategy. (wikipedia)
Pandemics come and go. We are still in a pandemic, but hopefully coming out of this pandemic soon, we have an altered society and world. Apart from being a very bad, difficult and devastating COVID-19 pandemic, there is a dramatic change ongoing in how we interact using digital and online resources - with virtual meetings (like this podcast as an example), online shopping, deliveries and streaming. All this is now part of the new normal.
But also as supplies drawing from international sources have been difficult and partly impossible impacting the sovereignty, the national strategies are incorporating more of manufacturing of critical equipment to have secure supply sources.
The supply chain disruptions have also impacted large corporates. That is also reshaping their strategies, having a deeper direct control of even the raw materials.
We have to go green and that means for mobility and transportation we are going electric. This is not the only impact, but materials, such as steel, will in the future be produced with carbon neutral processes. That in turn means that there is a need for green hydrogen - en mass. For this transition taking place, there is an enormous need for electricity.
According to prof. Roos the world is shifting from a dependency of petrol (OPEC) to a dependency of metals (China).
The semiconductor supply shortage recently is showing also how this is a critical and strategic product. Semiconductor development and production is an extremely high risk venture every time. The winners will be those with unique and required tools, machine and process knowledge.
All in all, there are great opportunities for science, technology and manufacturing.
Don’t stay in a dying business, for instance in automotive business, you need to shift to a strategy and product architecture with batteries/electrical motors and away from internal combustion engines. A lot less components, meaning also that this will be a challenge for the supplier companies.
Above picture is from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, by coincidence I watched it recently. We are up for a new big transformation which also creates a vast amount of opportunities.
There will be fights over the scarcity of talents, and in Europe, there is the dilemma -EU has about 1 million unfilled IT positions presently. The Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence is not stopping; automation will continue to grow in sophistication, at the same time, there will be a huge amount of new jobs created.
Speed is critical. You need to be agile. Not just as an individual or company. It applies also for the nation and the administration.
Discussion between journalist and union representative:
Journalist: "Are you not afraid of jobs disappearing with new technology?
Union rep: “We are not afraid of new technology, but of old technology. Companies with old technology go under.”
For Prof. Roos the technology shifts in the sectors of agriculture and aquaculture are behind but the potential is enormous and we can expect some deeper insights from these areas from him in the times coming.
NOTE: For a discussion on technology readiness, TRLs and MRLs, you may listen to the See Beyond episode with John Saiz, S1E5: https://mikatienhaara.substack.com/p/s1e5-sometimes-its-ok-to-fail-from?r=foifx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy
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I met Vivek several years ago in Houston, TX and have been in contact every now and then. With his knowledge and expertise in technology shaping the future and his engagements with Harvard, Stanford, Carnegie-Mellon, Duke, I thought it was great to hear Vivek’s opinions on where we are heading.
Here we are, still enduring the pandemic; we are able to create new deadly viruses and look at how quickly we, humanity, have been able to develop solution. This shows on how quick technology development is taking place. For just a few years ago this would not have been possible.
The next 8-9 years will be more amazing than the previous 80-90 years. This decade will bring more progress than the last 100 years.
What we see happening now is our adaption of technology with electric vehicles, autonomous drive, clean energy and cleaning up our planet. We will see more drone technology and 3D printed housing and food. Living will get cheaper. This transition will create a big mass of new jobs, however the automation and robots will then take over the jobs. Some of Wadhwa’s views on technology you can read about in his book “the Driver in the Driverless Car”
Technology adoption is key, find ways to embrace the new and share the knowledge. We need to work jointly for the benefit of humanity. Sharing equally is key.
(NOTE: listen to the episode with Ernesto Sirolli, he has the same message).
The future needs to give us freedom of choice, not just rigid control.
AI, what is it? Are we overhyping it or are we able to utilize it properly? The bias in pattern recognition is happening many places, which can be scary and dangerous, so we need to be very careful in how it is put in use.
And is the innovation and venture capital going to stay/grow in Silicon Valley, is the magic still around? We ended up discussing the quality of life in the Silicon Valley vs. other regions.
As a matter of fact this is the cliffhanger - as a follow-up we are going to have a second round of discussion in a couple of months on how innovative and good life is in Silicon Valley but also the Nordic region. And we need to discuss his most recent book also - “From Incremental to Exponential”. Until then, I hope you enjoy this episode!
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Host Mika Tienhaara. Guest Matt Cowley, professional race driver.
Finland has a long history of successful race drivers. We go with pace, also in the world of business, creating successful startups. In this episode we explore the world of race driving. UK has a fantastic infrastructure and eco system for breeding talent in motor sports - a young UK talent with a fantastic merit list is Matt Cowley. He has been racing since he was 16 years young, he has won championships in UK and the Americas. Race drivers have many similarities to entrepreneurs and we explore a few of those sides in this episode.
You have to be mentally top, Matt spent time alone in the US and becoming a champion. Meditation is a key element, according to Matt. Stress is around you constantly (just like in a startup) so staying mentally fit is very important.
Being active and spending time outdoor helps, says Matt.
What about the team? It is hugely important, without the team support from day-to-day the driver cannot make it. This sounds similar to being the CEO for a startup that has to build a motivated and competent team to be able to achieve the goals and being able to execute.
With your natural gifts you can only get so far. You have to have determination, set higher goals and put in the efforts of training. For instance, in racing the reaction time can be a deciding factor on the starting grid. For entrepreneurs - have a strong hands-on mindset, don’t let things slip!
Matt has shown grit, persistence and determination, for instance starting from the back of the pack and overtaking 150 cars to get on the podium! A startup is an underdog, but with speed-to-market and good traction you can overtake the old dogs!
We see change in racing also, for instance we now have Formula-E with electrical racers. A lot of innovation happens in racing, the technology and knowledge transfer into consumer products (CARS) is of huge importance.
Matt has set his target on LE MANS 2023, the biggest GT race in the world. He is determined not only getting there, his ambition is to WIN.
This is of course requiring fund raising, Matt is looking for sponsors and investors to support him to reach his goals. He has proven to be a winner, he has the determination and the talent to make this his next successful milestone. Matt and his team are looking at raising 2 million GBP, reach out to him to get onboard!
Check out his driving and pit talks on his YouTube channel.
Concluding this episode I learnt how many similarities there are between race drivers and entrepreneurs, we just compete in different fields building our dreams.
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Had a fun and inspiring talk with Roger Atkins of Electric Vehicles Outlook.
Is the future electric? Where will that put our 1 billion vehicles with internal combustion engines?
We need to see beyond to move away fossil fuels. For many the pinnacle of innovation in the automotive sector happens in Formula One. Embrace the extraordinary capabilities in Formula One to helps us in electrical vehicle journey as well as non-combustion engine propulsion systems. And by the way, how addictive the Netflix “Survive to Drive” series is - we both binged-watched the third season…
Batteries are happening: Volkswagens Power Day - 6 giga-factories announced. There is a need for even more. The drive to battery electric vehicles and need for battery storage is changing our society. The abundance to energy for production and for any of our activities is crucial.
We need a bit of madness to make disruptive innovation. As an example how rockets are brought back to the surface of the planet without crashing, this was probably not recognized a few years back being achievable.
There is so much going on, innovation, connectivity and the possibilities to work and engage. This can be intense, but also be energizing.
Roger’s comment that “SAAB was a fabulous company” I appreciate much, at least I am not alone thinking that.
We started to talk about the fascinating Nordic region; Norway as the EV kingdom, Sweden well-known for a lot of things - but what about Finland? Finland has more islands than Greece, happiest nation on the planet. World-leading sustainable corporates. Finns are rooted to nature and seeking practical solutions. The growth of Nokia gave also the spin-off effect and creation of a myriad of tech companies. The whole soul of Finland is carrying an innovative mind - you can now also become a Finn for 90 days - bring your family and get your startup company going. I convinced Roger - if the Finnish Tourist Board is looking for an ambassador we have one strong candidate!
A lot happening in the Nordics - don’t forget the June 2022 EVS35 gathering in OSLO.
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Host Mika Tienhaara. Guest John Saiz, Innovation 360 Group and Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge.
Wow, it was fantastic to talk to John again. A lot of fun, but a lot of good points learning about technology development and much beyond. Leadership, competence and culture pays a huge role in how successful you are.
John during his time at NASA got to use the Technology Readiness Level from the 90’s and this has had a widespread use also in heavy-asset industries like Oil & Gas. But is this sufficient, what are the limitations? Don’t just blindly use one tool, there are also other systems that can support your development.
Failure is an option. When it is not costly and has a low impact, like when you have a low TRL. Learn as much as you can. But when you deploy for real, you better be sure to have a ready product as then failure is NOT an option. When your product becomes complex, with a lot of systems, you should also consider additional tools and systems.
Digitalization is here and we have to embrace it. As an organization be ready or get ready to utilize the data and convert to have it digitally available.
Condition you culture and cultivate your organization. John emphasizes how important the people aspect is, and there are shortcomings in so many organizations. People need to be inspired and motivated. There needs to be creativity in your team. Find the passion, which at the same time is difficult to achieve.
What about digitalization - humans are more prone to errors with repetitive tasks, let machines do this. Humans can focus on the really cool stuff. But you need to ensure that you automate in the right way.
Further reading:
John Mankins -”Technology Readiness Level - A White Paper”, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247705707_Technology_Readiness_Level_-_A_White_Paper
Manufacturing Readiness Levels - https://www.dodmrl.com/MRL_Deskbook_V2.pdf
AD2, James Bilbro - https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA507181.pdf
APOLLO 13 mission - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13
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With your host Mika Tienhaara. Guest Ernesto Sirolli, Sirolli Institute.
Ernesto is a such a fantastic person to listen to, amazing stories about entrepreneurship - he takes us from Italy to South Africa, Australia and USA. This story also includes Fritz Schumacher, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and Peter Drucker.
Bringing the psychological aspects to business can bring so much value to making the best of entrepreneurship. We talk about the holy trinity of Product, Marketing and Finance.
The three actors of business:
(P) The Producer.
What is your skill, what is your Product. The magnificent craft person, the inventor. This person is the salt of the earth. They build something that adds value to our lives.
(M) The Marketing person.
The Seller. They are passionate about the people they encounter - they are fascinated by the people they meet, they make friends. Their best phrase “how can I help you”. They try to find a solution for the person, the customer, even with products they do not sell themselves.
(F) The Financial Person.
These are doing the “parent supervision”. (P) wants to make the best product. (M) wants to give what people need. (F) Does the Supervision and has to come in between otherwise the whole concept collapses.
This way you get the right product, to the right price. This team has to build the business plan TOGETHER.
The true entrepreneurs are disappearing. The startup model has become a television show, a competition. This is not the right way according to Ernesto. Don’t pick the best one, rather work with the 399 rejected - why? (listen to the podcast and you will learn).
Are we experiences “tunnel vision” in entrepreneurship- believing that everyone should become a unicorn with hi-tech? The incubator and accelerator model does not democratize entrepreneurship skills. Learn everyone to swim, don’t just try to make one olympic winner. The genius is a disruptor and does not come out of a mould - go back to the garage mode, not TV show pitch competitions.
We could have continued for another hour…means there will probably be a sequel with Ernesto.
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With your host Mika Tienhaara, ROCSOLE. Guest Sara Sabin, transformational coach.
About Leadership and Emotional Intelligence.
APOLOGIZES FOR THE SOMEWHAT BAD SOUND QUALITY IN A COUPLE OF SEQUENCES -BUT THOUGHT THE CONTENT BEING SO RELEVANT DECIDING NOT TO REMOVE/EDIT THOSE PARTS. WE HAD SOME CONNECTIVITY ISSUES ON THE DAY OF RECORDING - ACTUALLY ON THE INTERNATIONAL WOMENS’ DAY.
Do you want to be among the best, a top performer as a company. Sara firmly believes that it is a small risk to have those big ideas and bring that purpose to your company. This will help you to make it successful, and it is a vital intellectual challenge.
Be ready for the future - emotional intelligence is critical. The transformational leaders can envision the future and empower the team to deliver.
Everything is changing that is for sure, make use of the tools available. Can you create the beauty out of the beast?
And what is it that Sara wishes that companies will do now coming out of the pandemic phase - listen and you will learn.
A talk with Sara about transformational coaching and leadership.
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Host Mika Tienhaara, ROCSOLE, guest Tushar Kansal, Kansaltancy Ventures.
A talk around Venture Capital and Startups. And a lot about cultural differences.
It was great to talk to Tushar, with his background from corporates, as an investor from venture capital working with startups - what should startups look for: should you be looking at your local/regional market. What to learn from this. And what if you have global aspirations?
Remember to understand the variations in culture and what the expectations are in terms of price, service and quality. What are the local habits and taste? Use that as an opportunity to excel!
Thinking about your team, where are the co-founders, tech guys and the rest of your team - what are your cumulative capabilities. Show leadership!
Be a top 3 potential in your category, get the investors to flock around you.
Figure out the stickiness of your product. Build habits.
And what is Tushar’s one wish for this year? Listen and you will learn…
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Hosted by Mika Tienhaara, ROCSOLE, guest Sandy Munro, Munro & Associates.
“It is a phenomenal time to be alive!!!”
I had the opportunity to catch up with Sandy Munro, an innovator in the lean design area. Sandy has so much profound knowledge to share, and a lot of stories…He recently came back from an 8,000 miles road trip driving from Detroit, MI to California and over to Brownsville, TX where he met with Elon Musk and then had to drive back home again. He met with innovators, entrepreneurs, Tesla Driver clubs and lots of other people (more on his epic road trip on his youtube channel Munrolive).
We talked about the future of automotive - the death of the ICE age, and benchmark those seats in the Tesla!! What about hydrogen, will it be something for transportation - yes especially for VTOL. I recall from a call with Sandy more or less a year ago, when he was quite gloomy about the future when the pandemic hit, but now just a few days ago he has even expanded his operations with a new building. In the podcast recording he is in his newly acquired facility. There will also be a youtube version of this episode.
So what is the most valuable commodity?
And what about manufacturing, where are we heading - will tradesmen be required or is everything going digital and automate.
What did Sandy tell high school kids???
A lot of businesses are going through the pains of ramping up production, the production or manufacturing hell period, all this can be avoided, like when he tells about the original Dodge Viper production (as an example, sorry my fault - I brought it up). And what about the future, what does Sandy think about the times?
I hope you enjoy listening to this episode, Sandy could have gone on talking for a couple of hours…
Footnote: 110 inches = 279.4 cm (and nothing else! :) )
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Hi!
“COLLABORATE TO INNOVATE & INNOVATE WITH AN IMPACT”
I will feature not only blogs but also podcasts on my site. For a good interaction and not to bore neither you as a listener nor myself I intend to invite guests to the podcast to discuss entrepreneurship, innovation and technology. That means a lot of this is about how we as individuals are able to interact efficiently to make an impact.
I hope to get my first guest onboard for a discussion in the coming weeks!
/Mika
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