The Experiences of a Foreign Design Company Manager

In December 2011, when Pilotfish Taiwan Branch and I were presented with two prestigious Gold Peak awards it was very humbling and it was clear that an important goal for the company and me had been reached. It is probably universally true that having goals is essential for life and when OEMCROC asked me to write down some of my experiences as an SMB manager I realized that I am old enough to have seen some great business suggestions first praised and a few years later cursed.

In this document I would like to first describe some of the great achievements Pilotfish had in the past, second I want to provide you an example about business by using a particular experience of the inventor Nikola Tesla and the way he handled it, and finally I would like to conclude with some general advice which helped me achieve my goals.

In the past few years Pilotfish designed and produced many iconic products that have generated quite a buzz in the media. Although there are numerous examples to give, I would like to point out the following:

• The Flexible Display Phone for ITRI was gigantic news on IDG news network in November 2008 as it demonstrated the amazing possibilities of flexible display technology to an interested public
• The award winning Ondo Concept Phone which in 2009 provided an innovative way to interact with a consumer phone (Red Dot best of the best Award)
• The award winning Medical Assistant Robot designed in 2010 together with ITRI designed to help movement impaired people (iF Award)
• In 2011, the award winning and first truly interactive magazine Application 'bella' (App) in Taiwan for Apple iPad (Golden Tripod Award)
• In 2012, the innovative iFusion docking station was selected by Apple HQ to be sold through the Apple Store (iFusion is a Red Dot and IDEA Finalist award winner)

Although many goals had been achieved, the world of technology and design moves at a fast pace and people and companies should never rely on past glories.

The world of business is full of stories of failures and successes. I personally find the story of one of the world's most influential yet underappreciated inventors both touching and educational. Nikola Tesla, considered by many people to be the father of the 20th century, was a very successful inventor yet a rather unsuccessful businessman. Tesla the inventor and businessman, his successes and his failures, both inspired and warned many successful 21st century entrepreneurs and businesspeople, such as Elon Musk, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Although Nikola Tesla died penniless, he had many chances to become extremely rich, perhaps even the first American billionaire (before Rockefeller, Hughes, and Carnegie). One of the most significant stories of Tesla and his understanding of friendship happened in the 1880s, when George Westinghouse, a visionary businessman, challenged the powerful Thomas Edison and his DC system and financially supported Nikola Tesla's AC system.

Tesla and Westinghouse signed a partnership contract that would pay Tesla a royalty for every horse power of equipment sold. The Westinghouse-Tesla AC system was in direct competition with the DC system promoted by the famous Edison. AC won the 'war of the currents' between AC & DC and Westinghouse & Tesla became world-famous as everybody in the world wanted to use their AC system.

Although AC was a business success, George Westinghouse had to tell Nikola Tesla that, if he had to pay up his royalty payments, the Westinghouse Electric company would go bankrupt. Tesla, who felt he was a friend to Westinghouse, literally tore the contract in parts and said that he valued friendship more than money. By not accepting royalty payments for his invention, Tesla gave up the right to become a very wealthy man but thus saved the Westinghouse Electric Company.

Over the course of his life Tesla made many more impressive inventions. Many tried to discredit Tesla, mainly because Tesla wanted to improve humanity by giving his inventions away for free. Tesla's enemies even burned down his laboratory and threaten his investors. Yet, just like every true person with passion for what they do Tesla never gave up and always tried to achieve what he believed in.

For some Nikola Tesla was a fantastic inventor, for others he was a failed businessman, but what I find most captivating about Tesla is that he was convinced that he did not work for the present, but for the future. He was truly passionate of what he did and was convinced that his work would be appreciated by those generations that would come after him.

Some parallels between Tesla and Taiwan may be drawn: Tesla was able to influence a century. Many of his inventions, often years ahead of its time, still influence the world we live in. Taiwan, with its many small to medium businesses, with a hardworking and business oriented population has been and is influencing the world of high-tech and other industries. I have the privilege to live and work in Taiwan which I consider to be one of the most creative, innovative and inventive business & work environments in the world. Seeing the business spirit many Taiwanese have, I would think that Tesla, were he alive today, would find Taiwan an inspiring environment and also find many friends who would help him commercialize his inventions.

The world of business is full of successes and failures. Every businessperson should understand that success cannot just be attributed to one single factor; it is in fact a combination of factors. Most businesspeople may not be able to influence the political and economic climate of a country (let alone the world), but what helped me do business is a set of easy to follow rules I simple named the 4Don'ts & 4Be's rule:

• Don't ever think you know everything, so don't be afraid to ask for help
• Don't make enemies and don't take any attacks personal
• Don't be afraid of criticism, but know if the criticism makes sense
• Don't micromanage, but trust your team and tell them that you trust them
• Be nice, make friends and help your friends succeed
• Be convinced that you can succeed, people can tell if you are not
• Be passionate about what you do, people can tell if you are not
• Be honest & genuine with yourself, your team, your friends & your clients

Always remember that if your team believes in you, so will your clients. These 4Don'ts & Be's have helped me achieve my goals, and I hope they can help you reach yours.

Clockwise: Medical Assistant Robot; Flexible Display Phone; ONDO Concept Phone; iFusion (available through Apple Store and other locales); Bella iPad App (on Apple iTunes);

 
2011 OEMCROC award ceremony: most members of the Pilotfish Taiwan Branch Team

The writer is Nick Vasiljevic, managing director of Pilotfish Branch Taiwan and recipient of the Gold Peak award for Outstanding Entrepreneurial Manager of an SMB in Taiwan/ROC.