Reflections on China's Transformation of the Car Industry, Part-C: Seek Top Talents and Follow Their Advice 👍
Wise Executives "Lure" top talents instead of "hiring". Moreover, they are willing to take the experts' advice.
Agile software development, rooted in Lean car manufacturing principles, emerged during a pivotal revolution in the 1980s. Now, we are witnessing another, much greater, transformation in the automotive industry—one that may offer valuable lessons. In this series:
Part A: The Disruptions
Part C: Seek Top Talents and Follow Their Advice 👍
Part D: Traditional Car Manufacturers Reluctant to Evolve 👎🏾
Part E: Faking Efforts with “Show Ponies” 👎🏾
Part F: Lacking on Plan B and C 👎🏾
Part G: Time to Accept Reality
Part H: Solution: Be Agile and Innovative 👍
People may be surprised and impressed by the designs of some Chinese EVs, which feature a European-inspired style.
When I was studying Computer Graphics at a Chinese university in the early 1990s, the lecturer remarked, “Chinese car companies can’t even draw Bézier curves in their designs.” That’s how far behind China was back then. But now, look at these sleek, stylish cars—if I didn’t tell you, you might think they were luxury European brands, wouldn’t you? What happened?
This is because these Chinese car companies have hired top European car designers. For example, Wolfgang Josef Egger, “a German car designer who formerly served as a head designer for the European luxury car brands Alfa Romeo, Audi and Lamborghini, and currently as the head designer for Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto.”
Top talent is both accessible and affordable (relative to their contributions) in today’s world. It’s somewhat disheartening that many senior executives fail to recognize this. Thanks to the internet, reaching top global talents has become easier and more convenient than ever. Some founders of Chinese car companies have realized this: the cost—at most a few million dollars in salary—is negligible compared to the immense value these top designers can bring. The key lies in executives being willing to set aside their egos (not hiring, rather, inviting) to bring these talents on board.
Let me use an example in the software industry. Kent Beck, the Father of Agile, is widely regarded as the world’s top software designer and coach. Do you know that Kent Beck worked for Facebook (via his consulting company: Three Rivers Consulting) between 2011 and 2018?
According to LinkedIn, Kent Beck is currently available as an independent consultant, offering his expertise to help companies implement real Agile.
I once spoke with an IT manager while working at a large bank in my city. The so-called “Agile Transformation” at the bank was a mess, plagued by issues caused by a team of fake “Agile coaches”. I said, "Surely, this bank could afford to hire Kent Beck, perhaps with an annual salary of 2 million AUD—shall be enough to attract him, even if he worked remotely, which is entirely feasible nowadays. With his expertise and authority, real Agile is almost guaranteed (provided following his advice, on this, shortly). Also, he’d likely cost less than all these fake Agile coaches, Scrum managers, and DevOps engineers combined." The manager was surprised at first but then nodded in agreement.
This is not a unique case in Facebook. The company also brought in Charly Baker, a member of the Watir team, to assist with end-to-end testing, and later hired Simon Stewart, the leader of the Selenium WebDriver project.
If I could figure this out, why can’t those highly-paid senior executives and company founders? It’s puzzling that such a logical course of action seems to be very rare.
Example 1: LinkedIn’ Software Evolution
The change was powered by “Test Automation”.
And the root was “luring one expert”.
Example 2: Personal Experience
Over the years, I’ve built a good reputation in E2E Test Automation and Continuous Testing, attracting inquiries from IT executives and startup founders seeking guidance. However, only a small percentage of these engagements turned into actual collaborations (Money was never the issue, as my daily rate is comparable to that of a principal engineer. Now: $1800/day). Among those, only a few yielded meaningful results, as success depended on the CEO or CIO genuinely following my advice.
I came to realize that many IT leaders were hesitant about my straightforward approach to E2E test automation, such as...
Daily full regression E2E (UI) testing.
Aiming to Daily production releases
Use Selenium WebDriver + RSpec for E2E test automation
Don’t use Jenkins or other CI servers to execute tests.
…
Why? Because those CEOs and CIOs consulted their principal engineers and architects, who were often resistant to change and persuaded them to avoid taking action. Yes, real E2E Test Automation—the cornerstone of true Agile and DevOps—would require significant changes to software development processes. Wired aptly described it as a "completely overhauled":
True visionary and courageous IT leaders are rare; they excel at identifying top talent, engaging with them, and following their advice.
Some may question: “But, some so-called experts may be fake”. That’s still an old mindset, re-think how Facebook engaged
Kent Beck, father of Agile.
Charley, Watir team member.
Simon Stewart, the lead of the Selenium WebDriver project.
When they wanted to implement “Agile” or use “Watir”/“Selenium WebDriver,” they went straight to the source. The same approach was taken by CEOs of Chinese car manufacturers for top car designs.
In the E2E testing field, ‘fakers’ can be identified easily and quickly. Check out my article, “Test Automation and Continuous Testing Competition Week”.
Related reading:
My eBooks:
- Practical Web Test Automation with Selenium WebDriver
- Practical Continuous Testing: make Agile/DevOps realWhy Software Testing is Not Effective in Most Software Teams?
Benefits of Real E2E Test Automation and Continuous Testing series: Executives, Managers, Business Analysts, Developers, Testers and Customers.
So-called ‘Agile Transformation Training’ is No Longer Required