The “secret sauce” of learning in the automotive industry

In 2017, when Elon Musk was ramping up the Model 3, he slept on the floors of his factory in Fremont, California. This was interpreted as a symbol of his exceptional work ethic.  

Another view is that the "Technoking" was forced to learn fundamentals about the automotive industry, overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of decision making when starting up a new product in a new factory with a new team.

"Every single decision ... was put back into the context of an electric car," says Doug Field, a former Apple vice president whom Musk hired as a top engineer in 2013. In other words, electric vehicles require novel approaches to design, production, cost and performance. Previous knowledge was not applicable. Everything had to be learned the hard way.  

Because ramping up a car plant is not easy. It hasn't been so far. A lot has to be relearned in practice. However, the benefit of learning easily reaches a factor of 10 when the right car is put on the road. The Model 3 has been sold around 1.2 million times so far.

The learning rate determines performance.

Most of my colleagues and friends in the automotive industry have had similar professional experiences. Learning the hard way in practice. It's often chaotic, but it's a phase of super-fast learning. Everyone in the industry has to go through it to achieve exceptional success.

That's why the Saturday Automotive Learning newsletter is dedicated to automotive learning.

Have you ever been in a meeting and thought to yourself: "I wish I knew... How do they know that..."? Or have you ever had to search the internet for information or find an expert to help you with the current task on your desk?

Sure, in most cases you can find someone internally to ask.

However, this person may not be a real expert. In a corporate environment, this person may have an agenda or may not be willing to support you for other reasons. You may have the network or even the resources to hire an external expert, but you can't always rely on others. 

You need to learn.

But here's the reality: it's up to everyone to learn.

As a strategy director working at the second level below the boards of car manufacturers, I had access to training on leadership, compliance and mindfulness.

Nothing about completing my tasks at hand.

Although I was involved in over 100 board decisions in a decade, I had to acquire the necessary technical knowledge myself through interviews and research. Even with a sizable training budget per employee (more on this in another newsletter), I was unable to obtain learning content on relevant technical knowledge.

Instead, I worked many hours to find out.

Board decisions ranged from market entry decisions regarding car platforms, powertrains and manufacturing technologies to balancing the dealer network or a vehicle ecosystem via customer data strategies.

However, the topics were extremely interesting and learning was indeed rapid.

The success rate (board approval and successful implementation) was above average. But I can only imagine how much more successful we would have been if I had had access to a technical education.

Technical learning is synonymous with automotive success in the next decade.

Clean energy and new mobility are two of three top trends that are driving the replacement of core technologies in the automotive industry. Electric vehicles will account for 30% of all cars sold by 2030 and 60% by 2040, according to Bloomberg NEF.

Car manufacturers that are too slow to adapt will be forced out of the car market.

The emerging revenue streams of electric vehicles and software-related business models will be captured by OEMs and new established brands.

It is clear how technical learning for executives that improves short-term success rates will lead to long-term sustainable, profitable growth in this industry.

Combine content providers, learning craft and technology, and the creator economy.

Learning has also matured during the pandemic.

Remote work has become the new normal. Web-based training has replaced traditional face-to-face training for almost two years. Hybrid training is the new normal, and less commuting and social gatherings create time for more learning.

Instead of staying in the (virtual) office late into the night, we can combine a few trends from the automotive and learning industries to create our own learning environment.

1. Learning has become an attractive source of recurring revenue and cross-selling for research organizations and automotive suppliers.
2. Most companies have learning management and learning experience systems in place. Both systems enable role-based integration and 24/7 distribution of learning content, even to an employee's smartphone.
3. It's not enough to have a good system and useful content. Hollywood doesn't make a good movie with just good actors and great cinematography. It needs a good story and a good director. Learning designers are experts in creating and implementing learning programs. Like being a movie director, being a learning designer is a necessary skill.
4. Peer-to-peer learning is a massive movement within the creator economy. Content marketers and experts are sharing their business knowledge in micro-learning and successfully monetizing it. It is only a matter of time and incentives before these mechanisms leave the external market and are adopted within companies.

The most effective form of learning is trial and error in practice.

In the Saturday Automotive Learner's Newsletter (SALN), we interview experts, examine current research, compile tools and frameworks, and write occasional essays on learning, performance and change in the automotive industry. We want to learn how better decisions can be made in the automotive industry in the transition from the combustion business to the electric, software-based vehicle.