This past February, a well-known Israeli spoke at the prestigious TED Conference and received a standing ovation.  The speaker was Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place, the company that is using today’s technology to advance complete oil independence and build an electric car network.

Most of us weren’t able or fortunate enough to be there in person to hear the talk.  Luckily, the recently uploaded video of Agassi’s talk at the 2009 TED Conference allows us to relive the experience, watching him do what he does best - compelling us to pay attention.

Two years ago, at TED’s 2007 conference, Shai Agassi was an anonymous presence.  So much so, he recounts on his blog “The Long Tailpipe”, that

a young Google employee told me at one of the dinner events after a conversation on the world of software that ‘You are pretty good. Would probably make a good manager at Google, maybe even a VP’ and offered to put in a good word for me. Given that I was the president of products at SAP at that time, I guess she meant it as a compliment, somehow.

He goes on to describe how being at his first TED was like “drinking from the firehose”.  In rooms jam-packed with likeable overachievers, innovators, card-carrying MENSA members, and various other pioneers and giants, he could nevertheless imagine himself on the TED stage presenting some vague beneficent project.

And he has done just that, and more.        

Shai Agassi has been written about and commended in wide circles.  By now, most of us know the gist of Better Place’s mission and the major milestones on its way so far under his leadership.  Still, if the reader will indulge me, let me tell you a few reasons why I personally admire the man and his achievements.

1. He can work in a good metaphor.

When he speaks about the affordability criteria that was set out at the beginning of Better Place’s existence, he lays out exactly how the their business model overcomes both economic hurdles and range limitations.  Electric vehicles were a great solution for the well-off environmental crowd who could afford to invest in owning both the vehicle and its consumable.

But what about those one or two notches down the ladder?

The battery of an EV has approximately 2000 life cycles, acting as a “mini-well” that provides the consumable.  Your are right, Mr. Agassi: nobody wants to buy the entire well. Well, not if we don’t have to.  Separating car ownership and battery ownership gives one the option to charge or swap.  That’s the beauty of genial ideas; they seem so simple and obvious once they take shape.  Less cost, longer drives, no emissions.

2. He projects not an ounce of cynicism.

It takes a unique composition of character to be able to look at the mess we’re in and still take on the task of getting ourselves back on the right road.  Agassi’s talk is remarkable if only for the fact that you won’t find any of the cynicism that can cripple a good fighter.  Cynicism in a certain, limited context can be useful.  Still, I dare anyone to mistake this positive, singular focus he conveys with naivete’.

His message of “we can do it if we want to” was playing a good while before Obama rode a similar wave of optimism to the presidency, and hearkens back to Theodor Herzl’s poignant “If you will it, it is no dream.” His practical bent convinces us that people will understand if you respect their intelligence long enough to outline each step in the breakdown of problem and solution.  He doesn’t tend to look back and hiss at the evils of oil; yes, it was and is evil, but it was also a product of our times.  Now that times have changed, we will only damage ourselves, our planet, and our future if we don’t adopt a new mental framework.

3. He does not hide behind technology, nor allow his charisma to overtake the larger mission.

Israelis are a curious bunch at times (ok, almost at all times).  I often lament that Israeli start ups fail or are not as successful as they could be because of two bad tendencies: hiding behind technology, and standing too much in front of technology.

Many scientist-led start ups will happily partner with a larger foreign company, providing them world-class technology as they morph facelessly into a technological substrate.  In a different scenario, the company is held back by waiting for the next generation component of x,y, or z to make them the most cutting edge on the market.

Other MBA-led start ups become so focused on making the right deals that their initial purpose becomes muddied by too many personalities.  Alternately, they become so convinced of their model that they fail to change and evolve when new factors are thrown in.

Either way is maladaptive.

Now, Shai Agassi is practically a household name; and to be sure, he is as engaging and charismatic as anyone.  But he does not allow his mission to be eclipsed for a moment.  Ask nearly anyone, and they will tell you that Shai Agassi = electric cars.

Even more than that, Better Place makes use of top technology, but it will not be bogged down by the wait for tomorrow’s ultimate battery breakthrough.  Agassi makes clear that the plan is to achieve their mission within the bounds of the science we have available today.  There is no time to waste once we have the basics down.  Besides, improvements along the continuum can always be integrated as course of nature.

4. He facilitates politics’ interaction with science and economics.

At a certain point in his talk, Agassi recounts how old-timer Shimon Peres took an interest in his mission to convert the entire State of Israel into an electric car network, while some of the younger politicians simply thought it was charming that anyone even wanted to try.

Then, when discussing use of a significant area of desert to build the solar farm, some policymakers balked.  Would they let him use it if he could prove there was oil on that land?  Well, we’ve tried drilling, and there is none.

But if he could drill to prove there was some valuable natural resource there, could he use the land?  Well, as the story goes, he decided to drill up rather than down to lay the groundwork for the solar farm.

This anecdote is a great example of how politics gets stuck in a whirlpool of the status quo, low risk-taking, and lagging behind scientific and market innovations.  It is extremely important that high-profile people like Shai Agassi, who are tackling the embedded problems contributing to global warming, actively engage local and national government.  He was not afraid to enter their sphere, with a vision, a clear plan, reasonable requests, and the flexibility to work together to make Better Place a reality in their domain.

With Israel, Denmark, Australia, Hawaii, and San Francisco already enlisted, I am quite hopeful that Better Place’s list will continue to grow to more unexpected locations.  If and when it does, Israel can rightfully be proud of a homegrown success who is giving them a good name and making a major step in the energy revolution.

But knowing Israelis are, it will also be viewed as a challenge.  If that means zero footprint and scale to infinite, I am inclined to let nature take its course.

Read more about Better Place:

Texas to Tel Aviv by Tom Friedman, NY Times

Published: July 27, 2008

Israeli unveils ambitious plan to shift transportation to electric cars by Nicky Blackburn

October 30, 2007