I am the proud father of an 18-year-old girl who has been part of Benjamina's robotics groups for the past 6 years. This year, she serves as one of the team captains, and just a month ago, her team achieved first place in the World Robotics Championship - FRC, surpassing thousands of teams worldwide. Over the years, I've delved deeper into this world, discovering unique methodologies and strategies that offer valuable lessons for product managers in high-tech companies.

In the FRC competition, each year presents a new challenge where teams must build a robot within a tight schedule. They start competing just six weeks after the global announcement of the competition's structure and rules for that year. Unlike product launches that allow for adjustments, there's no room for rejection; teams must innovate and compete with the resources available. The process involves meticulous planning, rapid production, extensive software development (for the robot and supporting systems), and continuous iteration over the two-month competition period. This team continuously refines its methodology year by year, achieving unprecedented success - no Israeli team has previously won at this level, which is usually dominated by teams from the USA with budgets ten times larger and support from sponsors like NASA, Boeing, and Apple.

For us as product managers, learning from a group of young individuals (alongside mature mentors who have integrated into the high-tech industry) who represent the future of technology is both fascinating and invaluable. These insights will be showcased in my upcoming lecture, providing concrete examples of innovative strategies and methodologies.