This week, I sat down with Naftali “Naf” Dratman, a man whose career has stretched from engineering roles in the U.S. Air Force to leading open innovation programs for global giants like GM, Airbus, and LG Electronics. Along the way, he has helped launch startups in automotive safety, advised aviation and space ventures, and worked at the crossroads of academia, government, and industry.
Our conversation centered on what Naf calls the inception method. It is the ability to plant an idea in someone else’s mind and let them believe it is their own. The process demands patience, empathy, and a willingness to let go of credit in order to see the idea thrive.
Naf described how he built trust inside LG by taking executives out of the office, talking less about technology and more about culture and daily life, until he could gently introduce a concept that eventually reshaped their approach to in-car infotainment systems. What struck me most was his insistence that real influence begins not with clever pitches but with listening and creating the conditions for others to feel ownership of a solution.
We explored the challenges large corporations face when they attempt to work with startups, often overwhelming them with bureaucracy or diluting their energy through misguided “startup challenges” that serve more as PR exercises than true collaborations.
Naf’s preference is always to work one on one, helping a single leader take action on a problem they urgently need to solve, and quietly guiding them until the idea becomes theirs to champion. He also spoke about the role academia can play in solving early-stage R&D puzzles, highlighting his time at General Motors, where university researchers provided critical pieces of the hydrogen fuel cell puzzle long before commercialization was possible.
Perhaps most provocatively, Naf shared his skepticism about dual-use technologies, which many in the innovation community hail as a promising path between defense and civilian markets. He argued that export controls and the slow timelines of defense procurement often strangle opportunities before they mature, making dual use more of a limitation than a catalyst. His candor about these challenges was refreshing, and a reminder that innovation is as much about what we choose not to pursue as what we chase.
By the end of our conversation, I was reminded that the real work of innovation often happens quietly, in the spaces between people. It is about empathy, patience, and sometimes even a touch of psychological sleight of hand. As Naf put it, the greatest innovation of all is the human mind itself, provided we learn how to use it well.
About: Naftali
Name: Naftali Dratman
Title: Freelance
LinkedIn |
Throughout his career, Naftali Dratman has led innovation programs in Israel for large corporations such as GM, Airbus and LG Electronics. Naftali started his career as an engineer in the United States Air Force where he worked on innovative space programs. His background also includes product leadership roles in 2 automotive startups as well as a business role in one of Israel’s leading universities. Naftali was a trailblazer in automotive tech in Israel before it became more widespread in the 2010s. His foresight led to a new startup being created in automotive night vision safety systems.
Naftali earned his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University. In addition to being a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineer, he is a licensed FAA Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic. Naftali has been sought after to serve in various advisory roles for startups in the area of aviation, automotive and space where he helps the companies from both a technical and business GTM perspective.
Naftali is currently working on a new initiative to help facilitate more obscure innovation between differing industries. Naftali’s ultimate goal is to create more out of the box thinking of the term dual use technology beyond defense and civilian technology and to create a means for ecosystems (academia, startups, government, corporations) to implement.