Dragoslav Neskovic

Experienced Manufacturing Engineering Leader | Project Manager | Manufacturing Engineering Manager

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

Check out my 2025 LinkedIn Rewind! 🎬

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[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

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[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

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[Cycling on TNT Sports @cyclingontnt]

Is Novak Djokovic the greatest athlete on the planet? 🤔

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

Do you remember when you joined X? I do! #MyXAnniversary

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

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[Billy Oppenheimer @bpoppenheimer]

Days after a quarterfinals loss in the 2010 French Open, Novak Djokovic told his coach, Marián Vajda, that he had decided to quit playing tennis.

He was No. 3 in the world, a grand slam winner, and a favorite to win Wimbledon.

After Djokovic said he was quitting, Vajda asked,

“Why did you start playing this sport?”

Vajda immediately sensed what the problem was:

Djokovic was focusing too much on rankings, records, titles, and external expectations. As a result, Djokovic said, “I was mentally at one very messed up place.”

As Djokovic thought about Vajda’s question, he thought about how many of his earliest childhood memories include his “most beloved toy”—a mini tennis racket and a soft foam ball.

He started playing tennis, answering Vajda’s question, “because I just really loved holding that racket in my hand.”

“Do you still love holding a racket in your hand?” Vajda asked.

Djokovic thought about it for a few seconds, got excited, and said:

“I do. I still love holding a racket in my hand. Whether it’s a grand slam final on center court or just playing around on a public court, I like playing for the sake of playing.”

Vajda nodded, “Well that’s your source. That's what you need to tap into. Put aside rankings and what you want to achieve and what you think others are expecting of you.”

Vajda then suggested that Djokovic take a few weeks off.

Djokovic agreed that he would.

But when he woke up the next morning, Djokovic was dying to hit tennis balls. He went to the courts to play for the sake of playing. “And I never looked back ever since that moment.”

The following season, Djokovic enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in sports history. He won 43 straight matches. He won three Grand Slams, including his first Wimbledon title. And he finished the year as the number one player in the world.

“I started to play freely,” he says of that season. “I became the kid that I was when I started playing.”

Takeaway 1:

There's a word for being like the kid who does something for the sake of doing it:

Autotelic.

From the Greek "auto" (self) & "telos" (end)—an Autotelic is "someone or something that has a purpose in, and not apart from, itself."

As opposed to someone who focuses on rankings, records, titles, and external expectations—for an Autotelic...

”The work is the win,” as Ryan Holiday once told me.

Since you control the effort more than the outcome,

“Ultimately, you have to love doing it,” Ryan said. “You have to get to a place where doing the work is the win and everything else is extra.”

Takeaway 2:

When reading about Autotelics—people who describe their work as play, who simply seem to love what they do—a common mistake is to think that it’s all bliss all the time.

One of my favorite Autotelics is the legendary skateboarder Rodney Mullen, who is in his 50s and still skateboards every day.

“There are days,” Rodney said, “where you don’t want to go out. Or it hurts. Or you’re sore. Or you just suck—you're not making progress, and you feel defeated...But that's the nature of love—it's got hate in there, it's got pain in there. And that’s what draws you in, that's the magnetism.”

At one point during the recent Wimbledon final, Djokovic angrily smashed and shattered his racket. And after losing the match, he admitted that it will take him a while to get over the loss.

That’s the nature of love—it’s got hate in there, it’s got pain in there.

- - -

“I see people with talent, with all those things, but the one thing they don't have is just that love for doing it for the sake of it.” — Rodney Mullen

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[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

The most common approach is relying on OEM, especially for companies without internal expertise. Of course this is the safest bet but it comes with the very high price. Potentially the cost of OEM support can eat lots of profite ga…https://t.co/eA3NFp6qow https://t.co/Ma8ix8Q0XJ

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

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[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

#leadership #motivation #inspiration https://t.co/Cb1GBVknGC

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

#leadership #motivation #inspiration https://t.co/q1iJwWEqto

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

#leadership #motivation #inspiration https://t.co/xWC5EJOf7j

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

Emma Smalley is #hiring. Know anyone who might be interested? https://t.co/ANUQNGz5k5

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

The race continues, notice that one of the robots can handle up to 5000 pounds. Moving pallets is next area of opportunity for warehouse automation.

#warehouse #automation #robots #opportunity Amazon https://t.co/jB6sYsfH3R

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

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[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

The article points out correctly four main challenges that any automation initiative is facing. Failing to address them will lead to missing expectations and long term consequences.

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[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

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[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

Paul Duchich is #hiring. Know anyone who might be interested? https://t.co/8kwYftMMMJ

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

Supply Chain challenges are going to accelerate. Automation could be a possible answer to some of challenges. Introducing the new technologies and enhancing WMS sytems would mitigate others. Human capital and skilled work force is…https://t.co/MAqsdzqQiy https://t.co/amXsMrUd48

[Dragoslav Neskovic @dneskovic]

#leadership #motivation #inspiration https://t.co/xzD97lvpB5