Marion Blakey is the president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association.
AIA dailyLead editor Angela Giroux Scheide interviewed Blakey on her thoughts regarding how sequestration and the economy has affected the aerospace and defense industry. An edited transcript of their conversation follows.
Sequestration is slated to cut an additional $600 billion from defense over 10 years beginning in 2013. What is AIA doing to change the course of this outcome?
In short, everything we can. We believe the cuts will be devastating to our national security, economy and industry. With more than 1 million jobs at stake, our only option is to keep fighting. That means more rallies, more outreach to the press and ongoing efforts to educate policymakers and stakeholders across the country about the disastrous consequences of gutting the U.S. aerospace and defense industry. Aerospace and defense is Second to None and we intend to keep it that way. (read more…)
Andrew Herrmann is the 2011-2012 president of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is a principal at New York City-based Hardesty & Hanover, a transportation consulting engineering firm founded in 1887, and is an expert in the inspection, rating, design, rehabilitation and construction of bridges. SmartBrief talked with Herrmann about his approach to the country’s deteriorating infrastructure and what it will take to move the country forward.
Civil engineers in large part are in charge of society’s quality of life. The world now has more than 7 billion inhabitants. How will that affect the engineering profession, and what is the most important consideration that engineers must take into account as they go about their work?
The most important considerations that engineers must take into account are public health, safety and welfare. That encompasses everything from providing clean water, maintaining and building transportation networks, providing for the safe treatment of wastes to the harnessing and use of natural resources. (read more…)
Terrance Barkan, CAE, is the chief strategist at GLOBALSTRAT, an international strategy consultancy for associations. He is the past chairman of the ASAE International Section Council.
Many organizations describe themselves as “international” but in reality, there are degrees of how international an organization is. It helps boards and staff teams to think about where their organization is on a continuum, from purely local to completely global:
- International “A.” This is a primarily national organization that has members from outside its national borders not exceeding 5% of the membership. This type of organization is international in name only with no dedicated service or representation of non-national members. It is primarily concerned with national issues, regulations and standards and only concerned about international issues to the extent they affect the members nationally. There are gestures to serve non-national members, but this is more intent than effort.
This guest post is by Janice Semper, General Electric’s manager of executive development.
A lot can change during the lifetime of an organization. One hundred thirty years ago, there were less than 300,000 telephones across the U.S. Thirteen years ago, only 3% of the world’s population was on the Internet. Today, more than 30% of people are online (80% in the U.S.), and technology has become an integral and foundational part of our leadership development efforts.
As our company, like many others, has faced changes in technology, communications, the economy and our global reach, we’ve remained committed to continuously evolving leadership development. While challenging, it has rewarded our business in unique ways.
How should leaders respond to a world that is more diverse, interconnected, technologically advanced and complex? As manager of executive development at GE, I help answer that question every day. (read more…)
Maria de Lourdes Sobrino is CEO of Lulu’s Dessert and a Hall of Fame Award honoree. She served as a keynote panelist at this year’s National Association of Women Business Owners’ Women’s Business Conference. Sobrino founded Lulu’s in 1982 based on her mother’s recipe. It was the first company to bring ready-to-eat gelatin to the U.S. marketplace, and it was named one of the top 500 Hispanic Businesses in the U.S. In her book, “Thriving Latina Entrepreneurs in America,” Sobrino writes about her strategy and the business success stories of seven other Latina entrepreneurs. I talked to her about her views on leadership and the importance of community to a successful business.
What is your leadership philosophy?
I stay focused in the direction I want to take my company. One way of leadership is setting an example to your own staff and staying always in communication with them. I also try to attend seminars and be involved with other business owners so I can learn from them and bring new ideas to my business. (read more…)
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