There is no doubt manufacturing is experiencing a rebirth across the United States, and there are a myriad of real estate choices readily available for manufacturers.  Moreover, the rapid advances in aerospace and transportation allude that future transport will surpass all expectations, thus greatly expanding real estate choices (possibly short-term choices) for manufacturers.  Given these dynamic considerations, manufacturing leaders’ real estate decisions are vital for success. Where are these manufacturing leaders that are empowering the [...]

A widely accepted premise is that leaders should have a vision for their organization or group.  However, vision that is not based on reality is nothing but fantasy. Leaders’ vision, therefore, should be grounded on attainable ends, even if this grounding is speculative to some degree.  So, how can a leader have vision that is wedded to something firm in a rapidly advancing technological age?  A look back in history to a widely-acknowledged leader who [...]

Dr. Daryl Watkins and I recently spent a few days in Mumbai, India with executives from the Indian Aviation community. Various airlines, airports and other related entities were represented in a seminar where we spent three days discussing the Indian aviation environment and ways of understanding the many environmental as well as internal forces these people are dealing with as the Indian aviation industry grows. One must understand that up until a few years ago, [...]

When I was a kid, my family faithfully watched the sitcom The Jeffersons.  The show (which spawned from All in the Family) explored much of what was happening culturally at the intersection of race relations in the United States.  We loved to watch the antics of the crazy character, George Jefferson, played by actor Sherman Hemsley. On July 24, 2012, Hemsley died of complications related to lung cancer. His death brought back a flood of [...]

“Why the specific focus on aviation and aerospace leadership?”  Behind this often asked question lurks (or seems to) a notion the leadership is, well, simply leadership.  So why emphasize aviation and aerospace leadership when some suggest the practice of leadership is essentially the same for all disciplines/professions? These are really good questions, and are at the heart of our Center for Aviation and Aerospace Leadership (CAAL).   The response is somewhat complex (multi-part).  First, being a [...]

Many may consider this heresy, but there appears to be a slow, but growing, trend towards open sourcing in the U.S. aerospace industry. For those charged with developing new systems for the military, this may appear to be extraordinarily unwise, impractical, and not something the U.S. Department of Defense should do. Similarly, for those developing state-of-the art systems for commercial use, questions immediately arise about the ownership and protection of key intellectual property (IP) rights. [...]

Most people know that, in college, a major refers to an array of courses that have been developed over time to meet the needs of a particular discipline.  But when one considers what it means to be best-in-class in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), the answer is not necessarily so clear. In 1958, the National Defense Education Act authorized the Department of Defense (DOD) to “increase the flow of talent into science and engineering, [...]

During a recent class I posed the question, ‘Describe a great leader. What makes him or her stand out in the crowd?’ In response, the usual suspects surfaced: charisma, strong understanding of the organization, integrity… A long list was the result. But it was not until the question shifted from great leaders to describing terrible leaders did the conversation get lively. Every student gave detailed examples of people in leadership positions demonstrating outrageous behavior. Lying, [...]

Shared leadership, flow, alignment, synergy, balance, collaboration… we are trying to think of a word that expresses what we think is necessary. But, the word just won’t come. And so, the thought is stifled, stunted. The question at issue is what is wrong with our views of leadership? Even though the formal study of leadership is only about a century old, there have been thousands of theories and models of what makes for effective leadership. [...]

How many of you have played an instrument in a band or an orchestra? Perhaps this was as a child. Do you remember those rare times when everything came together and suddenly your section (in my case it was the trombones) became part of the greater whole, and the music was suddenly coming from the entire orchestra instead of simply a collection of sections defined by the instruments played? How about NASCAR fans who watch [...]